This review rates the picture and sound as I am a video and audiophile as well as the storyline for the movie.
The video is presented in full 1080p (my 42 inch plasma TV goes up to 1080i). The images are clean and clear with very good color and clarity throughout the movie.
The audio track contains a DTS Master Audio 5.1 mix as well as a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. I played the DTS Master Audio track back and I found the overall presentation clear though a little on the subtle side. For example, many scenes take place outdoors and I didn't hear a lot of presence in the surround field in the way of ambient sound effects. There are some nice low frequency effects when explosions occur that are not wall shattering.
I am not an avid reader of comic books. With that out of the way the storyline is essentially a prequel to the first three X-Men movies; more specifically the character Wolverines back story.
I really liked the initial trailer for the X-Men Origins movie I saw but like most movie trailers sometimes what you see in the trailer makes the overall movie actually look better then it is.
I think where the storyline falls short is the back story that was chosen for the script and to a lesser degree how said back story was presented. The best way to describe how I felt when the movie was finished was that I was not excited and awed by the storyline. I will leave it at that as I don't know the full back story myself and am now interested to read Wolverines' back story to see what may have been omitted, or, as so often happens with comic book to movie adaptations, changed.
Overall ratings:
Picture: 4.5 out of 5
Sound: 3.0 out of 5
Story: 2.5 out of 5
I've yet to invest in a Blu-Ray player (my family always seems to be really behind when it comes to technology), but I've been thinking about it. We've got two big screen HDTVs (or one actual HDTV and one that's very close to it...can't remember), so we could definitely get benefit out of it. I just don't know if I like the idea of spending the kind of money I'd have to on the discs. I collect DVDs, and it'd be an expensive investment. Of course, it wouldn't be for every film, just the ones with really flashy and awesome visuals. How important is having a good sound system for blu-ray? We've never invested in surround sound or anything like that.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Wolverine story was lacking as well, but it was still a fun summer film. I don't think it'd be one I'd buy right away, maybe in a year or two when it's in the bargain section.
I wasn't a big fan of the film - I want to see more adventures with the X-Men: what happened to Cyclops and Professor X? Etc...
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question about sound Jennifer blu-ray disc technology is 'uncompressed' and is two times more powerful then conventional sound on a DVD. Because of the amount of space available on the DVD format versus the blu-ray format, the sound on the DVD format is 'compressed'.
ReplyDeleteSo, the long and short of it is that the sound potential on the blu-ray format can be amazing and pretty much what you would hear in an actual movie theater.
Unfortunately, many of the early Blu-ray releases contained just the original or a standard DVD sound mix. Also, one has to remember that post production on any given movie is more often not the same group of individuals or company who did the original sound production on the movie; different sound engineers and different equipment means different sound quality on home based formats like DVD and blu-ray.
I personally do not want to pay just for the high definition picture as I want the high definition sound to maximize my home theater system.
So, to sum up, ask yourself some questions before venturing into the realm of surround sound:
What genres of movies do you watch? If you watch a lot of action, sci-fi, and thrillers as opposed to comedies and drama, then a surround system would be a nice way to get more bang from those genres of movies.
What types of TV programs do you watch? Again, think of the genres of TV shows you watch regularly.
Do you have any video game consoles that would benefit from the surround sound experience?
If you are into at least 2 of the aforementioned surround sound scenarios then a seperate receiver and 5.1 speaker system would be a good investement.
If you are into just 1 of the aforementioned surround sound scenarios then you can by a 'mini' system that is bare bones and not to big and bulky.
If none of the above surround sound scenarios applies then you can either stick with your speakers on your TV; or, get a simple 2 chanel receiver and a pair of decent speakers to enhance the 2 channel playback.
Pioneer makes a great mini system with small satellite speakers.
For the seperate receiver/speaker route you can look into Yamaha, Sony, Denon, Marantz, etc.
I would avoid going to big box retaliers such as Best Buy or Future Shop and instead go to places like Visions or Advance as the staff at Visions and Advance are usually well versed in the products they carry and can answer more questions.
If you go to Advance at some point in the future ask for Chris. Tell him Michael sent you! He knows who I am.
Oh wow, thanks for the long response! I watch a very wide variety of films, but I'd say my collection would mostly be drama, and I don't play enough video games to warrant a bigger system, so I think I'd probably go with the smaller system. That, and I've never really been one to notice too much of a difference between surround sound and the sound that comes out of the tv speakers. I mean, I do notice it, but not as much as you probably do. I think I could get away with a smaller system for awhile, if I do decide to see about getting one. Not sure I want to be spending the money right now when I'm not working...
ReplyDelete