Enemy Of The State (Blu-ray)
Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: C+ Film: B
If you
want to see the turn Will Smith took to become the #1 box office male star for
the moment, this critic would say that happened with one of Tony Scott’s best
films, Enemy Of The State. I had previous reviewed this fun thriller in
its upgraded DFVD edition as this link shows:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3743/Enemy+Of+The+State+-+Unratred+Extended+Edition
Now,
Disney has wisely made it one of their early Blu-ray releases and though I was
not happy with the technical aspects of that reissue, this new High Definition
version is more impressive. Since I already
said what I had to say about the content of the film in the last review, let’s
look at how good a performer this Blu-ray really is.
The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image here is
much better than the problematic standard DVD anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1
version on the standard DVD. Video Black
is correct and the depth and color are far more accurate. What happened with that DVD?
Though colors can be muted and we get the blue-chrome
typical of so many recent thrillers, especially those shot in Super 35mm film,
it is consistent and you get a solid look that will impress for a new
film. That makes it one of the best
early Blu-ray picture demos easily.
Many were very unhappy when a rumored DTS 5.1 mix for the
DVD was abandoned, but besides a passable Dolby Digital 5.1 mix similar to the
standard DVD, this disc offers a terrific PCM 5.1 24-bit/48 kHz mix that is so
much better than the Dolby and much more like the theatrical DTS from its
original release. Dialogue that suffered
in the Dolby mix has been totally clarified and sound effects and sound design
is top notch. The music by Trevor Rabin
(of Yes) and Harry-Gregson Williams is not bad, sounding much better here as
well. Extras are the same as that new
DVD as expected, except presented in HD as well, so this is now the definitive
version of Enemy Of The State and it is a winner.
- Nicholas Sheffo
