Blu-ray Review: Wanted (2008) - Page 3

Those effects and the film as a whole look very good in High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1. There is a lot of great detail, from the carving on a CG bullet to strands of Jolie’s hair moving in slow motion. However, overuse of CG, like rats, takes the viewer out of the moment. The colors have a great dynamic range and are well rendered from black to white, especially the brightness of Fox’s cherry-red Dodge Viper. It pops off the screen.

The audio is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. It has a hip, booming soundtrack with a score by Danny Elfman and Nine Inch Nails’ “Every Day is Exactly the Same.” The bass is overmodulated at times, causing distortion through the speakers and subwoofer. Surprisingly in a movie so focused on action, the dialogue is well balanced in the mix.

Blu-ray offers U-Control, which allows access to picture-in-picture commentary track (and a fantastic option which allows one to have ability to alter the PiP volume), motion comics that match the scene on screen with narration and sound effects or that can be viewed separately, assassin profiles, and a scene explorer to see the movie from three different perspectives.

Other features included are the usual Alternate Opening, Extended Scene, and interviews of the cast. Because of all the hard work behind the camera, the disc offers a good amount of behind-the-scenes features for those that want to learn how the movie was made: “Stunts on the L Train,” “Special Effects: The Art of the Impossible,” “Groundbreaking [according to them] Visual Effects: From Imagination to Execution,” “The Origins of Wanted: Bringing the Graphic Novel to Life,” “Through the Eyes of Visionary [it’s never a good sign if they have to tell you he is] Director Timur Bekmambetov.

There is also “Making of Wanted: The Game,” which is likely an ancillary product that helped sell the movie. The disc even offers a secret unlockable code (01001111) for the game to unlock Super Weapons.

When all was said and done, I wanted back the time I wasted watching this mess and quickly listed it for sale.

Article Author: El Bicho

El Bicho writes for a number of movie web sites, including Cinema Sentries, which he runs for the geniuses of Forwerd Media. He also occasionally cleans up around here. Follow at twitter.com/ElBicho_CS

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