kal
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:24 am Post subject: The Expendables 3 |
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The Expendables 3
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| Quote: | 'The Expendables 3' is a lot of fun the third time around. They finally found their footing and knew what type of movie to make rather than trying to be serious all the time. The result is a highly entertaining and very funny movie. The action is great and seeing all of these excellent action stars from our childhood is a riot, not to mention so much fun. The video, as well as the Dolby Atmos audio presentation, are both top notch. The extras are all worth watching and informative as well. If you're looking for a fun time with a big and entertaining action movie with tons of 80's movie stars, then I highly recommend 'The Expendables 3'.
The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
'The Expendables 3' comes with an impressive 1080p HD transfer and is presented in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. This action film looks mighty impressive on all fronts. This has a crystal clear image with excellent detail and clarity. However, by having this digital look to it, the big bad CG effects don't look as real as they could, but that is really the only gripe I have with this video presentation. Detail is very vivid in both closeups and wide shots. Closeups show every wrinkle, scar, wound, and individual hair on these aging action star's faces.
You can even see some of the plastic surgery Stallone has had over the years quite well. Their tactical gear reveals some fine stitching and background props and sets look amazing, giving the picture some real depth when there is no CG background. Colors pop off screen at all times, whether they are in a green field or the blue sky. All colors are well saturated and look realistic. Skin tones are always natural and never seem murky and the black levels are very deep and inky. There are zero instances of banding, aliasing, and motion blur throughout, giving this video presentation top marks.
The Audio: Rating the Sound
7.1 Dolby TrueHD - 5 Stars
This release comes with an outstanding Dolby Atmos audio presentation, but since I haven't upgraded to Atmos yet, the audio automatically changes to a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio option, and it sound amazing. If you want to read about the Dolby Atmos sound, scroll down a tiny bit and check out Michael S. Palmer's review. The 7.1 audio is quite impressive. This action film is full of gun shots, explosions, cars, planes, trains, boats, and fighting. I mean, what do you expect from an 'Expendables' film? The sound effects are clear, loud, and very robust. The surrounds pump the sound constantly, which fully immerses you into each gun battle and fight scene.
There is some excellent directionality here as well. the gun shots fly by with precise timing and the explosions will rattle your walls and insides quite nicely, and are never overly done. The ambient noises of nature and people chattering at times also sound full. The dialogue is always crystal clear and easy to follow, even with Stallone's thick accent of gibberish. The score is epic and fun, which always adds to the suspenseful and funny situations these guys get into, while never drowning out any of the dialogue or sound effects. The LFE is magnificent and the dynamic range is extremely wide, leaving this audio presentation with top marks.
Dolby Atmos - 5 Stars
For this portion of the review, we took a field trip to Dolby Laboratories in Burbank, CA to watch this Blu-ray in the company's "Home Theatre" room on commercially available equipment anyone can purchase right now.
This 7.1.4 Atmos configuration included four KEF R700 towers (front L&R and rear L&R) topped with four KEF R50 Atmos Enabled speaker modules (two pairs of stereo height channels), one KEF R600c center channel, one pair of KEF T301 side surrounds, an M&K MX-350 sub, a Denon AVR-X5200 9-channel Atmos AV Reciever, and one 2-channel ART SLA-1 amp (to power the rear speaker modules).
All in, if you were to buy a similar setup, you'd be looking to spend just over $17,000 on audio gear alone (display and Blu-ray player not included, sorry). There are more affordable options to achieve 7.1.4, and other ways to configure Atmos with fewer speakers, but having finally heard 7.1.4, I'm convinced this is the format's optimum configuration for all but the smallest listening environments. Most interestingly, while we watched the entire film using the speaker modules (bouncing the height channels off a flat-surface ceiling), we did also demo a few scenes in another room with actual in-ceiling speakers. To my ears, it was the exact same aural experience.
The Expendables 3 is the third Dolby Atmos Blu-ray to hit the streets. The object audio based Dolby Atmos surround mix features individual sounds that fly around the room from ear level speakers to height speakers, creating a hemispherical sense of immersion. Dolby Atmos employs metadata to fold down all of the audio objects into a 7.1, 5.1 or stereo Dolby TrueHD surround experience (depending, of course on your systems configuration). Meaning non-Atmos listeners still get to hear all of the same sound effects and music cues, just without the added height. Blu-ray re-recording mixers check these folded-down 7.1, 5.1 and 2.0 Atmos derived mixes for quality.
Okay, this has probably been the longest preamble to the audio portion of a Blu-ray review ever, but since this is a new format, one that is customizeable, I wanted to clear about every detail. Feel free to ask questions in the comments; I'll try to check in and answer when/if I can.
Bottom line: 'The Expendables 3' offers up a premium Dolby Atmos soundmix that is the best way to experience this Blu-ray, hands down.
While the movie brims with chaotic action sequences, this fantastic track is exceptionally focused. From planes and helicopters to bombs and bullets, there are so many little intricacies to this audio environment. Panning effects are precise, wonderfully aggressive, and boast an exceptionally wide dynamic range. LFE also packs a sublime punch. Even the musical score is wider and taller. And, while it's definitely loud, unlike the 'Transformers: Age of Extinction' experience, nothing was ever lost and my ears never tired.
This Blu-ray's near-field Atmos re-recording mixer, Tim Hoogenakker, was on hand to describe his process of making sure the theatrical mix doesn't overload home cinema environments. That means 1) controlling overall volume, 2) ensuring LFE doesn't become boomy noise, and most importantly 3) guaranteeing we the audience can always hear dialog. 'The Expendables 3' boats exceptionally clear dialog even in the most chaotic sequences
My most anticipated forthcoming Atmos Blu-ray is the Feburary 'Gravity' re-release, despite the lack of 3D (boo!), but 'The Expendables 3' in Dolby Atmos is simply stunning. Reference in quality. Demonstration worthy all the way. Yes, there isn't that much to compare with yet, but as previously written, home entertainment Atmos often equals its theatrical predecessor.
Oh, and a heads up to retailers like Best Buy installing Atmos demo rooms. You want to sell Atmos gear? You want to hook the next generation of audio guys? Play 'The Expendables 3' Blu-ray's opening four minutes, and anywhere in the final thirty. (step 4: profit) |
Kal
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