BLU-RAY REVIEW

In The Name Of The King 3: The Last Mission

Featured In Issue 187, June 2014

Picture3.5
Sound3.5
WSR Score1.5
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):
2286829
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Violence and language
(Retail Price):
$29.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
86
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2014
(Theatrical Release):
No
(Direct-To-Video Release):
Yes
(Disc Release Date):
03/11/14
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Uwe Boll
(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 The Name Of The King 3: The Last Mission finds Hazen Kaine (Purcell), an American hitman, skeptically entering into what he hopes is his final contact with corrupt European crime lords. When Hazen realizes he's been tasked with an impossible mission involving the country's royal family, the stakes change and his mission turns into an all-out fight for survival that takes him spiraling back to medieval times. Now completely out of his element, he must evade a vile medieval army and reclaim a stolen kingdom. (Gary Reber)

Special features include a making-of featurette (HD 14:38), up-front previews, and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1.78:1 1080p AVC picture is a straight-to-video digital production that exhibits a generally low-production value appearance. The excessive hand-held camera conveys a mediocre viewing experience. Overall, the imagery appears sharp and detailed during closeups, as long as there is not too much camera jiggle. The color palette appears natural enough, though, production lighting is at times amateurish and the CGI undefined. Blacks are deep, and shadow delineation is decent. Still, the production limits the visual excitement and the "digital TV" look never engages. (Gary Reber)

As with the past release, the DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is pretty much underwhelming, with a generally frontal focus and occasional aggressive surround envelopment, especially during segments of a CGI dragon. While outdoor ambiance is spatially dimensional, the effect is not particularly effective. Sound effects, such as galloping horses and dragon fire, are decent. The .1 LFE extends deep with, at times, sub-25 Hz response. The orchestral music score sounds spatially competent, with a deep bass foundation. Dialogue is poorly integrate, sounding forward and often ADR produced and wanting in spatial congruency. Overall, this translates to a conventional sonic experience that isn't distinguished. (Gary Reber)