5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A rag tag unit of misfits known as the War Pigs must go behind enemy lines to exterminate Nazis by any means necessary.
Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Luke Goss, Chuck Liddell, Mickey Rourke, Noah SeganAction | 100% |
War | 39% |
History | 25% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
War Pigs should have been called War Clichés. Director Ryan Little's (Saints and Soldiers) film essentially pieces together The Dirty Dozen and The Guns of Navarone and calls it a (low budget) movie. In War Pigs, a ragtag group of soldiers known as, yes, "The War Pigs," must train to go behind enemy lines and deal with a massive weapon capable of leveling entire cities. Sound familiar? It should. There may not be a World War II film so devoid of creativity as this one. From character personalities to their standard issue training regimen, from group internal strife to unsurprising gelling at the end, there's no shortage of obvious genre familiarity at play for the duration. Add in a dearth of action -- and routine action when the bullets do fly -- and War Pigs stumbles through a brief runtime and proves to be one of the most forgettable War films ever made.
The pigs.
War Pigs lacks the traditional war movie grit and grain in favor of an almost excessively smooth digital sheen that doesn't reduce detail but that does disrupt the classic filmic stylings many audiences might expect of a movie of this variety. That said, aside from the disappointing aesthetics, there's little room for complaint from a purely technical perspective. Details are terrific. Military uniforms are very revealing, particularly the rougher, worn-down spots, frays, and caked-on mud and blood. Faces are likewise complex and effortlessly so. Pores, scruff, and wounds are on full display. Background support pieces are sharp and detailed, particularly woodland foliage and terrain. An overhead shot of dense forest is smeary but it's the only example in the movie. Colors are fine, limited largely to numerous shades of natural and combat uniform greens. Various earthy shades support and red blood and Nazi paraphernalia add some vibrance to the palette. Black levels and skin tones are fine. Noise is an occasional problem, but banding, aliasing, macroblocking, and other maladies are not of any concern.
War Pigs features an active and immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. While not quite as precise, fully enveloping, and totally immersive as tracks supporting bigger movies with a substantially larger budget, this track is no slouch. Action scenes, few and scattered as they may be, are excellent. Machine gun fire rattles around the stage, seeming to emanate from various locations around the listening area. Semi automatic rifle shots crack with a nice bit of natural weight and pop. Armor rumbles through the stage with more than enough rattly, weighty bass. Planes occasionally zip around the listening area. Minor woodland ambience, like snapping twigs and singing birds, help define the environment outside of battle. General background sounds at the military camp are lively and filling. Music enjoys good all-around definition and detail, including a bit of surround support. Dialogue delivery is clear and detailed with positive center balance.
This Blu-ray release of War Pigs contains no supplemental content. Note that this package does include a DVD copy of the film.
Truth be told, War Pigs is a decent enough movie in a vacuum and one that adults who used to devour these sorts of movies as a kid might like as a light new entry into the WWII genre. But compared to even mediocre genre films, it's completely, utterly, and totally unoriginal. It brings nothing new to the table. Character arcs are tired. The plot is recycled. The action is bland. It looks good enough for what was clearly a fairly cheap production, but truly there's not a thing here worthy of a recommendation, outside of maybe enjoying Dolph Lundgren do his best French accent. The Blu-ray, though completely devoid of supplements, is fine. Video and audio shine but that's hardly reason anymore to give a disc a look. Sad to say, but skip it.
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