3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Although he’s never seen combat, Major William Cage crosses the wrong general and finds himself on the front lines of a D-Day-like battle in France where he stands no chance of survival against an onslaught of ridiculously superior alien invaders. Within minutes of landing on the beach, he’s killed by one of those aliens, but instead of heading toward a white light, he instantly wakes up the day before the attack, and now he is destined to live that day over and over. In lieu of becoming alien fodder again, he hooks up with a heroic Special Forces warrior, and they hatch a plan to get Cage trained for battle and embark on a journey to rid the planet of the aliens for good.

U.S. movie audiences are idiots. Edge of Tomorrow, renamed Live Die Repeat for its home video release, was one of the best summer films in years, and yet it barely sold $100 million worth of tickets. Granted, when I saw the trailer, I was afraid that each trip through the time loop would get repetitive and boring, but director Doug Liman keeps it fresh, often funny, and you can’t help but like the main characters and root for them to win.

For the most part, Warner’s post-production 3D conversion job provides a pleasing 3D experience as long as the camera stays in one place, but when the action kicks up and Cage and his band of brothers are on the beach, the shaky-cam shots don’t translate very well, and the darker scenes look overly flat and murky. Fortunately, the 2D presentation is one of the best of the year. Contrast and color saturation are spot-on, details are mesmerizing, and the black levels are to die for, over and over again.

The audio is amazing, but be sure to turn the volume down when the movie begins because there’s a low-frequency sweep that could literally blow out your speakers if played too loudly. After that point, buckle in and enjoy the ride as discrete effects fly around the room. Intense LFE will attempt to liquefy your bowels, and the dialogue never loses its focus, despite all the action.

Supplements include five featurettes about the production as well some deleted scenes. There’s also a DVD and Digital Copy thrown in for good measure.

This is my favorite movie of the year, and I’m shocked that the fourth Transformers blew it away at the box office. Regardless, the A/V presentation is outstanding, and this disc deserves a place in your collection. Highly recommended.

Blu-Ray 3D
Studio: Warner Bros., 2014
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Length: 113 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton