6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A pro tennis player has lost his ambition and has fallen in rank to 119. Fortunately for him, he meets a young player on the women's circuit who helps him recapture his focus for Wimbledon
Starring: Paul Bettany, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Neill, Jon Favreau, Bernard HillRomance | 100% |
Comedy | 71% |
Sport | 12% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Tennis at its highest level of competition is the backdrop for Director Richard Loncraine’s (Firewall) Wimbledon, an agreeable little film that blends the sports drama and RomCom genres into a pleasantly effective entertainer. The focus follows an aging star who is reignited by his last shot at glory and a new chance at romance. It’s more concerned with how the romance impacts play on the court so the game is certainly the film’s first priority. But Loncraine and his team of writers effectively merge the components and, with the help of a very strong lead performance from Paul Bettany, build a solid film that plays well start to finish.
Universal serves up a fairly impressive transfer for Wimbledon. The 1080p presentation is pleasantly organic, retaining a fine grain structure and a healthy level of inherent detailing. The picture is crisp and firm, well capable of delivering satisfying core elements on faces and environments alike, from ritzy hotel rooms to the fine textures on the tennis courts. This is not eye-popping stuff by any stretch of the imagination, but the picture's essential stability and steadfast adherence to its natural film state certainly elevates it a good bit. Colors are a little on the warm side by design, impacting everything from faces to clothes, but colors are generally cheerful and bright, well saturated and never appearing either overly faded nor grossly overcooked. Black levels impress for depth and stability. The print is free of all but the most insignificant pops and speckles and the compression was likewise handled with care; there are no signs of artifacts to be seen. This is a good one from Universal.
The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack introduces some variable and active surround sound elements only moments into the movie when thoughts swirl through Peter's head as he's about to serve. Such are repeated at several key junctures throughout as the film peers into his psyche, usually in the middle of an important tennis match. Surrounds carry plenty of other information too, including some fine natural atmosphere which filters through the stage at Peter's family's estate in several scenes. Additionally, immersive crowd din at matches or packed cafeterias easily draw the listener into some of the film's most active and key locations. Music plays with pleasant spacing and fidelity. Dialogue is clear and center focused but playback revealed some minor lip sync issues which matured into severity at the 35-minute mark. Fortunately this scene is not representative of the whole, but it's so far off at that point as to be a major distraction.
This Blu-ray release of Wimbledon contains a few featurettes and an audio commentary track. There is no "top menu" screen. Pressing that
button on the remote simply restarts the film from the beginning. The extras can only be accessed in-film from a crude "pop-up" menu. No DVD or
digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.
Wimbledon: a sweet and simple feel good volley of a film that feels genuine and sincere. It's not beholden to cliché – either in its sports scenes or its romantic scenes – and even if it's more or less predictable it's the heartfelt path it takes to get there that sees it stand above others. Universal's Blu-ray delivers solid video and audio presentations in addition to a handful of supplements. Highly recommended.
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