6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The exploits of 303 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain. The squadron consisted of Polish pilots, many of whom were veterans of the air battles involved in Germany's invasion of Poland.
Starring: Milo Gibson, Iwan Rheon, Stefanie Martini, Kryštof Hádek, Marcin DorocinskiWar | 100% |
Drama | 26% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The thrill of aerial combat has been a staple of films at least since the very first Academy Award winner for Best Picture, 1927’s Wings. Any number of films followed in the wake (vapor trail?) of that now admittedly kind of quaint seeming enterprise, and the subsequent decades provided jolts of (literal) high octane adrenaline rushes courtesy of such films as (in no particular order) The Dawn Patrol, The Red Baron, Hell's Angels , The Blue Max, Flyboys, Eagle Squadron, Twelve O'Clock High and Flying Leathernecks (to name only a very few). There have been several films that featured aerial combat, at least in passing, in those outings’ documentation of the Battle of Britain, and according to some online sources there are literally scores of films about this epochal showdown (including of course Battle of Britain). Mission of Honor, which was evidently titled Hurricane at some point in its release roll out, joins both of those august categories of cinema as it attempts to tell the probably undervalued story of a Polish squadron of fighters who joined the Royal Air Force to help defend London after their own home country had been overrun by the Nazi hordes. It’s a really interesting story, and parts of Mission of Honor are engaging and even exciting, but the film just doesn’t muster much of an emotional component, and at times seems almost willfully rote in an “old fashioned Hollywood” sort of way (which may actually appeal to some viewers).
Mission of Honor is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. While this was evidently captured with Alexa Minis (according to the IMDb), as perhaps can be made out in some of the screenshots accompanying this review, this is another outing that has been tweaked to resemble more traditional film, though I have to say the "digital grain" in this accounting never really looked very natural to me, and I'm uncertain as to whether the fault lies with the technology utilized or the encode, or a combination of the two. This is another Cinedigm release that at least occasionally looked a bit too bright to my eyes, with a resulting blanching of contrast, and somewhat milky blacks. The CGI in this enterprise is often very soft looking (see screenshot 8 for one example). Detail levels on practical items like costumes and props, and even some of the real airplanes that are featured, are typically very good, especially in more brightly lit conditions. There are a few minor instances of banding, mostly noticeable in fade ins and fade outs.
Mission of Honor features an occasionally nicely bombastic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, one that really springs into life in the aerial combat scenes, where punches of LFE and good panning activity help to enliven the soundstage. Good use of outdoor locations also helps to elevate noticeable placement of ambient environmental effects as well. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly. There are several foreign languages spoken here (chiefly Polish, German and French), and there are forced English subtitles for those scenes. There are also optional English subtitles for the English language dialogue, and there are a couple of occasions where these two sets of subtitles (in radically different fonts and sizes) overlap if you have the optional English subtitles on.
Mission of Honor has an appropriately honorable focus, but it probably could have used a bigger budget (with more practical flying sequences in particular), as well as a less rote screenplay. Performances are generally very winning (some may not be able to escape visions of Mel Gibson, given how much Milo looks and especially sounds like his famous father), and there's some interesting subtext here about how the Brits perceived "others", even when those "others" wanted very much to help in the Allied war front. Video encounters a few hurdles, but audio is fine, for those considering a purchase.
1969
2003
1969
1976
1962
2002
2011
1949
1977
La Battaglia d'Inghilterra
1969
1993
Warner Archive Collection
1945
Unrated Director's Cut
2005
Warner Archive Collection
1962
2020
1949
1967
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1966
1987
1968