Gifted appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a good but not great transfer.
Sharpness looked mostly positive. A little softness cropped up during occasional interior shots – usually in classrooms - but the majority of the film was fairly accurate and distinctive. I witnessed no shimmering or jaggies, and edge haloes remained absent. As expected, the film lacked any print flaws.
In terms of palette, Gifted went with a mix of orange and teal. Within the stylistic choices, the hues seemed fine. Blacks were deep and tight, and shadows looked smooth and clear. Although the image didn’t dazzle, it seemed satisfactory.
The movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack suited the story. This meant the soundscape accentuated general atmosphere and not much else. Elements like those on the beach or in bars added a little breadth but not much.
Audio quality appeared good. Speech seemed distinctive and concise, without roughness or brittleness. Music was warm and full, and effects came across as accurate. This ended up as a serviceable mix for a character tale.
A smattering of extras appear here, and we find five Promotional Featurettes: “HBO First Look” (13:32), “Story” (2:08), “An Accomplished Cast” (2:06), “Inside the Equation” (1:37) and “Marc’s Method” (1:27). Across these, we hear from director Marc Webb, producers Andy Cohen and Karen Lunder, writer Tom Flynn and actors Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer, Mckenna Grace, Jenny Slate, Glenn Plummer and Lindsay Duncan.
The featurettes look at story/characters, cast and performances, and Webb’s impact on the production. The clips live up to their billing, as they’re superficial promotional fare and nothing more.
On Location goes for one minute, 57 seconds and features Evans, Grace, Lunder, Cohen, Webb, Spencer, and Slate. It’s nothing more than an ad for the town where they shot the movie, so don’t expect anything from it.
Five Deleted Scenes fill a total of eight minutes, 13 seconds. In these, we get more from the psychologist who assesses Mary as well as some other character tidbits. None of them seem especially meaningful.
A Gallery includes 24 photos. It mixes movie shots and stills from the set to create a lackluster compilation.
The disc opens with ads for Step, Hidden Figures and Table 19. Sneak Peek adds clips for Wilson and My Cousin Rachel. We also find the trailer for Gifted.
A second disc presents a DVD copy of Gifted. It provides the same extras as the Blu-ray.
With a good cast and an interesting premise, Gifted shows promise. Unfortunately, the film treats its ideas in such a simplistic manner that it fails to go anywhere substantial. The Blu-ray provides generally good picture and audio as well as minor supplements. Gifted lacks inspiration.