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2012: Doomsday (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Lighthouse Distribution Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (9th April 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** A modern Christian epic in the tradition of The Omega Code and Left Behind! Starring Cliff De Young and Dale Midkiff from Twentieth Century Fox's best-selling Love's series! On December 21 2012, four strangers on a journey of faith are drawn to an ancient temple in the heart of Mexico. For NASA scientists it is a cataclysmic polar shift. For the rest of us, it is Doomsday. An ancient prophecy foretold. A scientific discovery revealed.
Video
Lighthouse Distribution have released Asylum's television movie "2012: Doomsday" into Blu-ray, using the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The transfer is 1080p and uses an AVC MPEG-4 encode. It's mediocre, with a couple of above average moments. When you put the disc is, you are met with a message stating; "During playback of this Blu-ray, the screen may go black and there will be a delay. This is normal". This is the first time I've encountered any such message, and hopefully the last. There were no problems like this during my viewing, but it makes you wonder why it was included in the first place. Generally speaking, the transfer is sharp, but it does seem to lack a little in detail. Although facial close-ups generally look good, the various background elements are lacking clarity throughout. Colours are a little warm, but certainly passable, with blacks deep enough to not complain about. There are a couple of small scenes with strange lighting that causes some mild blooming (eg. 17:30), and some minor aliasing and banding here and there, but nothing major. "2012: Doomsday" looks reasonable. It doesn't have the wow factor, but it's not trash either. With the budget and the film's origins, this could've been far worse. The feature runs 85:18.
Audio
Lighthouse Distribution have provided us with a single DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo track which is in the original English language. Even though it is a disaster movie, it still feels surprisingly boisterous for a stereo track. Weather effects sound good, but not quite as crisp as you would hope, and the same can be said for the dialogue and other effects. Volume levels are consistent, with neither the dialogue, the score, nor the effects ever overpowering one another. Dialogue is clear at all times, and there are no problems such as scratches or drop outs. There was some very minor background hiss present on occasion, but nothing worth worrying about. This is the type of film that would greatly benefit from a 5.1 track, but what we get is at least adequate, if a little overly enthusiastic at times. No subtitles have been included.
Extras
Just a couple of bonus trailers: - "Monster" (1:09) - "Dead in the Water" (1:26) The case incorrectly states the inclusion of "Behind the Scenes", and "Team Belize: A Filmmaking Adventure" extras, but they are nowhere to be found.
Overall
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