Blu-ray Review: The Rookie

THE MOVIE: 4 stars out of 5

The Rookie is based on the story of Jim Morris who had been a minor league pitcher before he blew out his shoulder. As a result of the injury, he had extensive surgery and retired to become a high school baseball coach. After being a coach for a number of years, he discovered that he was able to throw harder that he did before the injury and made a bet with his poorly performing team that if they won the championship, he would try out again for the big leagues. Lo and behold, the team caught fire and won the championship. Jim Morris tried out for local scouts and was signed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays where he finally made it back to “The Show” for two years.

As based on a true story, The Rookie is predictable but is very well told and weaves a story into the main narrative about the importance of family and the mistakes that we make as parents when we don’t encourage our children to pursue their passions. I really enjoyed this film and would recommend it for the entire family.

THE VIDEO: 4 5/8 stars out of 5

Encoded with AVC and presented in its original aspect ratio of 2:35:1, this is another excellent transfer from Disney. Colors are very natural looking with excellent flesh tones. Considering all of the artistic color choices made by many filmmakers these days, it was pleasure to see a film with such accurate and natural colors. Black level is solid throughout with excellent clarity giving the film a very good three dimensional image. Detail was excellent as well with wrinkles and skin blemishes clearly visible as well as the fine textures in clothing and buildings. There is really nothing to say negatively about the look of this transfer. Yes have seen a few transfers with even better clarity and detail so I would not rate this a reference transfer but is is a fine looking transfer nonetheless.

THE AUDIO: 4 5/8 stars out of 5

The audio on this release is presented with a 5.1 mix at 48 kHz/24 bit and sounds wonderful. Dialogue is distinct and clear and well presented in the mix. The overall sound is smooth, open and dynamic, especially the music which is very well presented with excellent clarity, imaging, soundstaging and depth. Bass is excellent overall as well. The surrounds are put to excellent use generating a very satisfying immersive sound field putting you in the center of the action, especially during the baseball sequences. There is little to quibble about with the audio presentation on this release which fans of the film will no doubt love.

IN CONCLUSION

This is a very enjoyable and uplifting film about a man’s quest to fulfill his dreams and the importance of family and how the two are interrelated. It also boasts very good audio and video to boot. Recommended.

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