The Day After Tomorrow (Blu-ray)
Picture:
A- Sound: A- Extras: C+ Film: C+
Despite
being released only a few years after the events of 9/11, Roland Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow (2004) was a
hit, though one that has not been discussed as often as you might think for the
hit it was. Why? Because it is about a disaster caused by
massive abuse of the environment, something that is being constantly censured
by a complicit mainstream media, which actually became a focus of our previous
coverage of the DVD-Video edition. You
can read that review at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3669/The+Day+After+Tomorrow+–+All+Access+Collector’s+Edition
I
actually reviewed the film in a whole different way upon its theatrical release
for the Sprocket Guild website, a PDF you can access at this link:
http://www.sprocketguild.org/pdf/essay-day_after_tomorrow.pdf
So how
does the film hold up? Pretty good
considering the digital effects are already a few years old, which is
considered a lifetime for the usual generic nature of CG effects. The digital wolves were embarrassing and bad
to begin with. They look really bad now. Though the performance is far from his most
challenging, Jake Gyllenhaal has gone on to become one of the most important
actors in his generation and this film remains his biggest box office hit. The film has a good supporting cast
(including Ian Holm, Dennis Quaid (also credited as the lead) and Sela Ward
among others and the script still has its amusing moments, though some thought
is was too jokey for its own good. So
when all else fails, the Blu-ray comes down to the playback quality and this
one is really impressive.
The 1080p
AVC @ 26 MBPS digital 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image may have abundant
digital work, but like the first two films in Disney’s Pirates franchise on Blu-ray, the sharpness, depth and color
consistency carry more than enough weight to make this a top tier Action genre
release. That makes it also good enough
to carry the digital effects, no matter how bad.
The DTS
5.1 mix on the DVD was impressive, but the DTS HD/MA (Master Audio lossless) is
even richer, clearer, stronger, smoother and easily outperforming the lame
Dolby Digital 5.1 French and Spanish tracks.
It also features the D-BOX Motion Control Systems signal that is a nice
bonus for those who have the capacity. The
combination is demo quality typical of previous Emmerich films releases,
including on Blu-ray, which you can read more about as follows at these links:
Stargate
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4296/Stargate+-+Extended+Cut+(1994/Blu
The Patriot
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5608/The+Patriot+–+Extended+Cut+(2000
The
extras are the same as the reviewed DVD and this is a 50 GB disc, needless to
say. This is the kind of Blu-ray that
will show off the format on a fun level that we can all appreciate.
- Nicholas Sheffo
