The Prince Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		1.5

The Prince Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 28, 2014

The Prince can’t escape the faint echo of the unmistakable voice of Liam Neeson intoning “I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.” For all intents and purposes, The Prince boils down to a very tired re-do of Neeson’s Taken franchise, with Jason Patric replacing Neeson as the distraught albeit “specially skilled” father in search of a missing daughter.

In one of the featurettes included on this Blu-ray as a supplement, the writers of The Prince have the audacity to suggest Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven inspired their work, but if that’s the case, truth in advertising might require this film to actually be titled Unforgivable. About as pat and by the numbers as it’s possible to get, the film follows the pummeling adventures of Patric as he attempts to retrieve his daughter, who may have fallen victim to a scheme by a long ago nemesis of Patric’s character (played by Bruce Willis in a glorified cameo). John Cusack is along for the ride in what amounts to a trifecta of once celebrated stars slumming for a paycheck.

The Prince Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Whatever its dramatic ineptitudes, The Prince offers a suitably crisp but gritty image courtesy of its AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. While quite a bit of the film has been color graded variously to shades of blue and yellow (what else is new?), detail and fine detail both remain rather strong, even in darker moments (see screenshot 4). Colors, when not tweaked, appear natural and are nicely saturated. Some of the New Orleans footage offers nice depth of field, though it appears that some stock footage may have been utilized for some establishing shots.

The Prince Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Prince features a recurring motif of an exploding car which provides the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track with a chance to strut its low end, which it does very well. A couple of marginally staged action set pieces also provide the track good immersive opportunities. Dialogue is cleanly presented and well prioritized. There are no issues of any kind to report, and fidelity remains excellent throughout the film.

The Prince Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary with Director Brian A. Miller and Actor Jason Patric


• Capturing The Prince: Behind the Scenes (1080p; 9:58)


• Extended Scenes (1080p; 10:28)


• Interview with Cast and Crew (1080p; 14:10)


• The Prince Trailer (1080p; 2:33)

The Prince Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

How far the mighty have fallen. This sad excuse for a film probably best demonstrates how eager some performers are to keep raking in cash, even when there's not much there that they're actually earning that money from. The Prince is a royal flush, so to speak, but its technical presentation is very strong for those with an interest in the title.