7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to ensure the continuation of his law enforcement career for all eternity. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Noah Taylor, Sarah Snook, Christopher Kirby, Christopher SommersPsychological thriller | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Period | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Some things are inevitable.
Science Fiction Writer Robert Heinlein's work has been the subject of several films over the years, most famously 1997's Starship Troopers, the ultra-violent and darkly satirical story of man's
future war with otherworldly bugs. While that film enjoys some wild entertainment value, it's the below-the-surface details that truly make the movie,
bending it from bloody popcorn flick to critically insightful masterpiece (even as it strays a bit from the original source novel). The latest Heinlein
story-turned-film is Predestination, based on the writer's short story All You Zombies. Predestination is a classic
mind-bender, a film that's nearly the reverse of Troopers, toning down the raw entertainment value in favor of the darker, more complex
drama that unfolds. Yet at the center -- even if the center is, essentially, the entire body -- is a story that requires audiences to dig deep, deeper
than most genre films have asked them to dig before, in order to appreciate both the insanity and the beauty of not only the story's core details but
those more intimate and certainly even darker narrative pieces that form the movie's awkward and disturbing yet brilliantly simple foundation that
challenges one's own perception of time and self.
Revelations.
Predestination's sharp and detailed 1080p transfer suits the material superbly. The light digital sheen never gets in the way of revealing with tremendous accuracy even the finest little details down to bandage textures, intimate skin and makeup features, scuffs and wear on a well-used briefcase, and even liquor bottles and the wooden bar that feature so prominently in the film. Image clarity is therefore excellent, and there's never a hint of softness to be seen. Colors are rich and satisfying, from bold red lipstick to a flashy yellow taxi. Parts of the movie favor a warmth (the bar) and others a colder appearance, but no matter the lighting or even the relatively sterility of any number of scenes, there's never any absence of strikingly realistic coloration. Black levels are suitably deep and true, while flesh tones raise no alarms. The image produces no overt banding, noise, or blockiness. This is another A-grade new release presentation from Sony.
Predestination arrives on Blu-ray with a rich and robust DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's expectedly strong and detailed in all areas. Music is smooth and precise with evident clarity and a good sense of heft and natural authenticity about it, not to mention excellent and natural stage placement and surround immersion. Gunshots hit surprisingly hard with a weighty aggression and impact on surfaces, metallic surfaces in particular, with positive force and, it seems, across a good bit of area around the soundstage. There's not a ton of big, noticeable ambience, but light background details help naturally fill in some quieter gaps. Dialogue delivery is firm and accurate with consistent center delivery.
Predestination contains, primarily, a making-of documentary that's nearly the length of the film. Also included is a separate short featurette
and a blooper reel. Note this package does not include DVD or digital copies.
Predestination is a movie better left explored rather than spoiled beyond a basic entry point, which even then shouldn't take prospective viewers through the front door frame. It's a film with complex ideas that's rich for study even below the surface and into subtext that may be found in all of the movie's little crevices, nooks, and crannies. Yet it's not for everyone. It's only for people with an open mind -- make that a wide open mind -- and those who are unafraid to be challenged and unsettled while entertained at the same time. This is fascinating stuff, probably too much for the more timidly minded or easily offended, even, but a film ripe for discovery beyond even the basic complexities it places on the screen, complexities which the film sorts out by the end but, in doing so, only opens a brand new door leading to a world of thought-provoking possibilities. Sony's Blu-ray release of Predestination offers rich video, excellent lossless audio, and a numerically small supplemental package dominated by a big making-of. Highly recommended to the right audience as outlined above.
2011
2013
2015
2011
2011
2006
2007
2010
2010
2011
The Director's Cut
2004
1995
2014
Unrated Extended Cut
2011
2014
2013
1962
2015
10th Anniversary Edition
2010
Limited Edition
2007