6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Former U.S. soldier Chris Vaughn returns to his hometown to find it overrun by crime and corruption, which prompts him to clean house.
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Johnny Knoxville, Neal McDonough, Michael Bowen, Ashley ScottAction | 100% |
Thriller | 60% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional)
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Meat. Potatoes. Football. Nascar. Overstuffed recliners. HEMIs. Apple Pie. Guns & Ammo. ESPN. Mmm... it's good to be a man. Sunday afternoon naps, rights to the remote, and a love of cheesy '80s and '90s Schwarzenegger movies only make it that much sweeter. Or so I've been told by guys who've declared themselves gruffer and tougher than I'll ever be. No gentlemen, I'm not a traditionalist when it comes to gender: I don't lounge in a chair while someone else cooks and cleans, I don't lord over the love of my life, and I rarely make plans without consulting the powers that be (if you're unsure of who that is, you've never been married). No gentlemen, my wife issued an official memo long before we tied the knot stating any such nonsense was strictly forbidden. And, as far as I'm concerned, we're much happier for it. My only man-outlet is action movies: run-n-gun, 'splosion-soaked, testosterone-infused action movies. Maybe that's why I'm such a sucker for Walking Tall, an early entry in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's cinematic canon that finds the former wrestler cracking skulls in a small town with, I kid you not, a four-by-four. I know, I know... its plot is flimsy, its script is as predictable as they come, and its characters are thin stereotypes leftover from a bygone age of filmmaking, but I just can't help myself.
It's far from perfect, but it would be an absolute wreck without Johnson's personable performance...
At first glance, Walking Tall's 1080p/MPEG-2 transfer delivers a fairly promising high definition image: cinematographer Glen MacPherson's subdued palette is somber but authentic, skintones are restrained but natural, and blacks are thoroughly absorbing. More importantly, object definition and dimensionality is impressive, often injecting a fitting sense of depth into what could have been a lifeless presentation. However, upon closer inspection, a stifling assortment of technical issues suggest MGM's uneven efforts have been sitting on the back-burner for some time. Contrast leveling is inconsistent and shadow delineation is unreliable, flattening foregrounds and obscuring background detail on a frequent basis. Fine textures have been smeared away with a somewhat overzealous application of noise reduction, and heavy-handed edge enhancement has been used in an attempt to negate the resulting reduction in clarity. Worse still, distinct artifacting (the sort that plagued early Blu-ray releases in 2006), contrast wavering, bursts of digital noise, intermittent softness, a distracting amount of print damage (particularly for a film made in 2004), minor aliasing, and even a bit of motion blur make numerous appearances.
All things considered, Walking Tall is positively average. Had it been available alongside the earliest batch of Blu-rays released on the market, I might have been more forgiving. But seeing as it's a brand-spanking-new 2009 release, I'm quite disappointed.
Walking Tall's Blu-ray debut may be burdened with a haphazard video transfer, but it lightens the load with a brisk and proficient DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. Once you get past the earsplitting metal riffs of the film's lumbering soundtrack, you'll actually find a lot to love about the disc's sonics. Dialogue is bright and intelligible, low-end extension is refined and unflinching, and the rear speakers enhance an already immersive soundfield with a solid sampling of ambient effects and acoustic prowess. The casino sounds suitably crowded, shattering slot machines rain glass and plastic onto the floor, and a third-act cedar mill scuffle is relatively involving. Even though directionality isn't as precise as I had hoped -- the sound designers apparently ascribe to a more-is-more philosophy -- pans are smooth and dynamics are commanding. Walking Tall doesn't deliver a reference lossless track (by any stretch of the imagination), but it does handle the film's stocky mix with ease.
Like most MGM releases of late, the Blu-ray edition of Walking Tall includes a 1080p presentation of the film on a BD-25 disc, and a copy of its 2004 standard DVD counterpart. Normally, I would applaud the versatility this offers consumers. Don't have a Blu-ray player in your bedroom? No problem, the studio has included a DVD as well. However, in this case, all of the special features have been left on the DVD, meaning anyone who wants to listen to Walking Tall's commentaries will have to do so while watching the fugly 480p version of the film. Frankly, I don't mind when the video content in a title's supplemental package is relegated to a DVD disc -- especially when the studio has no intention of upgrading its behind-the-scenes material to high definition -- but I'm annoyed that MGM couldn't be bothered to drag-n-drop two additional audio tracks onto the roomy Blu-ray disc itself. Bad form, MGM... bad form.
Walking Tall isn't for everyone -- certainly not the highbrow intellectuals among you who've made it this far into my review -- but it is the sort of big-dumb-fun actioner I sometimes find myself drawn to. Unfortunately, its Blu baptism is a thoroughly hit-or-miss affair. While MGM's noteworthy DTS-HD Master Audio track adds substantial value to the release, a horribly dated video transfer, a slim set of supplements, and a cumbersome bonus DVD relegates Walking Tall to the ever-mounting Blu-ray bargain bin. If you already own the DVD, picking up this release is a no-brainer. Its AV presentation is flawed, but it still blows away the SD version of the film. That being said, newcomers and more casual fans should probably rent this one before committing to a purchase.
2019
2006
2016
2018
2014
15th Anniversary
2007
2003
2011
2013
2013
2017
1985
2015
2022
2004
1989
2010
2010
2015
2019