Mob Land appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The transfer appeared to replicate the source material.
The majority of the movie appeared pretty concise and accurate. Some minor softness impacted the occasional wider shot, but most of the flick seemed accurate and well-defined.
No issues with shimmering or moiré effects appeared, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws failed to materialize.
In terms of palette, the film mainly opted for a standard mix of amber, orange and teal. It appeared that the disc presented these dominant tones as intended.
Blacks were dark and dense, and shadows showed good clarity. This was a largely satisfying presentation.
In addition, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack proved more than adequate, though not stellar. Despite the emphasis on violent domains, the mix didn’t pack a whole lot of lively material.
Mob Land came with the occasional action scene, mostly on the road or when guns got involved. These offered good punch, and the rest of the mix brought out a nice sense of atmosphere.
Not a lot of created a dynamic soundscape, though. Music fleshed out the surroundings and turned this into an appropriate mix but not one that stood out as impressive.
Audio quality worked fine, with dialogue that appeared natural and concise. Music felt bright and brassy as well.
Effects seemed accurate and lively, with good clarity and punch. This became a perfectly acceptable mix for what the story wanted to do.
When we go to extras, we open with an audio commentary from writer/director Nicholas Maggio, actor Shiloh Fernandez and cinematographer Nicholas Matthews. All three sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, sets and locations, cast and performances, visual design, vehicles, music, costumes, photography, stunts/action and other production domains.
While the commentary comes with a decent level of information, it also brings us plenty of happy talk as well as more than a few dead spots. These make it a moderately useful but erratic piece.
A featurette called Walking the Line spans 18 minutes, 17 seconds. It brings notes from Maggio, Matthews and Fernandez.
“Line” examines the project’s roots and development, story and characters, the Southern setting, cast and performances, vehicles, and general domains.
“Line” presents a moderate amount of crossover with the commentary, but it still brings a tidy summary. It would’ve been nice to get other cast/crew beyond the same three guys from the audio track, though.
With a solid cast and an appealing visual sensibility, Mob Land comes with positives. Unfortunately, the plot and characters feel trite and the movie fails to coalesce into an especially coherent affair. The Blu-ray comes with good picture and audio as well as a few supplements. Mob Land does enough to keep us with it but it never rises above that level.