Swordfish Blu-ray

Swordfish

 (2001)

Action | Crime | Thriller



When the DEA shut down its dummy corporation operation codenamed Swordfish in 1986, they had generated $400 million which they let sit around; fifteen years of compound interest has swelled it to $9.5 billion. A covert counter-terrorist unit called Black Cell, headed by the duplicitious and suave Gabriel Shear, wants the money to help finance their raise-the-stakes vengeance war against international terrorism, but it's all locked away behind super-encryption. He brings in convicted hacker Stanley Jobson, who only wants to see his daughter Holly again but can't afford the legal fees, to slice into the government mainframes and get the money.

For more details about Swordfish on Blu-ray, see the Swordfish Blu-ray Review

Starring: John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Vinnie Jones
Director: Dominic Sena

Swordfish Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Presented in 1080p high definition and framed at 2.40:1, Swordfish is certainly a nice film to look at from a visual perspective. Despite the somewhat artistic look and feel (just about every scene is bathed in unnatural light, giving off either a golden or greenish tint), the image retains a very high level of depth and detail sure to satisfy fans of the film looking for a mostly sharp and clear image, one that is definitely a boost in quality over previous home video versions of the film. The distinct sepia-tone look of the film boasts strong color reproduction of a mostly grain-free image. The look of the film gives us not necessarily a theatrical appearance but rather a "lived-in" look that, save for the awkward use of artistic license with the tint, appears natural and deep. Several shots do appear to be overly soft, but these occurrences don't appear very often, and they provide the most glaring flaw in the transfer. Black levels are spot-on, deep and pure, and detail in darker scenes stands out wonderfully. Detail is impressively high throughout, no matter the lighting scheme. Check out a scene in chapter 13 where Stanley is wearing a corduroy sports coat; every line, seam, and stitch is plainly visible, especially in close-up, static shots. I was impressed by the detail evident in backgrounds as well. A few early shots in the film where we see some pavement with wet patches here and there looked marvelously real, and you almost feel as if you could get off the couch, walk into the television, and jump in the puddles. Even the sheen and polish of several of the automobiles in the movie is evident and clear. This is a very good image, and although the quality has been far surpassed over the last year and a half since this film's initial release on Blu-ray, it looks excellent for a catalogue title.

Swordfish Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


If any of the early Warner Brothers' titles that lacks a high-definition lossless audio option screams to have one, this is it. The sound design for the film is robust, active, and engaging, but the limits of the Dolby Digital mix become apparent in several scenes. The first thing I noted, beginning with the dialogue and then about the track as a whole, was a slightly lower volume level than I am used to. I had to crank my receiver up a notch or two to feel like I was getting the entire impact of the proceedings right from the get-go. Even some up-tempo music heard throughout the film, at times, sounded reserved, a bit shy, seemingly afraid to come out of hiding and shine. Later on, at the same location, the music seems to have undergone some metamorphosis because all of a sudden, it's as loud, clear, and boisterous as if you were in the middle of that club. The ubiquitous car chase sequence, found in chapter 18, about an hour into the movie, proves to be first real action piece since the beginning, and the best sonic experience of the film, surpassing even the ending. This sequence features more hip, up-tempo music that works the subwoofer hard. Ear-shattering effects, loads of gunfire, and the incessant squealing of tires creates a cornucopia of action bliss, the impact of the bullets slicing through the sheet metal of several vehicles probably my favorite effect of the sequence. The rat-a-tat reverberations of the M249 SAW fired by Gabriel is also a highlight; while not as defined and frightening as some machine gun fire I've heard, held back a bit by the lossy nature of the mix, it proved to be a fun experience nevertheless. For a Dolby Digital mix, this is a very good one. As usual, I must reduce the score by a full point for failing to provide a high-definition sound option on a high- definition medium.

Swordfish Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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