kal
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Joined: 06 Mar 2006
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Location: Ottawa, Canada
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:39 pm Post subject: The Maze Runner |
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The Maze Runner
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| Quote: | Essentially a reimagining of William Golding's classic Lord of the Flies, 'The Maze Runner' is surprisingly more engaging and stimulating than the recent slew of YA adaptations flooding theaters of late, focusing one central mystery and the tensions between adolescent boys. The Blu-ray arrives with excellent picture quality and a demo-worthy audio presentation. With a healthy collection of supplements and goodies, the overall package is recommended for both fans and the curious.
The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
The dystopian actioner makes a mad dash for Blu-ray with a top-notch 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode that astounds with lots of details and rich clarity. Shot on a variety of HD cameras, the freshly-minted transfer shows clean distinct lines in the rugged clothing of the characters, the wooden huts, the surrounding foliage and along the grey stone walls of the maze. Rust marks on the concrete structure are plainly visible while pores and negligible blemishes in the cast are exposed. The color palette is intentionally on the drab and limited side, true to the photographic style of Enrique Chediak, yet primaries come through accurately and boldly. Brightness and contrast are very well-balanced with crisp, brilliant whites and deep, penetrating blacks that allow plenty of visibility in the darkest portions. Overall, the 2.40 image is excellent near-reference quality.
The Audio: Rating the Sound
The sci-fi thriller debuts on home video with a superb and awesomely effective DTS-HD MA soundtrack guaranteed to demonstrate the capabilities of one's system. Rear activity is simply phenomenal, delivering a wealth of atmospherics that discrete and consistent right from the start. The wind blows through the trees in the distance, the faint subtle sounds of movement in the maze disturb the obvious silence of the Glade, and the voices of the boys when gathering in a crowd surround the listener. When exploring the maze, the wind is noticeably and creepily hollow, echoes bounce of the large concrete slabs, and the walls adjust with frightening aggressiveness and presence. Most exciting is hearing the clicking or the metallic stomping of the Grievers convincingly panning all around, creating a terrifically immersive 360° soundfield.
In the front soundstage, the lossless mix generates a wall of sound from the moment we see Thomas riding the elevator to the top. The loud, rackety sounds of grinding metal, cans bumping into each other and air swooshing downward are plainly heard with credible realism off-screen. Throughout the rest of the runtime, imaging remains broad and spacious with outstanding balance and fluid movement between the channels. Dynamic range exhibits clean separation between the mids and highs, allowing the unique stomp of the Grievers on concrete an impressive sense of presence. Although it doesn't actively dig deep, the low-end is equally noteworthy for providing the action, especially when related to the maze, with striking weight and impact. With excellent dialogue reproduction in the center, the movie arrives with reference audio. |
Kal
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