6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
After being involuntarily discharged from the Marines, James Reed joins a paramilitary organization in order to support his family in the only way he knows how.
Starring: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gillian Jacobs, Eddie Marsan, JD PardoThriller | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The Contractor was a box office flop that had every reason to at least break even on its midrange budget. The film, from Director Tarik Saleh (making his first really big movie), stars Chris Pine who by every right should be a bigger star than he is, despite his leading man Star Trek fame. Pine's latest film is a very competent and very enjoyable picture that, while also rote and generic, is very well done and capably absorbing while it's playing on the screen. No classic and not even with much long-term replay value, the film is certainly a big step above so much of the tripe on the market that, even at the level of "good but forgettable" deserves more than it earned in box office in particular but also tips of the cap to its writer, director, and cast.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.
On UHD, The Contractor features a 2160p/HDR (not Paramount's usual Dolby Vision) presentation which is actually a fair bit of an
improvement over the very, very good Blu-ray. The first item viewers will note is the drastically deeper and more stable
color palette. The HDR color grading does wonders for the film. Look at the shot of Harper is standing at attention before the military panel at the 9:24
mark. The image is absolutely transformed by the HDR grading, offering colors so much deeper, more naturally inclined that the Blu-ray looks flat and
very washed out in comparison. But the UHD holds to a very natural color spectrum, yielding deep skin tones and effortlessly true to life military fatigue
green. This shot is a tell-all for the whole image, which holds much the same characteristics of more vivid, more accurate colors, which extend all the
way from more brilliant whites to deeper blacks. The sharpness and clarity also see a decently higher yield as well. There is not so much of a major
transformation here, but viewers will note, and appreciate, the obvious uptick in image clarity and complexity that easily makes this the best home
presentation on the market, even as the Blu-ray stands firmly on its own as a very solid image. With no serious source issues or encode blemishes this
is a very fine UHD presentation indeed.
The Contractor features a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. The absence of a Dolby Atmos track is something of a surprise, but the 7.1 encode proves its worth with a perfect audio experience. The track offers everything in excellent, perfect proportion. Musical cues are intensely detailed and natural. Front end placement is wide and fully transparent; the speakers simply melt away and provide full-on natural audio bliss. Musical surround support is perfectly balanced, as is subwoofer support. Good natural ambience envelops the listener and draws the audience into the scene, such as when James meets with Rusty for the first time at the 23-minute mark. Saturating rain at the 30:40 mark soaks every speaker while a train rumbling across the stage at the 33:30 mark provides maybe the single best environmental audio cue in the film. Gunplay is obviously the highlight and produces some seriously intense bangs and impacts, not to mention bullets zipping through the stage, such as at the 81-minute mark when some suppressed rounds rip through a quiet scene. Listeners will feel the intensity of every gun battle, and then some, with forceful low end content and frighteningly enveloping surround content. Dialogue is clear and center focused for the duration.
Considering its very poor box office performance, it is not a surprise to discover that The Contractor contains no supplemental content. No Blu-ray copy is included with purchase. However, Paramount has included a digital copy code voucher. This release also ships with a non-embossed slipcover.
The Contractor is actually a pretty good movie – it's a fine, generally fun, well executed, and well-paced watch – but it's not quite good or original enough to really warrant many future watches. This is the "on the run" Action-Thriller genre done well, even if it's simply a regurgitation of familiar bits and pieces from like-minded fare. Only a few in its class greatly outpace this one, but even still the film's lack of serious original character hinders all the other elements just enough to prevent this one from ascending well above the rest. It wants to, though, and it does flirt with excellence. Paramount's UHD is featureless, but the video and audio presentations are first rate, just as expected. Recommended, even without massive replay value.
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