The Kill Team appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a solid transfer.
Overall definition appeared positive. Only a few minor soft shots materialized, so the movie usually appeared accurate and well-defined. No jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I saw no edge haloes or print flaws.
Despite the setting, a teal palette dominated, though we got a little amber and orange as well. The Blu-ray replicated these tones appropriately.
Blacks were deep and dark, and shadows looked fine. As a package, the image worked nicely.
As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it opened up well, largely because it incorporated action elements. Not surprisingly, the mix came to life best during these combat sequences. Bullets, explosions and vehicles zipped around us and made sure that we felt like we were part of the action.
Even during more passive sequences, the film offered a good soundscape. Music showed nice stereo presence, while environmental elements popped up in logical, natural locations. Although the mix only soared on occasion, it still formed a solid sense of atmosphere.
From start to finish, the flick boasted excellent audio quality. Speech was crisp and concise, with good intelligibility and no edginess.
Music sounded bright and dynamic, and effects were strong. They demonstrated fine clarity and accuracy, and the mix also featured positive bass response. This was a consistently fine track.
As we shift to extras, we find an audio commentary with writer/director Dam Krauss. He presents a running, screen-specific look at the original documentary and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, editing, effects and related areas.
Overall, this becomes a fairly good commentary. I’d like to know more about the documentary and the facts behind the story, but Krauss still delivers a reasonably solid view of the project.
The Reality of Courage runs 11 minutes, 45 seconds. It provides notes from Krauss.
With “Courage”, we look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, and costumes. Inevitably, Krauss repeats some info from his commentary, but this still becomes a good summary.
One Deleted Scene spans three minutes, 19 seconds. It shows Briggman’s discussions with the military about what he witnessed. The scene adds some exposition but it doesn’t seem especially necessary.
As a movie about war crimes, The Kill Team boasts solid potential, and I appreciate its understated nature. However, the film goes a little too far toward subtlety and doesn’t explore the drama as well as it should. The Blu-ray boasts very good picture and audio along with a decent array of bonus materials. Team works at times but remains spotty.