- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: R
- Discs: 1
- Studio: Image Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: May 31, 2011
- List Price: $29.97
[amazon-product]B004LYWQ12[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Passion Play on Bu-ray at CD Universe
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Overall
[Rating:2.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
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)
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The Film
[Rating:2/5]
It seems like we have officially entered the era of the bad David Lynch imitations, with The Big Bang and now this, Passion Play, seeing release so close together. I’m sure there are many more films out there that take their quirky style and beautiful imagery from Lynch and miss the mark of deeper meaning and artistic merit entirely, but I have thankfully put them out of my mind, for now at least.
From writer/director Mitch Glazer comes this lightweight film with a heavyweight cast that has a title, which can only be thought of as purposely ironic due to the complete lack of any real passion inherent in this film. Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox, and Bill Murray headline this fantasy-romance-thriller about a beautiful woman with wings like an angel (Fox) who becomes the object of desire for all of the men in her life, including a down-and-out jazz musician (Rourke), a mobster (Murray), and a carnival owner she escapes from with the help of Rourke.
This sort of neo-noir film, an attempt at an examination of life, love, and the journey of life is nothing new, but it fails rather miserably here due to a poorly written script and bad casting. And, no, I’m not going where you think I’m going with this. Surprisingly enough, for all the bad press over the years of her short career, it is Megan Fox who puts in the strongest performance in Passion Play. I say that as someone who is not enraptured by her acting skills or her beauty. Here, she is nearly flawless as the angelic object of desire, purity, and pellucid youth against the ravaged and aged presence that is Mickey Rourke as her strange lover and savior. Rourke’s acting is middling, but typical of his style. Murray, on the other hand, is completely unbelievable as the ruthless gangster ready to kill at a moment’s notice.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
While Passion Play‘s 1080p AVC encodement looks quite film-like, it will hardly be a reference anytime soon. It does tend to get rather grainy at times, often showing some video noise in darker areas, but there is strong detail in close-up shots, blacks are quite deep, and colors look incredibly rich.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix does offer clean dialogue and good dynamics, but the overall mix is rather lackluster. The surround channels are pretty stagnant, with minimal activity and low frequencies are nearly non-existent.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
Only the theatrical trailer for Passion Play in standard definition is provided.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:2.5/5]
So what’s the final verdict on Passion Play? It’s an absurd film that feels overindulgent, morose, and ridiculously fantastical all at once. It lacks any true passion, though there is a lot of intimation towards such. Finally, it is an easy-on-the-eyes Megan Fox putting in a surprisingly strong performance that carries this below average film. Purchase or rent at your own risk.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product]B004LYWQ12[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Passion Play on Bu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
