Righteous Kill appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The picture looked fine most of the time.
Sharpness was generally good but not exceptional. A few shots showed some softness, but those were fairly minor instances, and they largely reflected the movie’s stylistic choices.
I noticed no jaggies or moiré effects, and edge haloes never manifested itself. In addition, the film failed to display any print defects.
Like most modern action flicks, this one opted for stylized hues, with an emphasis on the standard amber and teal. Within those constraints, the colors seemed fine, as they showed appropriate range.
Blacks were dark and full, and shadows showed good range. Outside of some softness, this became a satisfying presentation.
In addition, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack of Kill worked well. Various action elements offered the most active use of the spectrum. This was especially true during pieces with weapon fire and fights, and a few other sequences used the various channels in a satisfying way.
The action scenes didn’t emerge on a relentless basis, but when they appeared, they utilized the soundscape in an engrossing manner. In addition, we got some localized speech and music made active use of the different channels.
Audio quality pleased. Speech was concise and natural, without edginess or other issues.
Music showed good range and vivacity, while effects worked nicely. Those elements came across as accurate and full, with solid low-end response and positive definition. All of this added up to a “B+”.
As we shift to extras, we open with an audio commentary from director Jon Avnet. He offers a running, screen-specific look at story and characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, editing, and related areas.
Avnet occasionally offers useful notes, but he often does little more than narrate the movie and/or praise the actors. Don’t expect a lot of insights in this fairly dull chat.
Two featurettes follow, and The Investigation runs 14 minutes, 23 seconds. It brings notes from Avnet, producers Rob Cowan, Daniel M. Rosenberg and Randall Emmett, screenwriter Russell Gewirtz, technical advisor Neil Carter, and actors Robert De Niro, John Leguizamo, Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, Rob Dyrdek, Curtis Jackson and Trilby Glover.
“Investigation” covers the project’s path to the screen, casting, characters and performances, research and Avnet’s approach to the film. A smattering of decent notes emerge but a lot of “Investigation” leans toward happy talk.
The Thin Blue Line spans 19 minutes, five seconds and involves police expert Richard Rivera, assistant state attorney David Waksman, and authors Samuel Clark and Philip Bonifacio.
“Line” looks at the reality of the police experience. It promotes the movie but it still comes with some interesting moments.
The disc opens with an ad for Traitor. Also on Blu-ray adds promos for Henry Poole Is Here, The Visitor and Sleepwalking. We find the trailer for Kill as well.
With two legends as its leads, Righteous Kill seems primed to excel. Unfortunately, it offers warmed-over cop flick clichés and lacks much to make it stick. The Blu-ray provides pretty good picture and audio along with a mix of bonus materials. Pacino and De Niro deserved better than this mess.