BLU-RAY REVIEW

Sabotage

Featured In Issue 191, November 2014

Picture4
Sound4
WSR Score3
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):
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
61130676
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some sexuality, nudity and drug use
(Retail Price):
$34.98
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
110
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
2014
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
07/22/14
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
David Ayer
(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 5.1
(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 "Sabotage," when DEA task force leader Bracher Wharton (Schwarzenegger) storms a heavily armed cartel safe house, rogue members of his team use it as a cover to steal $10 million in cash. But just when they think their secret is safe, agents are killed off one-by-one, and everyone is a suspect, including the squad itself. (Gary Reber)

Special features include a making-of featurette (HD 08:32), two alternate endings (HD 11:03), six deleted scenes (HD 17:13), upfront previews, and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1080p AVC picture was photographed with the Arri Alexa M digital camera system. The picture, unlike other Arri Alexa productions, exhibits a "digitally rough" appearance. Textures are finely resolved, including facial features, hair, and clothing, and is especially well defined in close-ups. The color palette is strongly saturated with bold hues and generally natural fleshtones. Contrast is well balanced with deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation. The imagery is crisp and pristine throughout. While the picture is characteristically digital, the imagery is decent and at times engaging. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is wanting in soundfield envelopment, with aggressive surround limited to the action segments. The music score provides subtle surround immersion and otherwise is well recorded. Atmospherics provide a sense of realism, and sound effects, as in gun fire and explosions, are powerful and at times directionally potent in terms of surround impact. Dialogue often lacks spatial presence but is generally natural sounding. Overall, this is an underperforming soundtrack that falls short of expectation. (Gary Reber)