As 2018 comes to a close I thought it would be a good time to share my favorite physical releases of the year. I am a big supporter of physical media and will continue to support it. I like owning my movies that I can hold, not in some cloud somewhere. I love box art. This year was a great year for exclusive Steelbooks at Best Buy. Some of them will make my list. In deciding the number I fell on the most obvious one, 18.
Number 15 is the spy thriller, Red Sparrow!
Red Sparrow is a mean movie. Violent, dark, and shocking. It had a tough time finding an audience as it grossed just $46 million. I really liked Red Sparrow and I am pretty sure I was the only one on the podcast that did.
Jennifer Lawrence stars as a ballerina, Dominika who after a horrific accident is recruited by her uncle to the Sparrow School. Dominika excels at the school and is soon thrust into the dark and sexy world of counter intelligence.
Directed with flair by Francis Lawrence Red Sparrow pulls no punches. As Dominika slips further down the rabbit hole of being a spy, she soon learns that maybe her accident was no accident, and the events that have transpired may have been carefully orchestrated by the Russian Government.
Red Sparrow is not for everyone. It’s full of twists that take time to reveal. Jennifer Lawrence commands the screen, she’s mean and smart, a perfect fit for this movie. Jeremy Irons is also great as General Korchnoi who lends some subtle power to his performance.
The UHD 4K disc of Red Sparrow is a stunner. One of the best looking UHD discs I have seen, the detail in clothes and even the furniture is astounding. The colors are bold and striking. A scene with Dominika while she engages in some torture is a soft blue, contrasted with deep blood red violence, it looks absolutely stunning.
The UHD disc also sports an impressive audio mix. One early scene with Dominika dancing cut with a transaction that takes place in a park, the music soars. Dialogue is crystal clear, gun shots are loud, and everything in this movie sounds incredible.
As the case with UHD discs, they don’t offer much in the way of extras. The only extra on the UHD disc is a solid commentary with director Francis Lawrence. The included blu-ray disc however includes some fascinating features, there are six in total running at about an hour and twenty minutes. My favorite was Heart of the Tempest which follows the production designer on the challenges of consistency with so many locations. There’s also about fifteen minutes of deleted scenes that are okay, but nothing too interesting.
The Steelbook exclusively sold at Best Buy is simple and cool. A black and white photo of Jennifer Lawrence that changes to a bird feather as it follows down her neck line. It looks good.
Film: A-
Video: A+
Audio: A+
Extras: B-
Steelbook: A
Overall: A