Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Blu-ray

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

 (1999)

Comedy | Crime | Thriller



Streetwise charmer Eddie (Nick Moran) enters the biggest card game of his life with the savings of his three best friends: Tom (Jason Flemyng), Bacon (Jason Statham) and Soap (Dexter Fletcher). But he leaves the table owing his underworld boss Hatchet Harry half a million and has a week to come up with the money. Now Eddie and his friends must outsmart and outgun all types of lowlifes on their way to pay off Harry before time runs out.

For more details about Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels on Blu-ray, see the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Blu-ray Review

Starring: Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Nicholas Rowe
Director: Guy Ritchie

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels has never been an attractive film -- part of its charm lies in the grit and grime of its sepia-toned, neo-noir visuals -- but Universal's 1080p/VC-1 transfer is an unrepentant mess. Yes, compared to its decidedly dated DVD counterpart, colors are more stable and vibrant, black levels are much deeper, and detail is more refined and revealing. Unfortunately, overzealous artificial sharpening results in a number of issues. Frequent aliasing, ringing, serrated edges, and aggressive bursts of razor-sharp grain undermine the integrity of the transfer, cursing the presentation with an unnatural, digitized haze that robs the image of what could presumably be a convincing filmic appearance. It doesn't help that smudged textures and softness are more pronounced, specks and scratches pepper the proceedings, and contrast is pushed to such an extreme that clarity, skintones, and delineation take significant hits. As for the proficiency of the transfer itself, crush is a consistent issue, but artifacting and banding are kept to a minimum; grain spikes and lulls as it always has, but obvious smearing leaves me to believe DNR has been used on many sequences. That being said, it's tough to tell where Ritchie's production limitations end and Universal's fugly transfer begins. Desperate DVD owners will be somewhat pleased with any upgrade, even an inherent one, but newcomers and videophiles will be far less forgiving. Brace yourselves, gents.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track represents a substantial step up from the standard mixes that have preceded it, but isn't nearly as polished or powerful as I had hoped. While gunshots pack the requisite lossless kick and LFE output is heartier and more robust than ever before, rear speaker activity is spotty, voices are occasionally swallowed by ensuing chaos, and normalization issues abound. Unreliable dynamics age Lock, Stock by an extra five years as well, leaving the film at the mercy of its relatively limited budget and its director's showmanship. Thankfully, the majority of Ritchie's rat-a-tat-tat dialogue is intelligible and well-prioritized, the satisfying kick-kack of automatic weapon fire lends intensity to several standout scenes, and some much-needed directional realism makes the overall experience moderately immersive. Is there room for improvement? Definitely. A complete overhaul could eliminate additional issues (like a faint hiss that periodically graces the soundscape) and smooth out some of the film's stockier pans (among other minor mishaps). Even so, Lock, Stock diehards will find Universal's DTS-HD MA track to be more than adequate.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Today on Blu-ray - December 1st - December 1, 2009


• Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels Blu-ray Bound - September 25, 2009

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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