Lincoln Lawyer - Blu-ray Review

4.0 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis

Having spent most of his career defending gutter-variety criminals, attorney Mick Haller (McConaughey) takes on a case that could land him a real office, instead of running his practice out of his old Lincoln.  Haller reaches a crisis of conscious, though, while working on the defense of Beverly Hills playboy Louis Roulet (Phillippe).  Roulet is charged with attempted murder and what appears to be a straightforward case with a big payoff escalates into a deadly match between two masters of manipulation. Buy Now $19.99

Starring:

Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña, Bob Gunton, Frances Fisher, Bryan Cranston

Director:

Brad Furman

Blu-ray Release Date:

Subtitles:

English, English SDH, Spanish

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 3.8 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison
●    Subwoofer - 4.0 Stars
●    Dialog - 4.0 Stars
●    Surround Effects - 3.0 Stars
●    Dynamic Range - 4.0 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1

The Lincoln Lawyer has a surprisingly deep sounding audio presentation. Everything seems to carry a little heft, and it works well for the movie, especially the soundtrack. The beginning and end of the film is filled with rich sounding R&B. Which is a little unexpected in a courtroom drama, but seams to fit the character and mood of the film. Dialog is a little muddy in the beginning, but quickly becomes crisp and lucid. Rear speakers are rarely used, but sometimes bring background sounds to life, like ocean waves and passing cars. This is generally a dialog driven movie, and it baffles me that there's a 7.1 mix on it. There are a few gunshots to be heard, but don't expect much action, lawyers aren't known for that.

Video  4.5 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison
●    Color Accuracy  - 4.5 Stars
●    Shadow detail - 4.5 Stars
●    Clarity - 4.5 Stars
●    Skin tones - 4.5 Stars
●    Compression - 4.5 Stars

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1, Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Colors are a little pale like a the smoggy Los Angeles sky. The color palette is filled with browns, blacks, and soft hues. Blacks are impressively true without losing much detail. The real star of this video performance is the clarity. Clothing patterns and suit patterns are easily noticeable. Some actors look older than I remember, because their aging freckles, wrinkles, and crows feet could not escape the now widely used Red One digital camera.

Bonus Features 3.5 Stars (out of 5)

• Making the Case: Creating The Lincoln Lawyer (HD; 13:40). Featurette with author Michael Connelly and cast and crew discussing adapting the novel to a movie.
• At Home on the Road (HD; 10:16) A tour guide around various Los Angeles places used in the film.
• One on One with McConaughey and Connelly (HD; 5:28)
• Deleted Scenes (HD; 4:07)

Movie - 3.5 Stars (out of 5)

Review

I don't normally like courthouse dramas. Watching Law and Order makes me feel like an old man. However, The Lincoln Lawyer had enough believable twists in it to keep me interested and enjoy the cleverly written storyline. The casting was perfect. Matthew McConaughey plays the morally questionable lawyer with confidence and charisma. The whole cast has great chemistry and help bring the movie to life.
The plot was almost what I expected, but then there was a twist. Then when I thought it was over, boom ... another twist, and they all were surprisingly believable. This film puts a spotlight on stereotypes and does it without preaching. It also doesn't pull any punches about how twisted the justice system is, but at least it shows how one man tried to fix it. By the way, that trailer looks like it gives away the whole movie, but it only tells a ½ of it.