- Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Spanish Mono
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: R
- Run Time: 89 Mins.
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: November 22nd, 2011
- List Price: $39.99
[amazon-product]B005IUIWIO[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Carjacked on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2/5]
The Film
[Rating:1/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
–
The Film
[Rating:1/5]
Carjacked tells the story of Lorraine (Maria Bello), a stressed out single mom who is continually harassed by her ex-husband. Now as the saying goes things can’t get any worse for her….right? Well, this wouldn’t be a Hollywood movie if they didn’t….get…worse. Enter Roy (Stephen Dorff), a fugitive on the run after robbing a bank. Clearly not wanting to go to jail, Roy kidnaps both Lorraine and her 8-year-old son. Refusing to give up, Lorraine decides to fight back. What results is an awful film that is so riddled with cliches we’ve seen a thousand times before (only in FAR better movies).
The main problem with Carjacked is that the basic concept behind the film has been done before, only with more skill. Some surely may blame the low budget of the film as the reason behind the film’s ultimate failure. I don’t believe that is the case as numerous low budget films of this nature (look at the recent, highly excellent Drive with a budget of $10M) have succeeded. The reason why Carjacked fails is because none of the characters (I will give credit to both Bello and Dorff as they are somewhat good actors) ever seemed believable in any of the situations they were thrown in. Another problem is the script, which forces the otherwise serviceable actors into the aforementioned cliches or over-the-top explosions — explosions that just occur to occur. Yea, Carjacked is THAT kind of film. Avoid this one at all costs.
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
The 2:35:1 framed, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer is quite good. Facial closeups result in fine detail whether in exterior daylight moments or even in the darker night sequences. Speaking of darker scenes, the film’s color palette tends to focus on a somewhat bronzed look to it. Even though that is the case and the image may have a somewhat ‘tan’ look to it, detail is never lost. Colors are consistently vibrant. There’s no real instance of any grain as the film was shot digitally and the film’s print is in fine condition. All in all a fine effort from Anchor Bay. I just wish the film was better.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The film’s provided Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is a slight step below the aforementioned video. Deciding to go with a Dolby TrueHD track versus the commonly used DTS-HD Master Audio, this is still a fairly good effort. Dialogue is well reproduced via the center channel while rear effects are somewhat active. Atmosphere is subdued, which I blame on the limitations of a Direct-To-Video film. Discrete effects, outside of the occasional gun fire or car screeching by, are far and few in between. LFE is mostly musically called on giving us that ‘oomph’ here and there during the heightened action sequences. Outside of the restrictions found within your typical DTV film, this is a somewhat good effort from Anchor Bay.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
The provided supplements are shown in full HD:
- Carjacked: Behind the Scenes – This runs close to 3 minutes and shows us a bit of footage from the making of the film.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:2/5]
Excellent video and good audio can’t make up for an all around bad film. Even though the technical merits of the title are worthwhile, I can’t recommend this title.
Additional Screen Captures
–
[amazon-product]B005IUIWIO[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Carjacked on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2/5]
The Film
[Rating:1/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
–
