Home Gaming Gattaca – Blu Ray Review + Competition

Gattaca – Blu Ray Review + Competition

4 min read
8

By Phillip Dunkley

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, Uma Thurman, Xander Berkeley

Directed by: Andrew Nicol

Gattaca Reviewed

A few weeks ago we started a column which featured a few reviews of Blu-Ray titles, and although we did get some interest on this, we did not really get the response we were looking for, especially since we had a couple of stories about consumers not being able to tell the difference between DVD and Blu-Ray versions of the movies. So we’re going to change things up a bit, because change is good, right? I hope so. What were going to do is the following. I’m going to release a single Blu-Ray review each week, and go into a bit more in depth than I did on the previous batch of reviews, hopefully giving a bit more insight on the quality and quantity of the overall package. We have also been given the go ahead to give a couple of these movies away, and that should at least get the blood pumping over a format that is clearly on its way up. Let’s get to it shall we.

Gaming fans are generally fans of science fiction movies. This is a generalisation, but I’m sure it’s a pretty accurate one. There have also been a plethora of Science Fiction/Fantasy movies released over the years, some good, some really bad. In fact there is a lot more bad than good in the market, but sometimes a real gem hits us with a story that captures the imagination, yet clearly has much more depth and drama than all the rest put together. Titles like Blade Runner and Alien.

Gattaca is another one of those movies.

Work, don't think

Set in the not so distant future, the world has changed dramatically from what we knew. Humans have evolved, not naturally, but from genetic modification, and no longer is success driven by hard work and dedication, it’s basically guaranteed if your parents pick the right set of genetic markers to almost guarantee your perfect existence.

Vincent Freeman is not one of those children; he is a natural human, with defects of a heart condition and possible death at an early age. After this news, his parents elect to genetically alter their second child, Anton, who is better in almost every way. The problem is that Vincent has always wanted to travel into space, but this is basically impossible not being a perfect individual, and Vincent takes to drastic measures to fulfil his dream of going into space, and working for the Gattaca Corporation.

He takes on the persona of Jerome, a genetically altered individual who was involved in an accident which left him paralysed, that luckily no one knows about and does not know he is in hiding. This process involves such drastic measures that one slip up will immediately jeopardise everything they have painstakingly worked for. Everything must be perfect, from blood pockets in the fingers for identification to eye colour, from height to hair follicles. Everything works well until a twist unfolds that could ruin everything they have so meticulously created.

Illegal Love

Gattaca is such a good movie in its own right, but never really got the praise it deserved, and the cast are unbelievable in their performances, even Ethan Hawke, who I’m not a huge fan of.

Video
Gattaca is a 2.40:1 HD Transfer, and although it looks particularly good, there is some noise and graininess in the darker sections, as on a lot of older movies (It’s about 11 years old now). However, besides this little issue, Gattaca has beautiful visuals, and sets such a perfect tone for this type of movie, and I had the chance to compare it to the DVD version, and it is definitely clearer and sharper.

Sound
It’s amazing what TrueHD can do to a soundtrack of a movie that did not particularly blow you away the first time. It has a dramatic soundtrack, particularly in scenes within the Gattaca Corporations buildings, where order and tranquillity are part of everyday life, you could hear a pin drop, and on this soundtrack, you can. This film also has a very good surround mix, emphasised by a good setup.

Extras
Once again, as on the DVD, this film is lacking any real substance to the extra’s, with a couple of Deleted Scenes and a couple of Featurettes, one about Genetic Modification and another with some comments from the Cast. Not a great set of Extras to be found here.

A building... seriously

Conclusion
Once again this is the definitive version of the movie to own, and if you’ve never seen this masterpiece, go and buy it now, and if you’ve been thinking of adding this to you collection for a while, there is no better time than now. It’s a really compelling watch for anyone looking for something more than mind numbing entertainment.

Scores

Video: 80%
Sound: 80%
Extras: 60%
Story: 90%
Overall: 80%

So here comes the competition part, I need the name of actor who play’s Hellboy in the movies, and I’ll send the winner a copy of Hellboy on Blu-Ray. All correct answers will be entered into a draw, and this will be done on the 15th of May, and the more entries you send, the better chance of winning. Email me at Philip@lazygamer.co.za

Last Updated: May 9, 2008

8 Comments

  1. Messiah

    May 9, 2008 at 10:54

    With your review I personally would leave out the “Story” score as this is to much of a personal opinion. A movie I might enjoy and give a 90% might have no relevance to someone else.

    My 2c’s worth.

    Reply

  2. SlippyMadFrog

    May 9, 2008 at 10:57

    This was an excellent movie. The question is, will blu-ray make you enjoy this movie more since the emphasis is not on special effects or sound but on story telling. I won’t fork out an extra R100 to get this on Blu-Ray IMO.

    Reply

  3. AL360

    May 9, 2008 at 11:09

    i fully agree don’t see the point on releaseing old movies on BD thou Iron man would been cool to review and give away
    so i think your sponsors need to supply with some new stuff
    just my 2 cents

    Reply

  4. SlippyMadFrog

    May 9, 2008 at 11:10

    I think all reviews are subjective to the reviewer though.

    Reply

  5. LazySAGamer

    May 9, 2008 at 11:16

    One step at a time :), first we need them to sponsor us and then we can hassle for better prizes.

    I thought Hellboy was quite an awesome prize though

    Reply

  6. Messiah

    May 9, 2008 at 11:45

    maybe, but story is a lot more than anything else.

    Anyone else like Grandma’s Boy or Blade’s of Glory. They both are AWSOME, but I am sure other people might say differently

    Reply

  7. SlippyMadFrog

    May 9, 2008 at 13:59

    Cool, Agreed.

    Reply

  8. daniel

    June 5, 2008 at 18:57

    🙂 i have seen gattica a few times over the years and it was one of the first movies i bought on blu ray.i have to say that your review was one of the most accurate and well written i have ever read.you were spot on about the visuals.it is perfect for the format and whilst not the best i have seen,is vry satisfying.good job

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

5 Tech Innovations Transforming Online Shopping in 2024

Your consumer experience today will never be like the face-to-face and physically draining…