BLU-RAY REVIEW

Faster

Featured In Issue 155, March 2011

Picture4.5
Sound5
WSR Score4
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):
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
37148
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Strong violence, some drug use and language
(Retail Price):
$34.95
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
98
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A, B & C
(Theatrical Year):
2010
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
03/01/11
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
George Tillman, Jr.
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(Story):
(Music):
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(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
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(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
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(German Language):
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Faster is about avenging a murder. After 10 years in prison, Driver (Johnson) has a singular focus—to avenge the murder of his brother during a botched bank robbery that led to his imprisonment. Now, a free man with a deadly to-do list in hand, he's finally on his mission—but with two men on his trail—a veteran cop (Thornton) just days from retirement, and a young egocentric hitman (Jackson-Cohen) with a flair for the art of killing a newfound worthy opponent. The hunter is also the hunted. It's a do or die race to the list's finish as the mystery surrounding his brother's murder deepens, and new details emerge along the way, hinting that the Driver's list may be incomplete. (Gary Reber)

Special features include an alternate ending with optional Director's introduction (HD 11:12); five deleted scenes with optional Director introduction (HD 07:54); the featurettes: Criminal And Cops: The Cast Of Faster (HD 12:12) and Weapons And Wheels: The Guns, Cars And Stunts of Faster (HD 11:54); four animatic segments (HD 12:22); up-front previews; MovieIQ; and BD-Live functionality.

The 2.40:1 1080p AVC picture is nicely stylized with a sepia filtered appearance, which essentially desaturates the color palette and reduces the imagery to a brownish tone. Contrast is generally well balanced, with deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation, though, the visual mood is darkly shadowy. Resolution is quite good, with fine details revealed in close-ups of facial features, clothing, and object textures. The cinematography and fast-paced editing is engaging. This is a superb visual experience. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is dynamically engaging with deep, energized .1 LFE punctuations during action segments. The soundfield is aggressively spatial, with directionalized surrounds emphasized with sound effects and the music score. The music is nicely recorded, with a wide and deep soundstage and an aggressive surround presence that fills the soundfield with dimensional presence. Dialogue is production sound and ADR, and generally sounds naturally spatial. This is a solid-sounding holosonic® soundfield experience, with aggressive surround envelopment and dimensionality that enhances the suspense and thrills. (Gary Reber)