• Aspect Ratio: 1:78:1
• Video Codec: AVC MPEG-4
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
• Audio Codec: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
• Subtitles: None
• Region: A (Region-Locked)
• Rating: R
• Run Time: 90 Mins.
• Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD)
• Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
• Blu-ray Release Date: July 31st, 2012
• List Price: $29.99

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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

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The Film

[Rating:2/5]

Hijacked tells the story of the hijacking of a rich industrialist’s private plane by a terrorist group called the Tribe. They capture the crew members and demand that the secured Mr. Lied transfer the oddly specific amount of 2.73 billion dollars to a prepared Swiss bank account. Luckily, this amount factors into the plot, what little there is. After the hijacking, the movie moves along at a brisk pace, to the point that it was over before I realized what happened.

This action film starring Randy Couture of MMA fame and Holt McCallany of the FX show “Lights Out” is a by-the-numbers movie with all the clichés that a seasoned fan of the genre can expect. The actors do a good job, and while McCallany is never quite menacing as the villain Rostow, he is serviceable to the point that you can’t wait for Couture’s Paul Ross to give him his comeuppance. There is also good supporting work from Dominic Purcell as Otto, an ex-special forces member now serving as a bodyguard for the requisite billionaire.

To my surprise, the standard tired plot point of certain terrorists separating from the main group only to be taken out by the hero wasn’t used. Maybe it was due to the bad guys being few in number, or it was trying to give the audience some credit. The movie ends on an unpredictable note, with the specific amount of money playing into the final fate of the heroes and their employers in a way you might not be prepared for.

Even though Hijacked is a direct-to-video release, it is professionally made on a technical level and doesn’t feel like a cheap vehicle for Couture or suchlike. See it if you are in the mood for some light action, but don’t expect anything on the level of Executive Decision, despite what the studio tries to make this movie sound like.

Video Quality

[Rating:3.5/5]

Hijacked arrives with a 1:78:1 aspect ratio, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer. The film is bright, thankfully not making use of the dark corridors and skulking passageways that these genre pictures often do, making the viewer wonder why such areas exist on an otherwise well lit plane. There is no apparent artifacting or poor color saturation. There are no real standout visuals, but given its budget nature, this is to be expected. All in all, this is a decent effort from Anchor Bay.

Audio Quality

[Rating:4/5]

Hijacked is presented in Dolby True HD 5.1 and consists of stilted dialogue, delivered in a professional manner and lots of scenes of women screaming, fists flying, and bullets whizzing by but never managing to hit the good guys. There are no real standout audio moments; odd for an action film, but the opening shootout is the closest the movie comes to it. I was a bit surprised at how long it took the good guys to hit the one Asian-looking bad guy firing back with the shotgun. Naturally, they were never hit. It makes for an amusing bit of sound back and forth in a movie where such scenes are few and far between.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:0/5]

There are no extras included on this release, but a standard DVD is packaged in alongside the Blu-ray.

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:3.5/5]

While Anchor Bay’s Blu-ray for the film does feature a solid V/A presentation, this action film is too run-of-the-mill for me to really recommend it.

Additional Screen Captures

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[amazon-product]B007VXTANC[/amazon-product]

Purchase Hijacked on Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]

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