Blu-ray Review: The Game Plan

THE MOVIE: 3 1/2 stars out of 5

The Game Plan can best be described as a cute family movie and is one that will be enjoyed best by families with kids under 13. The film stars ex pro wrestler and University of Miami football player Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Joe Kingman, the star quarterback of the Boston Rebels, a pro football team in an unnamed league patterned on the NFL. Joe Kingman is a swinging single who is in for a rude awakening when a young daughter he didn’t even know existed comes to find him and enters his life. Predictably, the daughter changes things completely for him and changes the course, not only of his lifestyle but his carrier as a football star as well. As an aside, the film is replete with tie ins to another Disney property, namely ESPN. I must say that these ties in here and in and other films has become tiresome. Remember all the Sony products is Casino Royale? Another aside, isn’t it bad enough that all the Boston pro teams win championships in real life! Does it really have to extend to the movies as well? Bleech! Recommended as a nice family film.

THE VIDEO: 4 7/8 out of 5

Encoded with AVC and presented in its original aspect ratio of 2:40:1, this is a great looking transfer and one that I could find no fault with. This is a bright and colorful film with excellent color fidelity with spot on flesh tones. The image is razor sharp as well with excellent detail and wonderful shadow detail, all of which combine to give a very three dimensional image with excellent depth. This is a wonderful looking transfer and an excellent effort from the folks at Disney.

THE AUDIO: 4 1/2 stars out of 5

Presented with an uncompressed PCM track at 48 kHz/24 bit, this is a very good sounding film. However, the audio quality, while good, does not match the superb quality of the video, falling a tad short. On the plus side, the dialogue is well recorded and well presented in the sound mix and is always clear and easy to decipher. It never gets lost in the mix. The overall sound is on the smooth side with not even a hint of harshness. My only complaint is that I found the front mix to be a little on the flat side which robs the overall sound of the totally immersive effect of the best soundtracks. It just lacks that smooth and totally open sound that marks the best releases in either of the two high def formats. However, it in no way will detract from your enjoyment of the film as the audio presentation is very good in its own right, albeit it just a tad short of the best sounding tracks out there.

IN CONCLUSION

The Game Plan is an excellent looking film on Blu-Ray and a cute film for the entire family. Recommended for families with young children looking for a film that the whole family can enjoy together.

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