7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Mitchell family road trip is interrupted by a tech uprising that threatens mankind.
Starring: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Michael Rianda, Eric AndréAnimation | 100% |
Family | 79% |
Comedy | 39% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
It seems that they always come in pairs, and for 2021 it was the pairing of animated films that deal with the proliferation of artificial intelligence and its relation to mankind. In Ron's Gone Wrong, a defective robot befriends a boy who has no flesh and blood friends. In The Mitchells vs. the Machines, a dysfunctional family fights together to fend off the robot apocalypse but must overcome its own internal strife to do so. Ron is the sweeter film while The Mitchells vs. The Machines is the more involved and crammed with cinema stuff, but it works as an amalgamation of modern moviedom tied into mild social commentary on everything from family strife to technology's proliferation in the world.
As expected from a major studio and a high-end production, the 1080p transfer is a delight. The Mitchells vs. the Machines boasts first class definition and detail, yielding a wonderfully crisp, clean, and efficient animation presentation that excels in every shot, scene, and sequence. Viewers will enjoy superb clarity to character models, including more complex human features and smooth and streamlined robot features. The movie is crammed with all sorts of odds and ends location details and props, all of which are razor sharp and clean. Color output is dynamic as well, with big, bold, intensive colors leaping off the screen in every shot. One can only wonder what an HDR pass would have done for a theoretical UHD release, but as it is the Blu-ray delivers superb punch and tonal vitality to a very neutrally oriented palette. Contrast and temperature hold serve, whites are crisp and dynamic, and blacks are deep and true. There are no serious source blemishes or encode artifacts to worry about. This is an A-grade transfer from Sony.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack which doesn't always play up to par. It's a bit timid and reserved at reference volume, lacking authoritative push and the sort of excelling dynamics one would expect of a (non-Disney) action packed animation. While the track offers plenty of surround integration it can never quite push to that audio endgame of perfect balance of intensity and depth. It's timid and a little flat but workable as it is. Musical and action clarity are generally impressive, as is the sense of space. Dialogue is clear and maintains good prioritization and center positioning for the duration.
This disc includes two cuts of the film: the "Original Film" (1:49:38) and the "Katie's Extended Cinematic Bonanza Cut!" (1:52:48 and preceded
by a minute-long director's intro). This longer cut includes alternate scenes in a more basic animation style. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies
Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. Also included is a small, folded sheet with director's notes; be ready to read with a
magnifying
glass. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.
Quite frequently The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a resounding success, particularly in its opening act and through much of the middle stretch. However, a dullard of a core story pitting creative, free-spirited daughter against a more conservatively minded father feels trite, and the movie is too long through its middle stretch, which grows repetitious. The ending is a bit trite, too. All that said, the movie is free flowing and fun, mostly, and many of its flaws could have been fixed in the editing room. Sony's Blu-ray delivers high yield video, able bodied audio, and a handful of extras. Recommended.
2022
2022
2004
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2016
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2018
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2020
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2016
Collector's Edition
2023
2022
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2004
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