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Courier (The) (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Signature Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (2nd February 2020). |
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The Film
 Get ready for full throttle thrills and intense action in THE COURIER. Set against a gritty London backdrop, Olga Kurylenko plays a tough motorbike courier whose work is interrupted when she discovers that one of the packages she's transporting is a bomb. It transpires that the gas bomb she carries is set to kill Nick Murch (Amit Shah, Final Score), the only witness able to testify in Washington DC against ruthless crime lord Ezekiel Mannings (Gary Oldman, The Dark Knight). As the British Police and FBI scramble to try and deal with the mess, the mysteriously well-trailed and equipped courier teams up with unlikely partner Nick to evade Manning s heavily armed goons and make sure that justice is delivered. Also starring Dermot Mulroney (Homecoming), William Moseley (Narnia) and Alicia Agneson (Vikings). From the Producer of Darkest Hour. Directed by Zackary Adler
Video
Efficient modern action film that's had a poor reception but although does nothing new gets the job done. Oldman steals the film with his eccentric performance as a psychopathic gangster which may not be to everyone's taste. Olga Kurylenko is fine as the title character. Visually it's a fairly standard digitally shot production with rich, noirish lighting. Night scenes look great with deep, resonant black levels and plenty of shadow detail and no crush. Contrast is supportive and well layered. Colours favour the warm end of the spectrum although some of the exteriors are coldly graded. Grain is fairly minimal but well handled by a solid encode. Detail on all focal planes is generally good but like many other digital productions when the lighting is flatter we get less. Flesh tones are natural and consistent and I could see no signs of digital compression. Overall a fine transfer of a brand new production. My comments also apply to the DVD version only obviously everything is softer and lacking in detail. Definition is decent for standard def but obviously the Blu-ray wipes the floor overall. 1080/24p / MPEG-4 AVC / 2.4:1 / 99:05
Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English LPCM 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English HoH It's a modern action film albeit one done on a low budget so it delivers in spades. Plenty of activity with dialogue front and centre, the score moves around the sound field nicely and the LFE is very active in the action bits which is frequently. Perhaps not as robust as the latest $200 million Bond blockbuster but still a reference quality track with plenty of immersion. 5.1 is obviously the way to go but the 2.0 is no slouch but it lacks the depth and range. The lossy DVD versions are again fine for what they are but the compression means that the volume needs to be louder and the depth and range isn't as encompassing. Happily subtitles for the hearing impaired have been provided and are very welcome.
Extras
Interviews: - Olga Kurylenko - The Courier (0:47) - Gary Oldman - Ezekiel Mannings (7:14) - Amit Shah - Nick Murch (6:27) - William Moseley - Agent Bryant (3:51) - Dermot Mulroney - Special Agent Roberts (4:57) - Zackary Adler - Director (2:49) Puff pice EPK interviews; blah. Startup Trailers: - First Love (1:50) - Escape from Pretoria (2:36) Meh
Packaging
Standard blue Blu-ray case.
Overall
Excellent image and sound front a formulaic but entertaining actioner. The extras are mostly for the birds which is a shame because the US Blu-ray had a commentary. The DVD is a solid modern disc from a recent digitally shot production. Both image and sound are perfectly acceptable but obviously stacked up next to the HD / lossless version come a cropper.
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