6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A tough undercover cop inadvertently gets involved in a dangerous heroin ring when a young defector of the drug trade leaves his five year-old sister in his care.
Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Lara Daans, Christian Slater, Kim Coates, Devon BostickAction | 100% |
Thriller | 61% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
To make Holy.
Sacrifice is a movie that's on the right track but that sometimes gets turned around and heads in the wrong direction. It's a movie with a
good story to tell but not quite the technical expertise or the quality of script to pull it off at a higher level of excellence. It's a movie that commands
one's attention but just as often pulls its audience out of the story thanks to heavy-handed direction and a feeling that it's trying oh so hard to be the
grittiest of the gritty drug-world movies. Its hero is a man made from the exact same stuff that cinema has used on many occasions to construct dark,
troubled characters in search of personal redemption both in the professional world and from within, healing a tattered soul first by turning to the
bottle and then by putting it all on the line
in the face of unspeakable evil to save an innocent life and make the world a slightly better place. There's nothing new in Sacrifice; it's an
edgy but nevertheless sometimes dull picture that lacks a refined feel and a superior flow, but genre fans should nevertheless enjoy what is a fairly
hard-hitting
story and a few fine performances, even if the positives are sometimes overshadowed not by an glaring negatives, but by that sense that the movie is
just trying too hard to be better than it needs to be.
Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Creasy, er, Hebron.
Sacrifice features a decent 1080p Blu-ray transfer that's fairly typical of a low-budget HD video production. The image is expectedly flat with little life to it, but details are still commendably strong -- particularly evident in facial textures -- and colors are steady but mostly unremarkable. Black levels are quite good, maybe a bit too heavy and detrimental to finer details in especially dark shots, but never do they appear washed out or unnaturally bright. The image is very smooth with little noise but it does showcase regular bouts of banding and occasional blocking. It's not a particularly noteworthy transfer, but aside from the banding it's a fairly nice-looking image that suits the movie well.
Sacrifice's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is much like its video presentation: generally effective but not particularly exciting. The picture regularly plays with a low end that's fairly loose and maybe even a little too heavy, sounding awfully crunchy and indistinct throughout. Dialogue, too, is sometimes shallow and hard to hear, notably during the hockey rink shootout near the beginning of the movie and at several other junctures, but fortunately the spoken word is, generally, quite clear and cemented in the center channel. Music enjoys a fair bit of clarity and spacing across the front channels, and atmospherics are also delivered primarily through the front three channels, giving the surronds most of the 90+ minutes off. Gunfire is a source of strength, each shot delivering a suitably punchy and punishing energy. This is a fairly raw track; it's one of those "gets the job done" listens that's about right where on would expect it to be with a movie like this.
Sacrifice features only an assortment of previews for additional Millenium Entertainment releases, the Sacrifice trailer (1080p, 1:32), and a brief behind-the-scenes featurette (480p, 11:49) that sees cast and crew discussing the film's story, themes, and characters.
Sacrifice is a frustrating picture that's on one hand a grossly over-directed mess and on the other a picture with a good story to tell and better-than-average performances backing it up. It's perhaps best watched as something of a companion piece to/an inferior take on Man on Fire, the two films sharing somewhat similar themes, plot lines, and characters. Sacrifice should find favor with Action movie fans who approach with lessened expectations and can look past the mangled direction so as to enjoy the other core values that make Sacrifice worth a watch. Millenium's Blu-ray release of Sacrifice features fair video and audio but not much in the way of supplemental content. Recommended as a rental or a purchase at a reduced price.
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