BLU-RAY REVIEW

Safe

Featured In Issue 170, October 2012

Picture5
Sound5
WSR Score5
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
32788
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Strong violence throughout, and for language
(Retail Price):
$39.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
95
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2012
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
09/04/12
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Boaz Yakin
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 7.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

In Safe, Luke Wright (Statham) was living a normal life as a second-rate mixed martial arts cage fighter until screwing up a rigged fight. The Russian Mafia decides to make an example of him to prevent this from happening again and murders his family. With nothing to live for anymore, Wright wanders the streets of New York full of guilt and anger until he encounters Mei (Chan), a frightened 12-year-old Chinese girl. An orphaned math prodigy, Mei had been forced to work for the Triads as a counter and holds the key to a numerical code that could destroy the Triads, the mob, and corrupt cops within the NYPD. After discovering that the same gangsters who killed his family are pursuing her, Wright takes matters into his own hands to protect the innocent girl and seek revenge. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Writer/Director Boaz Yakin; three featurettes: Cracking Safe (HD 11:40), Criminal Battleground (HD 08:00), and The Art Of My Cellphone (HD 10:16); upfront previews; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1080p AVC picture is terrific, with a crisp cinematic appearance that exhibits excellent resolution. Contrast is well balanced with deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation. The color palette is naturally hued with warm and rich tones that are nicely saturated. Fleshtones are naturally rendered as well. Detail is finely etched with fine, revealing facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. A fine grain permeates, for a filmic texture. This is a pleasing picture that won't disappoint. (Gary Reber)

The 2.35:1 DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack delivers an aggressive holosonic® soundfield dimensionality that conveys a spatially and aggressive presence that sounds dynamic. Surround envelopment extends to atmospherics and sound effects, as well as the orchestral music score. The sonics are impressively aggressive and directionalized, especially during intense scenes or during low-level atmospherics soundscapes, or in subtle low-level scenes with atmospherics. Mark Mothersbaugh's orchestral music score is dynamic, with a wide and deep soundstage presence that extends effectively to the surround channels, to enhance spatial dimensionality. Deep bass is articulated in the .1 LFE channel, to provide weight to the action scenes and the supporting atmospherics and sound effects, as well as the intense gun battles. Dialogue is spatially integrated. The added dimensionality provided by the additional two channels further enhances the sonic engagement, whether dimensional soundscapes, atmospherics, or intense action sequences. The 7.1- channel configuration has the normal surrounds to the 90-degree sides and the added two channels to the rear positions. Thus, one must re-wire their system when reproducing this 7.1-channel soundtrack if your system does not conform to this setup. One would not know this channel configuration, unless they had an acute hearing ability or metering to confirm the channel positions of the two added channel loudspeakers as there is no diagram to indicate the mix configuration. This 7.1-channel mix conforms to the Dolby® theatrical 7.1-channel standard, with the added channels to the rear sides. But not all Blu-ray 7.1-channel mixes conform to the theatrical standard (limited in imaging resolution due to the innate nature of a large audience auditorium) and instead position the two added channels to the 90-degree positions (in the cinema, an array wall). Thus, the confusion persists that the industry has caused for enthusiasts who want to optimize the sonic experience. Configuring one's system with the normal surrounds mixed in a 5.1-channel configuration with the surrounds to the rear, not at 90-degree sides, means that for a 7.1-channel mix the normal surrounds need to be positioned forward at the 90-degree sides and the added two channels to the rear. For home theatre applications, positioning the added two channels to the 90-degree side positions is preferred because it provides better phantom imaging between channels, with all channel loudspeakers placed equidistant from the sweet spot and at equal 60-degree included angles relative to the sweet spot. Of course, once re-wired the outcome is still impressively dimensional, just not optimized. And what a powerfully dynamic sonic experience!(Gary Reber)