Above the Law Blu-ray

Above the Law Blu-ray

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Video Video codec: VC-1 Video resolution: 1080p Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Audio English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English: Dolby Digital 5.1 French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1... (more) English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English: Dolby Digital 5.1 French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 German: Dolby Digital 5.1 Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (less) Subtitles English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish (less) Discs 25GB Blu-ray Disc

Price List price: $14.98  Amazon: $9.99 (Save 33%) Third party: $8.42 (Save 44%) Usually ships in 24 hours Blu-ray rating Users 3.8 Reviewer 2.0 Overall 3.0 Based on 6 user ratings Playback Region A (B, C untested)

Above the Law

I assumed a twenty-year old actioner like Above the Law would be hindered by a shoddy source, but I was surprised to find the film's handlers have preserved the original print quite well. The result is a 1080p/VC-1 transfer that looks pretty good... especially when you consider the fact that it hasn't been blessed with one of Warner's expensive frame-by-frame restorations. Even though frequent print specks and scratches still pop up on occasion, artifacting, banding, and digital noise do not. Likewise, while the film's stormy grain is aggressive and uneven, colors remain strong, fleshtones are naturally saturated, and comfortable contrast leveling injects some much-needed depth into the proceedings. Granted, fine detail is underwhelming compared to the best catalog remasters on the market -- too many soft shots litter director Andrew Davis' cut, texture clarity leaves a lot to be desired, and noisy, indistinct nighttime sequences hinder the impact of the overall presentation -- but I was satisfied with object definition and shadow delineation throughout. If I have any serious complaint, it's that telecine wobble destabilizes the image and gives it frequent (albeit minimal) seizures. In the end, Above the Law delivers a solid transfer that bests its standard DVD counterpart in every way. It's just unfortunate that it won't blow away Segal fans or Blu-ray regulars.

Above the Law Blu-ray, Audio Quality

Above the Law's video transfer may have escaped my critical wrath, but its Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track is too flat and flawed to get a pass. Dialogue is often overblown and overbearing, sitting high above the soundscape rather than dwelling within it. LFE tones pulse on cue, but fail to add any convincing weight or heft to the film's gimmicky effects. Worse still, the rear speakers are a barren wilderness, cramming the majority of the painfully uninvolving soundfield into the center channel. Directionality severely suffers as a result, pans are clunky and ineffective, and the tink-tak-tunk of David Frank's unoriginal techno-score sound as if it's been surgically removed from the rest of the mix. It all amounts to a lossless track that offers nothing more than a negligible upgrade over the audio package on the standard DVD.

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