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S.W.A.T. Blu-ray |
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S.W.A.T. Blu-ray
Sony Pictures | 2003 | 117 mins | Rated PG-13 | Sep 19, 2006
S.W.A.T.(2003)Action | Crime     Jim Street (Colin Farrell) is a former S.W.A.T. team member, who along with his partner Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner), is thrown off the team in the aftermath of a controversial decision they made during a robbery/hostage standoff. Gamble quits the force in disgust, but for Street, being a policeman is his life and he agrees to a demotion, hoping to someday have the chance to redeem himself and once again wear the privileged S.W.A.T. uniform. He gets that chance when team commander Dan "Hondo" Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) is assigned to recruit and train five top-notch officers for a new Special Weapons and Tactics unit. After weeks of rigorous physical training, the new team is immediately thrown into action when a notorious drug lord, offers a $100 million bounty to anyone who can free him from police custody. As they escort the kingpin out of Los Angeles into the hands of the Feds, the S.W.A.T. team is pursued by a ruthless and well-armed band of mercenaries. For more details about S.W.A.T. on Blu-ray, see the S.W.A.T. Blu-ray Review Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Josh Charles Director: Clark Johnson S.W.A.T. Blu-ray, Video Quality  Presented in 2.40:1 widescreen, this early high-definition release from Sony provides a decent enough image, but certainly not one to wow Blu-ray audiences by today's standards. There are many scenes throughout the movie that clearly demonstrate the superiority of Blu-ray and 1080p, and others that simply get the job done, displaying the image but without any flair or eye-popping brilliance. Much of the movie has a blue tint to it, especially early on, a tint that blends in well with the S.W.A.T. colors, from the blue of their body armor to the blue of their vehicles. Flesh tones appeared natural and clean. Black levels are fantastic, appearing rich and very dark, a natural and deep black, but heavy grain fields often accompany the darkest of scenes. Although many images are crisp and sharp, many others appear overly soft and dull, the result a flat, one-dimensional look that lacks crispness and fine detail, and this seems most apparent in low-lit sequences. A dinner scene in chapter six, for example, exhibits all of the symptoms, the poor lighting of the scene resulting in an image that fails to provide clarity and fine detail but does show very soft edges and is generally dull and lifeless. Likewise, a subsequent scene of the S.W.A.T. members in a training facility classroom sports much the same look and feel. Several scenes are so dark, in fact (especially some near the end of the movie), that I could not help but be reminded of the look of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, the difference being that that release offered incredible detail and depth even in the darkest of scenes. Action taking place in broad daylight fares the best in S.W.A.T., but the remainder of the image is definitely lacking. A fair transfer, this one seems like it could have been much better, but for an early Blu-ray release on a 25GB disc and encoded in MPEG-2, this one looks about as good as one could expect. S.W.A.T. Blu-ray, Audio Quality  S.W.A.T. explodes onto Blu-ray with a fantastic PCM 5.1 uncompressed sound mix, one that is active and very well designed. There is nothing quite like a well-mixed shootout scene, and we've got one right off the bat. From the very beginning of the movie, the listener is treated to a barrage of activity as the police and S.W.A.T. team takes on a few heavily-armed thugs with automatic weapons. Gunfire reverberates with thumps from the subwoofer, and shell casings hit the ground with a loud, clear clank. Sounds are placed in speakers so well that we feel like part of the action as gunshots hit us from all around. Not only is imaging excellent, but so are pans. We clearly hear movement from one speaker to the next, and it's natural and clear, not forced, phony, and distracting. A scene where the team is sniping at playing cards features some terrific use of sound as bullets whiz past our heads and impact into the rear of the listening area, a fun experience in film but one that would definitely prove frightening in real life. Just as wonderful as the sound can be, it can also turn dull and quiet on a dime. Immediately after the training scenario involving terrorists on a plane, the music goes from a pulse-pounding, dance house beat to a very quiet celebration music, sounding almost like the volume had been turned way down on my receiver. Other nuances are rendered just fine, such as dialogue reproduction and minor discreet sound effects and ambience. While not the very best mix I've heard, this one truly shows the benefit of having a full-blown surround system, and the lossless audio really lets it stretch its legs and run, showing just what a well-planned mix can do to add a whole other dimension to the movie watching experience. S.W.A.T. Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
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