BLU-RAY REVIEW

Atlas Shrugged Part II: The Strike

Featured In Issue 175, March 2013

Picture4.5
Sound4.5
WSR Score4.5
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
227859295
(MPAA Rating):
PG-13
(Rating Reason):
Brief language
(Retail Price):
$29.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
112
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2012
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
02/19/13
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
John Putch
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

In Atlas Shrugged Part II: The Strike, the global economy is on the brink of collapse. Brilliant creators, from artists to industrialists, continue to mysteriously disappear. Dagny Taggart (Mathis), the rugged individualists-co-family owner of a once mighty transcontinental railroad, has discovered a machine that may very well be the answer to a mounting energy crisis—a revolutionary motor that could seemingly power the World. But, the motor is dead... there is no one left to decipher its secret... and, someone is watching. It's a race against the clock to find the inventor before the motor of the World is stopped for good. Based on Ayn Rand's 1957 novel. (Gary Reber)

Special features include a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes, a Sean Hannity Extended Segment, and upfront previews.

As with Part I, Part II's 1.78:1 1080p AVC picture was photographed digitally with the similar feel of a made-for-television movie. The image quality is decent, with a well-balanced contrast, with deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation. The color palette appears naturally hued with warm, strong, saturated tones. Fleshtones are naturally hued. Resolution is excellent, with sharp and clear images of facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. While there are a few soft shots, there is no objectionable digital noise. Unlike Part I, the picture is effectively cinematic, resulting in a presentation that is visually engaging throughout. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is dynamic, though, often frontal focused. The surround energy is at times intense and is supported with energized .1 LFE bass extension to sub-25 Hz frequencies. There is an effective sense of soundfield dimension. Atmospherics and sound effects are most prominent during several scenes of explosions and company destruction, as well as on the Taggart Transcontinental trains on the John Galt railroad. In addition, the expansive orchestral music score provides an enveloping sense of aggressive spatial dimension with its presence in the surround channels and wide fontal soundstage. The deep bass presence is effective throughout and punctuates a number of segments, to provide a solid foundation. Dialogue is natural sounding and nicely integrated spatially, and always intelligible. Overall, this is a superb holosonic® surround experience. (Gary Reber)