The Finest Hours Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Finest Hours Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 21, 2016

The Finest Hours recreates what is still today considered "the greatest small boat rescue" the U.S. Coast Guard has ever conducted. It tells the story of Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), a young man who, in 1952, led a four-man team on a mission to rescue dozens of seamen trapped on board a disabled and sinking tanker and with only hours left to live in raging waters and frigid temperatures. The film also tells the story of the crew's fight for survival against practically insurmountable odds. While The Finest Hours doesn't take any real risks, it also doesn't take anything for granted. It's a solid human interest story wrapped around a rough-edged, action-oriented depiction of the best man has against the worst mother nature can deliver. The movie is all heart and soul, its straightforward narrative and unremarkable characterization balanced by tangible emotion and a rousing spirit that dominates even the movie's cruder details and perilous effects.

The hero.

Bernie Weber (Chris Pine) is in love. He's infatuated with the lovely Miriam (Holliday Grainger), a telephone operator. He's also in the Coast Guard, stationed in the small coastal Massachusetts town of Chatham. A severe storm has rolled in, and he's ordered by his station commander (Eric Bana) to take a crew out to sea and rescue any survivors from a tanker that has split in half. The mission interrupts his plans to follow tradition and ask his commander for permission to marry his girl. As he and his crew brave nearly unnavigable waters on the way to the tanker, survivors, led by ship's engineer Ray Syber (Casey Affleck), struggle to stay alive. They have only hours before the pumps give out and what's left the ship goes under. Meanwhile, Miriam frets over her man's fate and clashes with his commanding officer whom she believes is needlessly endangering Bernie's life on a suicide mission with no chance of success.

The Finest Hours molds itself in a tradition-laden structure. The movie would feel at home in any era, some of its more convincing visual effects notwithstanding. It's simple nearly to a fault, but that simplicity ensures a tighter focus on the narrative and character-driven drama and less on the support details, like the special effects, that shape the landscape and drive the plot but hardly dominate the film, despite being front-and-center for practically the duration. The movie's drive and spirit are defined by just that, the human condition and man's ability, and willingness, to rise to the challenge against the odds. Director Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm) manages to maintain the approach even when thunderous sounds and terrifying visuals -- raging waters, broken ships, flooding compartments -- otherwise dominate the screen. The film manages to scrape by any potential problems that could and do result, including underwhelming characterization, a recycled romantic interest subplot, and predictability by keeping the focus more on the intangibles that make the story of interest, and have kept it of interest all these decades removed from the real event. There's nothing really new here, but the movie goes about its business with commendable focus and determination to tell its story as narratively simple and visually accurate as possible.

Even as The Finest Hours is more about its intangibles -- heart, determination, the human condition -- and less its support pieces, the film pays attention to its details, ensuring a more complete and convincing experience. Though more than a few effects shots, particularly as Bernie and his crew search out the tanker on the 36500, are not as seamless as one might hope -- the green screen effect is pretty obvious -- the larger scale elements are wondrous. Deadly, but wondrous. Walls of water, tidal waves, and the broken tanker are all immensely impressive. The movie's more involved digital effects are magnificent. Water practically spills into the stage, and even on sets, such as down in the tanker's depths where the men must battle not only the flooding waters and mechanical troubles but their own fears and disagreements about how to best survive the situation, are richly realized, seemingly, down to the last bolt, bulkhead, and button. The movie does teeter on trouble with less than complexly drawn characters, and the resultant performances can be a little flat and stiff, but as the movie focuses more on what's inside than outside, it can get away with rather flat arcs that don't get lost in the shuffle but that only really serve to drive the greater narrative of human excellence and endurance under pressure.

The Finest Hours Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Finest Hours' 1080p transfer isn't flashy, but it's precise. The movie is infrequently bright, favoring darkened nighttime exteriors, low light ship interiors, and duller on-shore locations. Colors early on favor a mild yellowed tint with little splash of vibrant colors beyond small touches, like red lipstick. Black levels are crucial to the film, and Disney's Blu-ray sees them hold true in frequent nighttime exteriors and otherwise darkened locations. Detail is excellent. The digital source photography is intimately revealing, even in the lower light conditions. Clothing lines and facial textures are impressive but more so are the weathered and worn, rusted and revealing elements inside the tanker. Every surface is a veritable treasure trove of high definition goodness. Flesh tones are accurate within the movie's darker parameters. No unsightly compression issues, source noise, or other maladies are intrusive. This is a wonderful presentation from Disney.

The Finest Hours Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Finest Hours splashes onto Blu-ray with an epic DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is enormously potent and massive and never relents in full in stage saturation. Waters seem to splash with tremendous detail -- even through the sheer might of the effects -- and flood the soundstage with powerful crashes. Bass never relents when called upon in the stormy, unpredictable seas. The added surround channels offer a greater sense of total immersion, and one can only wonder what a track utilizing overhead channels could have accomplished. Inside the sinking tanker, various creaks, thuds, rumbles, rattles, groans, spilling waters, and desperately yelling men also fill the stage with so much pinpoint detail and sense of space that the listening area is practically transformed. Music, whether rousing heroic or gentle romantic notes, is well spaced and enjoys expert instrumental clarity. Surrounds are fully utilized but with natural balance and detailed placement. Low end support is constant and accurate. Dialogue delivery is firmly grounded in the center with expert prioritization and clarity.

The Finest Hours Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Finest Hours contains several features, all but one of them brief, and a pair of deleted scenes. A Disney digital copy is included with purchase.

• Against All Odds: The Bernie Webber Story (1080p, 14:10): A well done piece in which key film crew and the people of Chatham discuss town history and the real detail behind the event, with an emphasis on Bernie Weber's heroics. The narrative parallels the movie, and key scenes are interspersed throughout.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): A Desperate Idea (2:34) and The Story of How They Met (1:53).
• Brotherhood (1080p, 1:49): A quick discussion of cast camaraderie and Chris Pine's leadership on the set.
• Two Crews (1080p, 2:02): A quick run-through of the parallel stories of Weber's crew and the survivors on the tanker.
• What Is Your Finest Hour? (1080p, 1:02): A real member of the Coast Guard quickly recount heroics, followed by a quick ad for the film.
• The Finest Inspiration: The U.S. Coast Guard (1080p, 1:42): A brief highlight of the modern Coast Guard's missions and abilities, followed by more brief heroic tales.

The Finest Hours Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Finest Hours is a rock-solid motion picture, a simple, classically styled story of the human spirit against the odds. It's not at all unique, but it accomplishes much by focusing on intangibles rather than spectacle, even as there's no shortage of awe-inspiring visuals throughout. Disney's Blu-ray is rather strong, yielding expert video and reference audio. Supplements are a bit thin beyond its primary featurette, but offer up just enough supportive value to keep the the extras section afloat. Recommended.