Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Former MI-6 spy Ray Koval (Clive Owen) is hired by a CEO (Paul Giamatti) to help steal industry secrets from a rival corporation. To Ray's surprise, the mole inside said corporation is none other than Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts), who's duplicitous behavior five years earlier cost him his career. How did he get himself into this mess?

As a fan of Lost, I'm used to flashbacks that reveal hidden mysteries of my favorite characters. Unfortunately, in Duplicity, the flashbacks in the first act baffle the viewer more than inform, and if it wasn't for the star power of Owen and Roberts, I would have probably pushed the eject button. Fortunately, the payoff in the second and third acts was worth the time investment. Director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) weaves an interesting tale, and the two leads sizzle when they share the screen.

The1080p/AVC encode is free of any major issues, although the contrast is a tad hot in daytime scenes. Black levels are generally deep, even though they're slightly crushed at times, harming shadow delineation. Skin tones are accurate and exhibit moderately good detail, only occasionally looking waxy.

Complimenting the video is a solid DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack that exhibits excellent detail, especially during the dialog-intensive scenes. The LFE is understated and rarely used, and the rear channels provide suitable ambience, especially during the exterior shots in downtown New York City. Overall, the track is mostly geared toward the front soundstage, but given the genre, this is to be expected.

The sparse supplements include a feature commentary from writer/director Tony Gilroy and editor/co-producer John Gilroy. The only other bonus feature is BD-Live, which provides access to some downloadable trailers for other Universal films.

In the end, I found Duplicity to be somewhat rewarding and entertaining, although I'm not sure it should have been marketed as a romantic comedy. The corporate-espionage angle was interesting, albeit confusing at first, but the conclusion ties things together well. It definitely has a unique way of telling the story, and the presentation is good enough to warrant a rental.

Release Date: August 25, 2009
Studio: Universal

Movie: 6/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics