DEEPWATER HORIZON (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)
Release Date: January 10, 2016
Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Video: 2.39:1 1080p Widescreen
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0 (Enhanced For Late-Night Listening)
THE RATINGS
The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰
Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Special Features - ★ ★ ★ ½ ✰
Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰
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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
Reviewed by Gavin King
Disaster films are all the rage these days, but Peter Berg's critical hit Deepwater Horizon seems to stand out recently in the crowd. And for good reason. It's a well-made, expertly shot, and impeccably mounted disaster/thriller/drama about the 2010 BP oil spill that caused majestic chaos and spiked incredible damage on the Gulf of Mexico - not to mention extreme controversy nationwide. The film sees the acting talents of Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich and Kate Hudson joining forces to wrap together a film that isn't a masterpiece but surely a hard-hitting one and a film that coins as one of the better disaster films to this day. Peter Berg directs the film with a keen sense of scope and focus, never buttering any detail of the real life disaster down to tame safeness and rather showcasing it with powerful magnitude and excellent attention to detail.
It would seem like a normal day for Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg). He wakes up to his beautiful wife, Felicia (Kate Hudson), gets his truck filled up at the local gas station, and drives to his job at the Deepwater Horizon, and oil drilling rig operated by Transocean. Today, the crew is performing a negative pressure test to ensure the safety of the rig and to confirm that the rig is overall running smoothly. It goes expectedly successfully, until Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich), one of Deepwater Horizon's bosses, wants to perform the test all the way up to the kill line. The team proceeds with this. However, things start to go awry. When the crew begins pumping the mud out of the rig system, it bursts, sending the crew off their feet. The methane gas can't take the power much longer, resulting in a major explosions that causes havoc all over the Deepwater Horizon Rig. Now Mike and the crew must fight for their lives to save themselves and the rest of the team from becoming engulfed in the flames in what would soon be considered the worst oil disaster in U.S. history.
Mike goes about his everyday job on the Deepwater Horizon rig...
It would seem like a normal day for Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg). He wakes up to his beautiful wife, Felicia (Kate Hudson), gets his truck filled up at the local gas station, and drives to his job at the Deepwater Horizon, and oil drilling rig operated by Transocean. Today, the crew is performing a negative pressure test to ensure the safety of the rig and to confirm that the rig is overall running smoothly. It goes expectedly successfully, until Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich), one of Deepwater Horizon's bosses, wants to perform the test all the way up to the kill line. The team proceeds with this. However, things start to go awry. When the crew begins pumping the mud out of the rig system, it bursts, sending the crew off their feet. The methane gas can't take the power much longer, resulting in a major explosions that causes havoc all over the Deepwater Horizon Rig. Now Mike and the crew must fight for their lives to save themselves and the rest of the team from becoming engulfed in the flames in what would soon be considered the worst oil disaster in U.S. history.
Deepwater Horizon never finds a single dull moment. Not even in the dialogue-empowered scenes. The conversations between crew members are engaging and consistently entertaining, boasting wonderful dialogue to add on to the benefits of an already great disaster film. While it could be argued that some character arcs could stand to be lightly more buoyant, Mark Wahlberg's character, Mike Williams, is wondefully portrayed on the screen, made even better by a standout performance by Wahlburg that makes this role arguably his most influential yet. Kurt Russell and John Malkovich don't dampen behind, either, making great compliments to a terrific lead role that largely empowers the film beyond storyline elements.
The Negative Pressure Test.
Deepwater Horizon boasts an incredibly powerful story that may not hit as hard as some of 2016's other entries such as Hacksaw Ridge but undoubtedly makes for one that one will very likely remember far beyond the ride home from the theater. Director Peter Berg, who was responsible for bringing Lone Survivor and later in 2016's Patriots Day to the screen, does a thoughtful job in bringing such a powerful true story to no-holds-barred and appreciably explicit life. The film's undoubted climax, which kicks in at the 60 minute mark, hits profoundly hard. The explosions inside and outside the rig are delivered from the screen with intense power - literally and figuratively - that fully encompasses what made the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion such a huge deal. It's arguably one of the film's strongest assets, showcasing true, emotional, and raw power, and the film does that exceptionally.
There's no denying that the the film is a techincal success as well. Berg explores with several camera angles, including close-ups, wide shots, and a handheld-like motion, which all crescendo into one excellent cinematography achivement. The film features an extremely bombastic sound design that never falls flat under the radar. Sound designer Wylie Stateman brings all of the film's explosions, metal snaps, ambient atmospheres, and foley effects to starlingly crisp and immensely powerful life, and all of it shows (or, should I say, hears) on the screen. Bravo, Stateman. Bravo.
DEEPWATER HORIZON Blu-ray - Video Quality
According to the trusty IMDb, Deepwater Horizon was shot digitally utilizing the Arri Alexa XT, and its digital powress shows on Blu-ray. What we get here is an image that is so well-detailed and intricately colored that the digital source could honestly pass for film at times. There's a nice array of different colors throughout the film. Whether oil rig suit reds, explosion oranges, Gulf of Mexico blues, or excess mud browns, the 1080p transfer never misses a beat in presenting all of the film's intentionally dim or daylight bright colors it has to offer. Details are a highlight, with facial pores on Mark Wahlberg or John Malkovich, odds and ends around the rig, slimy mud, ocean ripples, and the engine of a car being some of the great examples of fantastic detail on this release. The only real complaint comes with underwater shots. Though they boast some excellently lifelike underwater colors that do justice to the film's terrific cinematography, they look slightly hazier than the film's out-of-water shots. But no matter. Macroblocking, aliasing and banding aren't in sight. If you're the type of videophile who loves highly detailed, natural-looking presentations, Deepwater Horizon is the Blu-ray for you.
DEEPWATER HORIZON Blu-ray - Audio Quality
Lock the doors firmly, shut the windows tightly, and try not to disturb the neighbors. Why? Because Deepwater Horizon's mind-blowing Dolby Atmos lossless soundtrack will test the capability of your home theater, and in all the right ways. Things get off to a great start in the beginning. Mike's house dazzles with the light yet apparent sounds of birds chirping outside. On his way to work, the gas station springs to life with passing cars and freight trucks manuevering from side to side. The rig is a fabulously immersive cacophony of sound effects from all types of machines coming from all over the stage. Then the unthinkable happens. Mud starts leaking out, and the explosions ramble one by one. Wow. Talk about an aggressive soundtrack! Every single burst of flame that spurts from the rig is extremely forceful yet wonderfully detailed, all complimented better by the smart use of expert surround activity, brainy overhead usage, fantastic LFE to give it unmistakable power that is guaranteed to shock even the most discerning audiophiles. And to think that dialogue still sounds superb under all this chaos. It's delivered with faultless clarity and clearness, making it the perfect compliment to an already astounding track that makes for one of the finest Dolby Atmos listens the format has yet to offer.
DEEPWATER HORIZON Blu-ray - Special Features
- Beyond the Horizon features the following: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Hudson, Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, and Dylan O'Brien, all of which are pieces that talk about the actors themeselves and why they all play such an important role in the movie.
- Captain of the Rig: Peter Berg is, as the title suggests, a look at the film's director, Peter Berg, including interviews with him.
- The Fury of the Rig takes a really interesting peek at the Deepwater Horizon rig itself, as well as filming during the film's climactic explosion sequences.
- Deepwater Survelliance is a fun little piece that gives viewers a sense of the behind-the-scenes aspects of the film's most punishing moments. Included here are First Blowout, First Blowout with Stunts, Drill Deck Explosion, Assistant Driller's Shack Crash, Main Methane Explosion, Mr. Jimmy's Shower, Roughneck Rescue, Mike and Caleb Restore the Power, To the Lifeboats, Lifeboat Rescue, and Andrea's Jump. Give this one a look; you won't be disappointed.
- Participant Media: Work Like an American offers American Worker Tributes, which tributes the real life heroes of the tragedy, and I Am a Steel Beam tells about the power a steel beam can have on society. (Silly, I know, but actually quite interesting.)
DEEPWATER HORIZON Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation
Deepwater Horizon is a rock-solid disaster film that always manages to entertain the viewer at every turn, no matter what the setting or the peril. It doesn't contain the lasting impact of film like, say, Hacksaw Ridge but that shouldn't shy away viewers from what is an expertly-shot, well-realized disaster thriller that ranks among one of the better disaster films of this decade. Leave it up to a sharp director like Peter Berg to make a disaster film largely enjoyable without succumbing to overdramatic cliche. Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment's Blu-ray is fantastic, serving up wonderful video and all-the-way demo-worthy Atmos audio. The supplements on this track are surprisingly interesting and definitely worth checking out. Highly recommended.
EXTRA SCREENSHOTS (Right-click and select 'Open image in new tab' to see full size)
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