High-def movie review roundup – Blu-ray and HD DVD

The Kingdom – HD DVD

Following a terrorist attack at a housing compound in Saudi Arabia a specialist team lead by FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) arrives on scene to investigate. What follows is a CSI-style investigation, with the team gradually putting together the pieces and pinpointing who is responsible for the attack. It’s fairly slow-burning for the first half, but builds to a highly entertaining and thrilling climax.

The shaky cam action might grate with some, as too might the fairly thin characters on show, but solid performances from the entire cast – notably Foxx and Chris Cooper – ensure even the slow opening doesn’t overstay its welcome.

The Kingdom is presented with an amazingly sharp 1080p transfer, offering impressive fine detail and clarity even during high motion sequences. The movie features intentionally high contrast, meaning whites are exaggerated and you can forget about accurate flesh tones, but this does give the picture a warm feel throughout. Sadly there is an occasional occurrence of artefacting, but on the whole The Kingdom looks hugely impressive.

While not as impressive as the film’s video, the audio is no slouch. It’s not until the movie’s finale where the action really kicks in though, but these sequences are certainly worth the wait. Those with the suitable equipment for TrueHD audio will also be disappointed that this track was dropped, leaving only a Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 track.

Bonus features are plentiful, including a mix of the SD content from the DVD release (some now in HD) and some all-new HD content. You get an Audio commentary by director Peter Berg, an eight-part making of documentary, a feature on the freeway sequence in the movie, 11 minutes of deleted scenes in high definition and history of the Kingdom timeline – an interactive feature covering the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US.

The exclusive HD extras are also well worth a look, including a Picture In Picture mode that runs throughout the film, offering cast interviews, behind the scenes footage and other information. The disc also features a second PiP feature, this time offering a series of interesting facts throughout the course of the movie. Rounding off the extras are a U-Control action sequence feature, a very impressive U-Control feature based on the Apartment Shootout sequence, some web enabled content and the ability to place custom bookmarks.

The Kingdom proved engrossing from the off and delivered in spades in the final third. The presentation on HD DVD is also very impressive and a solid selection of extras round off what is a excellent package. The HD DVD format is on the way out, but those already invested in the format should certainly give this one a look.

Verdict: 4/5

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Check out page two for reviews of The Heartbreak Kid, War and 3:10 To Yuma.

The Heartbreak Kid – HD DVD

Call me pleasantly surprised by this latest Farrelly Brothers, Ben Stiller movie, which takes more than a few cues from the albeit much more successful There’s Something About Mary. It’s not as outrageous as the aforementioned comedy, but certainly is more explicit in its delivery. However, it offers plenty of genuinely funny moments amidst an unusual love story.

The audio and video presentations are also top notch, in particular the movie’s exotic holiday locations brimming with lush vibrant colours. Extra content is nothing special, offering a commentary by the Farrelly brothers, deleted scenes and a gag reel amongst other bits and pieces. The movie presentation is also billed as the uncut version.

Verdict: 3/5

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WAR – Blu-ray

This Jason Statham, Jet Li action title promised much, but ultimately fails despite an interesting premise. War is essentially a story of revenge, caught up in a battle between the Triads and the Yakuza. There are certainly some impressive action sequences, but Jet Li’s skills are massively underused, with the majority of the action boiling down to some lacklustre gun fights. It’s also very slow to get going and doesn’t really get into top gear until the final third, by which time you may have lost interest altogether.

The presentation is a mixed bag, at times breathtaking but also displaying disappointing amounts of compressions artefacts and poor detail. Audio is top notch though. It’s loud, well balanced and features very aggressive use of the surrounds. Extra content is pretty much by the book and includes an audio commentary, deleted scenes and gag reel. Best is the high definition “The War Chest” section offering 72 minutes of behind the scenes and making of information on the movie’s major action sequences.

Verdict: 2/5

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3:10 To Yuma

You don’t see many Westerns these days, but this Bale and Crow remake certainly delivers – quick-draw gunfights and high-speed horseback chases included. It’s engaging from the off and, while you could probably pick away at some of the story, excellent performances from the leads help the two hour run-time fly by.

Set for the most part outdoors, the 1080p transfer does a wonderful job at bringing the rich pallet of colours to the home screen. There are a few minor problems, including some haloing as a result of some edge enhancement, but this doesn’t prevent the film from being a treat for the eyes. The audio too is top rate stuff, bursting into life during the film’s action sequences. The impressive package is rounded off with a host of extras brought over from the DVD release, plus some content exclusive to the Blu-ray release.

Verdict: 4/5

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