Blu-ray Movie Reviews

With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.

Without a doubt the best movie I’ve seen this year and an amazing follow-up to Christopher Nolan’s breakthrough reimagining of the Batman series. This film is a departure from what we normally see from comic book films and deals with incredibly dark themes that stay completely grounded within the real world. Sure the characters are bizarre, but the forces at work blend together in such a believable way that you can’t help but be disturbed with the concepts. Everything about this film excels and the performances from Bale and Ledger culminate in the best comic to film production one could almost imagine.

I had the opportunity to see this twice in theaters. One of those presentations was in IMAX and the other was a large venue film presentation. Nolan decided to film several key sequences from this movie with IMAX cameras, which deliver a considerably higher resolution than traditional 35mm film. These sequences are scattered throughout the film and the Blu-ray offers a shifting aspect ratio to deal with the disparity in aspect ratio. IMAX is typically 1.66:1 but for this Blu-ray release Warner has reframed the IMAX footage to 1.78:1 while the 35mm footage is delivered in 2.35:1. When I saw this film in IMAX I rarely noticed the change in aspect ratio due to the incredibly tall screen and I wondered how well this would translate to the Blu-ray release. Thankfully it has translated very well. The shifting aspect ratio was never distracting, but I did notice a bigger difference between the two film stocks than I did in the IMAX Theater. The standard photography is VERY dark but shadow detail is preserved nicely. Detail seems a bit exaggerated at times and the image has a slightly hard look to it. Depth of image is good but the overall dimensionality wasn’t quite as strong as I was hoping for. The IMAX footage is something else though. The increased resolution is staggering and wonderfully dimension in comparison. Seeing these sequences makes you wish they would have shot the entire film in this format. Every detail is exquisite and the scale of the photography is incredible. Overall the IMAX footage is reference quality but the standard footage fell just a bit short of reference with its subtle issues including a bit of ringing from time to time.

Warner delivers a powerhouse Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack for this one. Everything is exemplary here; from sound design, scoring and overall balance to its staggering dynamic range. This is one of the most intense soundtracks I’ve heard in the low end this year with bass extension that is system threatening. The soundtrack does a great job with subtle infrasonics and action sequences have incredible range that is balanced perfectly with the jaunting score. The track is recorded a bit hot for a Warner mix but I didn’t feel like the action or score drowned out the dialogue or ambiance of the mix. This is a very intense and fast moving film and the soundtrack does a great job of keeping you on edge through most of the film. A pure reference quality audio presentation with startling dynamics and range.

Warner delivers their summer giant in a 3-disc set that includes a digital copy of the film for PC or portable device playback. The main feature includes a “focus point” feature that provides insights into the film throughout the film or you can view them on their own. This includes insight into some of the key action sequences, sound design, working in IMAX and character development. I like that Warner made this accessible one its own as I enjoyed watching them more on their own then during the film.

The second disc delves even more into the production of the film and provides insight into the new tech of the film. There is also a feature on the themes and psychology of the film and its concepts but ultimately I didn’t find this as entertaining as the production material. Warner has also expanded on the “Gotham Tonight” broadcasts from the film and gives you a few extra episodes. An art gallery featuring concept art, poster art and production art is included along with the film’s trailers and TV ads.

I can’t imagine not owning this one. This film is poised to be the biggest opening week Blu-ray yet and Warner has done a great job with the presentation. The video fell just a bit short of expectations with the standard photography but I tend to nitpick. This is still a must-own in my opinion.