McBain appears in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though not a bad image, the movie showed its age.
Some of this came via sharpness, which tended to seem erratic. Much of the movie displayed fine delineation, but more than a few oddly soft shots popped up along the way.
Still, the film usually looked pretty tight, and I saw no signs of jagged edges, moiré effects or edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to create distractions outside of a couple small specks.
Colors went with a fairly natural palette and tended to become appealing. Some muddiness crept into the presentation at times, but I found that the hues mostly seemed pretty well-reproduced.
Blacks were fine – albeit occasionally a little crushed – and shadows were more than acceptable, as they usually delivered appropriate smoothness. While a little erratic, the image mostly satisfied.
Remixed from its theatrical 2.0 audio, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of McBain became a mixed bag. Actually, given the prevalence of theatrical surround circa fall 1991 – with Dolby Digital due by the end of the year – I felt surprised to see the movie came with only a basic two-channel presentation.
The 2023 reworking of the audio opened up the sonic horizons but didn’t do so in a consistently satisfying manner. While some scenes used the five channels in a reasonably involving manner, the soundscape too often felt mushy.
This meant the various elements blended together without great localization and placement, issues that connected to the score as well. The music tended to spread across the front without great separation.
As such, the soundscape tended to feel like a sonic blob more than a well-spotted discrete track. Again, some scenes fared better than others, but the general impression of the soundfield lacked spatial balance and clarity.
Audio quality also seemed dated, though not bad. Speech could feel somewhat reedy but the lines remained intelligible and without overt issues.
Effects tended to seem a bit stiff, as the mix leaned toward a lot of midrange. These elements also suffered from iffy foley that made them sound awkward and somewhat unnatural.
Music also came without great range, though the score and songs remained free from distortion. I wouldn’t call the 5.1 remix a bad track, but it suffered from a combination of issues that made it mediocre even when I factored in the age of the source.
Speaking of which, the Blu-ray also came with the film’s original DTS-HD MA stereo track. Despite the loss of surround channels, it proved more satisfying – to a degree, at least.
The nature of the stems remained an issue, as speech continued to show some thickness, and we continued to hear clumsy foley.
Still, the score and songs felt livelier via the stereo track, and effects boasted greater range as well. Don’t expect a great mix, but the 1991 stereo felt like the best option.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we get an audio commentary from writer/director James Glickenhaus and film historian Chris Poggiali. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story and characters, real-life influences, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, stunts, effects, and the movie’s release/reception.
With Poggiali along as moderator, Glickenhaus offers a pretty informative chat – for a while, that is. As the track progresses, though, it becomes less compelling.
Like many older filmmakers, Glickenhaus tends to obsess over the desire to remind that he shot his movie before the common usage of computer graphics, and he also goes on not-especially-useful tangents at times. There’s still enough useful material to make the commentary worth a listen, but expect diminishing returns as it goes.
Remembered mainly due a Simpsons related coincidence, McBain delivers a shockingly bad mix of drama and action. Miscast, awkward and silly, the movie flails at all times. The Blu-ray comes with generally decent picture, an awkward 5.1 remix and an audio commentary. Nothing about this flop works.