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(Due to a 1,000 character maximum, I have omitted my review of the movies’ content).

Video

Identity – 4.0

It’s a pretty good transfer for a movie made in ‘02. Colors and contrast were spot-on for the most part with a good amount of detail in blacks. However, I noticed quite a few instances of grain and artifacts popping up every now and then, and I think a few shots made colors and skin tones look a tad smudgy, but it’s hard to tell having just seen these for the first time. Bitrates are steady from the high 20s to low 30s (for all three movies), and the non-grainy scenes were sharp and DNR-less from what I can tell. It’s definitely not demo material, but much better than a DVD and other BD transfers.

Supremacy – 4.5

Being made in ‘04, Supremacy is presented with a much higher quality video transfer. And for all the complaints I hear of the camera being too shaky, it actually didn’t bother me so much. Colors and contrast are even more vibrant in this one and sharpness is very precise, which I noticed in the facial features of the actors. I watched all three films one after another in a single night, and believe me, the picture quality gets better with each sequel. The only problems I had were during a few darkly-lit scenes and the one car-chase through Moscow. Grain was slightly more prevalent in these shots, and I think a few closeups seemed out of focus and just short of perfect.

Ultimatum – 5.0

Being most recent and filmed in ‘07, I was blown away by the quality of Ultimatum. I’d read early reviews of near-flawless transfers for this. But after seeing it myself, I seriously didn’t notice a single problem anywhere. Colors, contrast, flesh tones, backgrounds, photography, blacks, sharpness, shadow delineation; it’s all perfect, at least to my eye. This is reference quality video if you want an action movie relying on little CG or visual effects to show off to your guests. My favorite sequences are the overhead/sky shots of all the exotic cities.

Audio

Identity, Supremacy – 4.5

While the video is good and great for the first two films respectively, the DTS-HD tracks for them are excellent at the least. Directionality is well-placed with subtle dynamic range and a good deal of LFE during gunfights and car chases (much more so on Supremacy). Music by John Powell is immersive as well, though not quite as bombastic or with as much ambiance as Ultimatum’s overall sound design. Dialogue is clear with zero dropout, and I didn’t detect any anomalies like hissing or crackling.

Ultimatum – 5.0

This movie won three Oscars for Sound, Design, and Editing, and rightfully so. The audio effects and music all meld together flawlessly having sounds from every single speaker non-stop of even the most subtle variety. You will wow your guests, guaranteed, with any action sequences. Directionality comes from every speaker just as you’d “see” them on the screen. If a car crashes from the left to the right side, you’ll actually hear it travel across your front speakers. If a gunshot approaches from the side or rear of the camera, you hear it travel from the sides to the fronts. I don’t know how to better explain than saying you literally hear what you see. Dynamics have all sorts of range from shoes running on gravel, horns honking in the distance, glass shattering, bones crunching, etc. LFEs are especially good with lots of variation in bass levels between the music and sound effects. Reference.

Extras – 4.5

I watched the extras for all three movies, which consisted of the usual production, shooting logistics, and stunt work documentaries and found them very informative. I also liked the the little background info on Robert Ludlum’s career and creation of Bourne, though it’s sad to hear he died right before Identity came out. I’m sure he would’ve loved these adaptations. All of these features are in SD and just a little too broad for me, but I still enjoyed them. A few things that were really cool, though, were the U-Control features. I’ve honestly never messed with any of this BD-Live or interactive stuff, but from what I saw, it’s actually pretty neat. I didn’t feel like rewatching the movies again, so I’m not really sure how flashy or in depth these trivia tracks or PIP features can go.

Overall – 4.5

Lots of people these days are making comparisons between Bourne and the new Bond movies. While I really like Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace for the more humanistic approach to Bond’s character, I have to say I also never expected The Bourne Trilogy to be as in depth, yet down-to-earth as it presented itself. I’ve only seen Matt Damon in maybe two or three films prior to Bourne, but I will admit to my misguided reluctance and say he did a fabulous job in this role. While not quite meeting my personal criteria to be an all-time favorite, there’s certainly enough character and story to provide a tremendous amount of entertainment and replay value for years to come. I highly recommend this series for anyone looking for a gritty, emotional interpretation of the spy/action/thriller/conspiracy genre.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Bourne Trilogy (The Bourne Identity | The Bourne Supremacy | The Bourne Ultimatum) [Blu-ray]

Product Description:
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca)Release Date: 01/27/2009

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