5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.9 |
Thieves attempt a massive heist against the U.S. Treasury as a Category 5 hurricane approaches one of its Mint facilities.
Starring: Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace, Ryan Kwanten, Ralph Ineson, Melissa BolonaAction | 100% |
Thriller | 23% |
Heist | 7% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
It can be kind of fun at times to imagine so-called “pitch meetings” for various high concept films, and by “high concept” I mean (as I’ve joked repeatedly before) that whoever came up with the idea could conceivably have been very high at the time. Take The Hurricane Heist (“please”, as I’m sure some Borscht Belt lovers may be mouthing), for example: one could easily visualize an excited creative type telling a studio honcho that caper films were all the rage nowadays, but how much “better” things could be if the caper were woven into a storyline that featured elements similar to such putative blockbusters as, say, The Perfect Storm or (perhaps more saliently) Twister . That’s really all there is to The Hurricane Heist, and while there is a lot of sound and fury populating this film, it in fact largely signifies nothing, as the film simply ticks off an expected litany of set pieces while attempting somewhat feebly to make the characters into something more than mere types. Those set pieces begin from the get go (you expected anything else?) with a flashback to the horrors of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and how they traumatized two little boys named Breeze (not kidding) and Willie Rutledge. The film predictably segues forward to the “current day” when a tropical storm named Tammy is already descending on the Gulf Coast. Will (Toby Kebbell) has grown into a seemingly well adjusted meteorologist who is tooling around in a high tech vehicle that looks like something out of Mad Max: Fury Road in order to place drones to monitor storm activity. Meanwhile two Treasury Agents named Casey Corbyn (Maggie Grace) and Connor Perkins (Ralph Ineson) are stuck in their semi in a huge traffic jam caused by local Sheriff Jimmy Dixon (Ben Cross) insisting on an evacuation order for residents of the area.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.
The Hurricane Heist is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. As I mentioned in our The Hurricane Heist Blu-ray review, the IMDb lists a
variety of Arri Alexa products as having digitally captured the imagery, but there's no data about whether this was finished at a 2K or a 4K DI. A
Blu-
ray.com member has uploaded data stating this was a 2K DI, but in the interests of full disclosure, I haven't been able to find any authoritative data
online to confirm this (if anyone can point me to an authoritative source, I'll mention it in an update to this review). One way or the other,
there are the same kinds of detail and fine detail upticks that are regularly noticed in 4K upgrades, and I was especially struck by some of the fine
detail on elements like costume fabrics, some of the wounds various characters have by the third act of the film, or even in fact the resolution of the
torrential downpour that is a regular facet of the outdoor scenes once the storm really hits. I really wasn't aware of any huge changes that HDR
added
to the mix, with the film still residing squarely in tones of slate gray and cool blue a lot of the time. However generally similar the palette may look
in
4K when compared to the 1080p Blu-ray, there are some "little" flashes of color like the red on Will's raincoat that arguably pop a bit more vividly
here. One brief moment where I did feel HDR really added some noticeable highlights is in the brief closing scene that features a "red
sunset",
one that in 4K has a really appealing warmth and orangish hue that looks more nuanced than in the 1080p Blu-ray version. Also worth noting is the
fact that shadow detail is arguably at least incrementally improved in this version, especially in some of the interior
scenes where the lighting goes wonky (due to the storm). The CGI actually struck me as looking a bit more artificial in this version, perhaps due to
the increased resolution. Some of the clouds had more of an "animated" (as in cartoon-like) look here, though, again, detail levels are generally
high
even in scenes drenched (sorry) in special effects. One thing that cropped up recurrently here is a somewhat noisy appearance that tends to come
and go and which doesn't really seem to be connected to whether scenes are taking place inside or outside or how brightly lit any given sequence is.
I really didn't notice this anomaly in the 1080p Blu-ray version.
From the very first (pre imagery) rumble of thunder and other storm sounds, The Hurricane Heist regularly engages the Atmos channels of its blistering Dolby Atmos track. The sound mix here is a whirlwind in and of itself, with huge sweeps of sonic data wafting overhead and some of the most forceful LFE I've personally experienced in any action adventure movie. The sheer ubiquity of wind and storm effects keeps immersion at near constant levels, replaced only by the "thrum" of some of the interior scenes where the robbery is supposedly taking place. Dialogue is also very well rendered and smartly directional, but it's the storm sound effects that really set this mix apart and which deliver some of the most exciting sonics I've heard recently.
There's simply no denying that The Hurricane Heist is a big, noisy and pretty darned stupid movie, but it doesn't really pretend to be anything otherwise, at least not very seriously (passing lip service to so-called "character development" on the part of the brothers and Casey notwithstanding). The film itself is probably an unabashed mess, but its technical presentation is really impressive, so those who don't mind big, noisy and pretty darned stupid outings that still manage to exploit the limits of their home theater may want to check this one out. As tangential as it may be, the interview with Cohen really kind of delighted me, and I suspect other film fans may find it similarly engaging.
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