Passengers
(2016/Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray 2D)
Picture:
A /B+/B+ Sound: A /B+/B+ Extras: B Film: B
Chris
Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence star in Morten Tyldum's Passengers
(2016) - an epic Science Fiction love story with an interesting
screenplay and great onscreen chemistry between the two leads. The
film was released around Christmas and got lost in the shuffle of all
of the other big Holiday movies with the Sci-Fi crowd heading to see
Rogue
One
for the second time over seeing this. Now that Passengers
is on disc in this grand presentation thanks to Sony, its worth
giving a bit closer attention. Also in the film are Michael Sheen,
Laurence Fishburne, and a small cameo by Andy Garcia. Its also worth
noting that this screenplay was in development for several years,
with Keanu Reeves involved at one point, which would have made for a
very different film.
Taking
place primarily on a grand spaceship floating through the cosmos
known as 'The Avalon', which is carrying 5,000 passengers on a
90-year flight to a new planet in a new century, a hibernation pod
malfunctions and Jim (Pratt) is awakened a lifetime too early. The
only person awake for a year, Jim starts to go mad with loneliness
with only a robotic bartender (Sheen) to keep him company. One day
by accident, he comes across the pod of Aurora (Lawrence) and starts
to fall in love with her via her profile. On a whim, he opens her
pod and wakes her up too soon as well. Alone on the ship together, a
romance starts to blossom between the two, but Jim must struggle with
whether or not to tell her that he broke the rules and woke her up
too soon... as the ship continues to malfunction, hurtling towards
its final destination.
Passengers
has a few very cool special effects sequences that are definitely
worth noting, one when Aurora is swimming and the ship goes into
anti-gravity mode. I also enjoyed a scene where Jim and Aurora are
romantically studying a planet up close in a romantic scenic view out
the window. There are also several visual motifs that pay tribute to
Kubrick's The
Shining,
namely the bar that Jim interacts with Sheen's character, that I
found amusing as well.
This
edition features every desirable format you can imagine with a 4K
Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D, and Blu-ray editions to choose from, all of
which are pretty impressive, but clarity and detail are the most
evident in the 4K UHD. At times the 4K UHD 2160p presentation is bit
too clean, revealing some of the film's digital effects as phony to
the untrained eye, shine nearly every scene has some digital element
to it. Still, if you have the home system setup, this disc is sure
to help get the most out of your system.
Passengers
is presented in 4K 2160p with with HDR (high dynamic range 10-bit
color) in a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a Dolby Atmos 11.1
lossless track that provides the highest standard of home viewing
possible at the time of this review. For a film of this nature that
is heavy in special effects, this presentation hits the nail on the
head in terms of detail on character's faces down to the last
stubble, to the ripples in the water and clean and sterile look of
the spaceship. Other audio tracks on the disc include the Dolby
TrueHD 7.1 track (core of the Atmos track as mixdown), which is also
pretty impressive. The 3D and 2D Blu-rays only offer lossless DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mixes that offer fine mixdown presentations,
but nothing can beat the Atmos tracks here.
Blu-ray
and Blu-ray 3D present the film in 1080p high definition with a
2.39:1 widescreen aspect ratio and the same audio tracks as the 4K
UHD. The 3D works well in expanding the depth of field throughout
the film, which adds something extra to the detail on the interior of
the spaceship, but a little detail can be lost in simple places. It
doesn't impact the enjoyment of the film any less in 2D, however. A
digital UV copy of the film is also included for your smart phone or
tablet.
Special
Features...
-
Deleted Scenes
-
"Space on Screen: The Visual Effects of Passengers"
Featurette
-
Outtakes from the Set
-
"Casting the Passengers" Featurette
-
"Creating the Avalon" Featurette
-
"On Set with Chris Pratt" Featurette
-
Book
Your Passage
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Passengers VR Experience First-Look
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James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
