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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Game Plan, The

    Featured In Issue 129, March 2008

    Picture4.5
    SoundNR
    WSR Score3
    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):
    Walt Disney Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    55660
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG
    (Rating Reason):
    For some mild thematic elements
    (Retail Price):
    $34.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    110
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2007
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    01/22/08
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Andy Fickman
    (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):
    Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM 24/48 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):

    High-living Boston Rebels star quarterback Joe Kingman (Johnson) finds his world turned topsy-turvy when a seven-year-old girl shows up at his door claiming to be his daughter from a brief previous marriage. The young girl, Peyton Kelly (Pettis), announces that she needs a place to stay while her mother is away on business. Having kids was not part of "The Game Plan," or so Joe believes. But for the next month, he is suddenly saddled with unfamiliar adult responsibilites, and as Joe tries to lead his team to a championship season, he also has to contend with parental duties, such as ballet classes and homework. (Stacey Pendry)

    Special features include forced up-front ads; nine deleted scenes; a three-minute blooper reel with Marv Albert; three featurettes: Drafting The Game Plan (20 minutes), ESPN's Sportscenter: The Rock Learns To Play QB (four minutes), and ESPN's Sports Center DVD/Blu-ray Exclusive: The King In Search Of A Ring (five minutes); previews; 12 deleted scenes available with or without an intro; Chalk Talk, which is a "sports booth" commentary with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Director Andy Fickman; a chance to help Peyton decorate in "Peyton's Makeover Madness" set-top activity; and D-BOX interactivity.

    The anamorphically enhanced 2.37:1 DVD exhibits fairly solid black levels and good shadow delineation, although the image can look somewhat flat at times. Color fidelity is fairly good and fleshtones look natural. Resolution is generally good, but there are many instances when the imagery can look soft and under-defined. Contrast is nicely balanced for the most part, but occasionally whites can look slightly overblown. Compression artifacts can be distracting fairly often. The H.264 AVC-encoded Blu-ray Disc exhibits deep black levels and good shadow delineation, and when combined with the bold, vibrant colors, the image can look quite realistic. Resolution is good as well. (Danny Richelieu)

    The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack features fairly good dynamics, although the soundtrack can sound fairly closed in and limited at times. The mix doesn't have much breadth or depth, but the surround channels can be used nicely for atmospheric effects. Shuffling noise and distortion can be heard frequently throughout. The Blu-ray Disc's uncompressed linear PCM 5.1-channel encoding delivers a slight improvement in dynamic range, but fidelity is improved, with much of the shuffling noise removed. Distortion can still be heard in some effects, and dialogue occasionally sounds forward. (Danny Richelieu)

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