The Kingdom
Universal Home Entertainment
Released: 12/23/07
Review By: Ryan James
Picture Quality – 4.5/5
Audio Quality – 4/5
Special Features - 3/5
Overall – 4.25/5
Comments: This is another Universal HD30 release. I felt the picture quality was great, and most importantly, consistent. The colors were great as well, as one would expect from such a new production. They were vivid and uniform. At no time did I detect any noise or macro blocking. I was also impressed with the “smoothness” of the overall presentation. All in all, a great PQ experience.
I listened using the Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) option. I really felt the sound quality was good, but not great. The surround channels were popping throughout and the LFE was performing exceptionally well. The center channel also created an enveloping atmosphere with the dialog, which I felt, really enhanced the viewing experience. I am still scratching my head as to why Universal would leave a Dolby TrueHD track from this release. This seems like a logical release for a lossless soundtrack, considering all the explosions and gunfire. I noticed that Universal has included a TrueHD soundtrack for other recent and upcoming releases such as, Cat People and Time Cop, why not this one?
This release is somewhat sparse of Special Features. Here is what is included:
Deleted Scenes
Constructing The Freeway Sequence
Creating The Kingdom
History Of The Kingdom: An Interactive Timeline
The Mission Dossier: Surveillance (HD)
Commentary With Director Peter Berg
U-Control – The Mission Dossier, Picture In Picture & Character By Character: The Apartment Shootout
Considering the plot of this movie was strong and as the picture and sound quality were solid, it is a no-brainer to purchase this release if you are a fan of this film. I highly recommend this one!
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