Out of Time Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Out of Time Blu-ray Movie Review

Miami (Adjacent) Vice

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 27, 2018

There are a couple of telling moments in some of the extras included on this new “Special Edition” of Out of Time that suggest Denzel Washington may be admired by his colleagues, but that he may also be something of a pain to work with. Director Carl Franklin lionizes his star, proclaiming him one of the “all time greats” in the “entire history of film”, then hedging his bets just a little (and maybe just a little hilariously) by adding that Washington is “in the Top 10 — or Top 20” of iconic cinema stars. Co-star Dean Cain is a little craftier in his assessment of his co-star’s approach, stating how “good” Washington is, and then adding how Washington loves to throw “curveballs” at his fellow actors, which Cain seems to pretend is a kinda sorta compliment, but which seems to have a ton of subtext. Sanaa Lathan positively gushes about Washington, but Eva Mendes is a bit more forthright, saying Washington tends to engender responses that can vary from feeling intimidated to feeling challenged, and that Mendes personally "decided" she'd be challenged. All of that said, Washington is undoubtedly one of the main reasons to watch the often completely contrived Out of Time, a thriller which posits the star as Chief of Police Matt Whitlock, a guy who works in a tony (fictional) Florida town called Banyan Key, and who is the sort of law enforcement officer who walks through the picturesque downtown area to make sure every shop has properly locked its doors at night. A vignette that plays out during the credits sequence suggests that Whitlock is called to investigate a possible break in at the home of Anne-Merai Harrison (Sanaa Lathan), when in fact the whole thing is some “role playing” on the part of the pair, who are engaged in a torrid romance. Matt at least in the process of divorcing his detective wife Alex (Eva Mendes), but Anne-Merai is still married to a former football star named Chris Harrison (Dean Cain), a boorish sort who has been physically abusing her for years, but who seems oblivious to the facts of his wife’s “extracurricular” activities. When it turns out Alex is perhaps terminally ill with cancer, Matt makes a desperate decision involving some drug money that has been placed in the police evidence locker, a bad decision which is only made worse when an explosion seems to have killed both Anne-Merai and Chris. With missing funds totalling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and two badly charred corpses, Matt soon finds that he is probably headed for being the main suspect in the entire debacle.

Out of Time received a relatively early Blu-ray release by MGM back in 2009. Those wanting a full plot summary are encouraged to read our Out of Time Blu-ray review of that version. I'll only add in passing that the film relies on an almost insane number of contrivances, and in my estimation makes one semi disastrous (and completely predictable) reveal too early in the story, something that makes a second reveal later in the tale play on the ludicrous side.

Out of Time Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Out of Time is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual's MVD Marquee Collection imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. The older MGM release suffered from some issues detailed in our review of that version, but that said, I might have given the MGM release a 3.5 overall. This new version features a fairly similar looking palette, even if the MVD version is arguably a tad brighter overall, but detail levels are materially improved throughout the presentation. There's also a more consistent overall look in terms of general sharpness and fine detail levels, and a ubiquity of extreme close-ups typically offer really precise looks at things like hair and pores even in sometimes rather dim lighting conditions. There are still a few minor signs of age related wear and tear in the form of specks and flecks, but the location photography really glistens wonderfully here, and anyone who is a fan of the film will probably find this the preferable video presentation.

Out of Time Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the video element, I was probably more positively inclined about the audio on the MGM release, and carry over those sentiments to the rather similar sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track included on this release. As is mentioned in our review of the MGM release, there isn't a ton of LFE, but it is there, both in terms of the often propulsive score, but in isolated moments like the fire that consumes the Harrison home (and, presumably, the Harrisons). Ambient environmental effects are typically well placed in the surround channels as well. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly for the most part, but again as is mentioned in our review of the MGM version, prioritization can be just a bit wobbly in some noisier moments.

Out of Time Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Director Carl Franklin


• Out of Time Crime Scene (480i; 12:18) is an above average EPK with some good interviews.


• Outtakes (480i; 00:27, 00:34)


• Photo Gallery (480i; 2:41)


• Sanaa Lathan Screen Tests (480i; 2:34, 1:26, 2:06)


• Dean Cain Screen Tests (480i; 00:51, 3:39)


• Matt Lee Whitlock Character Profile (480i; 1:20) is the first of several character profiles, with some text describing the character and brief picture in picture interviews with the likes of director Carl Franklin and/or writer David Collard.


• Alex Diaz Character Profile (480i; 1:15)


• Anne Merai Harrison Character Profile (480i; 1:19)


• Chris Harrison Character Profile (480i; 1:06)


• Chae Character Profile (480i; 1:24)


• Trailers includes Out of Time (480i; 2:09) along with trailers for several other MVD releases.

Out of Time Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's quite a bit to like about Out of Time, including a pretty radically conflicted "hero", as well as some rather stunning Florida locations. But too much of this story is highly predictable (the "villain" element is especially broadly telegraphed), and the tendency to rely on supporting character Chae (John Billingsley) for comedy relief tends to have increasingly diminishing. That said, this release ably fulfills MVD's "mission" for its Marquee line to revisit previously released material with better encodes and more fulsome supplementary features. For fans of the film, this is the version to get.