The Kingdom Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Kingdom Blu-ray Movie Review

Mill Creek has released Director Peter Berg's 2007 Action-Thriller 'The Kingdom' to Blu-ray. Universal originally released the film to the high definition format 15 years ago. From an A/V perspective there's not much difference here -- Mill Creek's disc holds to the same high quality 1080p visuals and aggressive and clear 5.1 lossless soundtrack -- but this presentation does ditch all of the extras from the Universal presentation. It is currently also only available from Mill Creek as part of a two film bundle with 'Miami Vice.'

The Kingdom Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of The Kingdom compares very favorably to the 2007 Universal disc; at a glance there are no significant alterations. The picture maintains the good, solid crispness and clarity seen on the Universal disc. There's no tangible downgrade to detailing; the picture thrives around its Saudi locations, bringing structural definition, facial details, and clothing lines and fabric to life with very impressive visual acumen. The picture is not lacking in the least when it comes to close-ups; facial hairs and scruff, pores, lines, and other essential details dazzle for depth, definition, and dynamic expression: viewers couldn't ask for a vastly superior presentation. Likewise, the same intricate detailing extends throughout the film, never yielding and building a perfectly agreeable picture in all ways. Color output is excellent. As with the textural accuracy, this Mill Creek disc doesn't miss when it comes to color output. The palette is aggressive and healthy, reflective of Berg's and Cinematographer Mauro Fiore's intended saturation and contrast. Black levels are deep, skin tones are dialed in, and bolder tones are aggressive and vivid without overextension. Mill Creek has not fumbled the compression, either. In fact, there are practically no compression artifacts in evidence, at least when watching from normal viewing distances. This is pretty much the equal to Universal's disc in every way.

Do note that this disc is encoded in MPEG-4 AVC; the Universal release is presented in VC-1.

The Kingdom Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like the video, there's no perceptible drop in overall quality from the Universal disc to the Mill Creek presentation. Both feature the soundtrack in the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless configuration. This one is plenty aggressive and finely tuned. The track offers a healthy, seamless sense of space. Music and environmental details are precisely integrated with wide front end berth and healthy surround implementation. The listener will feel fully immersed into the film; there are no gaps and no lack of precession placement. Musical clarity is superb. Every note is lifelike and pleasantly clear. Action elements are deep and detailed. Gunfire hits hard, explosions pack a wallop, and once again surround integration is perfect. Listeners might just be left ducking and diving when things heat up. Dialogue is clear and center positioned for the duration. There's essentially no drop in quality here compared to the Universal disc. Well done!

The Kingdom Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Universal originally released The Kingdom to Blu-ray in 2007 with a healthy assortment of bonus content. This included an audio commentary track, U-Control features, deleted scenes, and detailed featurettes. Sadly, but as is standard Mill Creek operating procedure, all of these extras have been lost in the distributor change. As it is bundled in the above referenced two pack no DVD or digital copies are included, either.

The Kingdom Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mill Creek's Blu-ray compares favorably to the Universal disc insofar as its audio-visual parameters are concerned. This Blu-ray, even as it shares a disc with Miami Vice, delivers a crisp, cinematic, highly detailed presentation that doesn't miss a beat or show any of the serious tell-tale Mill Creek compression issues. The 5.1 lossless soundtrack is likewise dynamic and intense, much like the Universal offering. Unfortunately the rather large and detailed bonus feature suite from the Universal disc is entirely gone here. Those who already own the Universal disc have no reason to upgrade, but newcomers who are not concerned with extras may as well choose this Mill Creek disc. It looks and sounds great, and also includes Miami Vice (which itself is not a downgrade from the Universal disc beyond the missing supplements) for less than the cost of the standalone disc. Recommended.