6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
Uptight FBI special agent Sarah Ashburn is paired with testy Boston cop Shannon Mullins in order to take down a ruthless drug lord. The hitch: neither woman has ever had a partner -- or a friend for that matter.
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demián Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael RapaportComedy | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Action | 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, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Korean, Malay, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Sandra Bullock both brought the house down and up to its feet into a standing ovation when she started off her acceptance speech for having won the Best Actress Academy Award for The Blind Side with her wonderfully self-deprecating query, “Did I really earn this, or did I just wear you all down?” Many pundits, including Variety, the so-called “Bible of showbiz”, are now touting Bullock as the frontrunner for another Best Actress Oscar for her stunning work in Gravity, a virtual one woman tour de force show for much of that film’s excruciating running time. But 2013 also saw Bullock take on a decidedly less ambitious role while simultaneously proving how well she plays with others, in the raucous, foul mouthed and often hilarious Paul Feig comedy The Heat. Paired with Melissa McCarthy, Feig’s Oscar nominated actress from his recent Bridesmaids, Bullock in fact takes something akin to a back seat to McCarthy’s over the top antics, becoming the straight woman for an unending series of insults and physical comedy aimed at her by her zaftig counterpart. First time screenwriter Katie Dippold, a veteran of television’s Parks and Recreation, had decided she wanted to reinvent the “buddy cop” genre in gynocentric form, and rather surprisingly, while her script was very quickly picked up by Peter Chernin, a studio deal took some wheeling and dealing, since there was a rather dunderheaded fear that two females headlining a cop comedy wouldn’t be an easy sell. McCarthy has become one of the more unlikely superstars of the past few years, and her presence, especially after her Bridesmaids triumph, may have at least whetted the appetites of the Hollywood bean counters who more often than not make the “important” decisions, but without the tamped down presence of Bullock, the fact is The Heat might have seriously run off the rails. It’s the interplay between these two very different characters that generates most of the comedic—yes—heat in this film, with Bullock’s by the numbers FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn repeatedly running smack dab into the force of nature of the much less structured Boston police detective Shannon Mullins, portrayed by McCarthy.
The Heat is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Feig reunites with his Bridesmaids cinematographer Robert Yeoman, an increasingly impressive DP whose work with Wes Anderson on such outings as Moonrise Kingdom proves how capable he is at capturing both the grittiness of everyday life as well as a bit of its luster. Aside from just a few establishing shots done in Manhattan, Feig shot the bulk of the film in Boston, and the city looks alternately glamorous (usually from above in some sharp looking aerial photography) or a bit on the dilapidated side when the story gets down and dirty into some sad looking neighborhoods. Colors are very accurate looking, but truth be told The Heat never really pops very vividly, with a kind of dowdy palette being exploited most of the time. Fine detail is really excellent throughout this presentation (take a look at the ridges in the matte surrounding the picture of Ashburn with "her" cat in screenshot 15), and contrast is also very strong, offering well above average shadow detail in some of the darker interior scenes. No egregious compression artifacts were noticed, and this transfer boasts a very natural looking appearance.
The Heat's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is extremely effective, bristling with surround activity when any of the many source cues are thumping on the soundtrack (Feig recounts in his commentary how the Isley Brothers just happened to come on the radio shortly after he had read the script, and he took that as a sign as to how to start off the film). There's some great immersion courtesy of well placed ambient environmental effects, though a lot of this film is relegated to more simple dialogue moments, which tend to be anchored in the front channels. A nightclub scene does afford a good deal of surround activity, but with very good prioritization. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is fairly wide for this kind of comedy.
The Heat is undeniably funny a lot of the time, but it's also a bit too predictable for its own good. Bullock and McCarthy make a very appealing "odd couple", however, and help the film to overcome its more rote elements. This Blu-ray comes with great looking video and sounding audio, and even if most of the supplementary material is nothing other than glorified gag reels, the wealth of commentary tracks is a nice touch. Highly recommended.
Movie-Only Edition
2013
Target Exclusive Bonus Digital Content
2013
2013
2013
2014
Unrated Edition
2013
2012
The Unrated Other Edition
2010
2013
2019
2001
Retro VHS Collection
1992
Rock Out with Your Glock Out Edition
2010
2015
2016
Extended Cut
2013
2013
2018
1990
Retro VHS Collection
1989
2009
2002
2015
2014