Revenge of the Fallen on Bluray disc

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

My dealer(no drugs folks) sent me a nice package yesterday, and in it was Wizard of Oz, and Tranformers:Revenge of the Fallen. My boys wanted me to save Wizard so we can all watch it together, but I sat down in my newly expanded small home theater(thanks to this movie) to watch this flick, and I was impressed.

It looks like Bay has refined the look of the characters from the first Transformers, and the characters look more fluid and life like than in the previous movie. The script can be a bit lame, and is often filled with jokes that fall flat as a pancake. However the action sequences more than take up the slack, and they are truly a sight to behold.

The picture quality on this disc is probably the best I have seen on this format. Featuring images framed in a 2:39:1 aspect ratio, you can literally reach into the screen and touch the characters the images are so fine. Aside from the overall sunburn look on some faces (likely artistic intent), the transparency of the images is astounding. 50 minutes into the picture, the frame opens up into a IMAX size image of 1:78:1 during a decepticon battle in a wooded forest, and it is breathtaking. The lion's share of the movie is in the original 2:39:1 aspect ratio, and that makes the open frame look just that much more dramatic. The picture quality is surely as reference as one can find on any Blu-ray disc.

Revenge of the Fallen features an energetic Dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that pounds the room into sand. From the fantastic opening credit sequence which features the Paramount stars whooshing from back to front, accompanied by the effective use of crunching metal and a deep low end growl designed to warm us up for the action ahead. This track makes extremely effective use of the surrounds, with effects zipping from one surround channel to the next. For those of you with 7.1 sound systems, engaging the rear decoding heightens, and smoothen's the surround effect giving it more depth and stability. This track is as realistic sounding as the picture looks - from dialog echo returns off walls in caves, to foreground and background explosions in the desert sequence. You are completely immersed in the robot battles, with sound effects exploding from every channel, and from all directions including from behind. The bass in this flick will iron out wrinkles in your pants, push your stomach to your back, and shake your floor boards at the fury of the below 20hz violence emanating from your sub. If you subwoofer is a sissy, take it to the Castro or Chelsea district, because it has no place else to go with this track.

If you are into extras, there is plenty to be found on the second disc. I am still looking at them, as there is almost as much material time wise as the movie itself.

I really like action flicks, and Transformer delivers big time. For those that rent, put it in your Netflix que. For the collectors, this is a must buy, and the deals out there are off the hook.