Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Revenge is a dish best served cold, and for Driver (Dwayne Johnson), he's been waiting 10 years behind bars to avenge the murder of his brother. Now a free man, he can have his revenge but the hunter is also the hunted with two men trailing him. The first is a cop (Billy Bob Thornton) who's just days from retirement and the other is a young hitman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who's happy to come across such a worthy adversary.

Maybe I'm getting too old, but I'm really getting tired of gratuitous violence that's so prevalent in today's films. I like an action movie just as much as the next guy, but does the violence need to come along for the ride? That aside, the action is pretty intense and well choreographed, but Johnson and Thornton's characters are hard to root for and I couldn't wait for this one to end.

Video Highlights

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Outstanding detail
• Inky blacks
• Realistic color palette
• Inviting shadow detail and heightened contrast

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Aggressive use of the surround speakers
• Outstanding bass response
• Intelligible dialog
• Reference-quality dynamics

Sony delivers a top-notch presentation in both the audio and the video. Like most stylized films the color palette features ample orange and teal. The audio track features a plethora of discrete effects and the action scenes pack a lot of punch.

Bonus Materials br>

• Alternate ending
• Deleted scenes
• "Making-of" featurette
• Animatics
• A featurette on the weapons, cars and stunts
• BD-Live with MovieIQ

Johnson is one of my favorite action stars but I couldn't connect with his character in this one. I prefer it when he plays the good guy and I'm not a big fan of all of the violence. If you have a stronger stomach than me, then you'll probably enjoy this more than I did.

Release Date: March 1, 2011
Studio: Sony

Movie: 5/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 10/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS40 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Integra DTC-80.2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PVA-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