Out for Justice (HD DVD)

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There's not much else to say. Gino enlists the help of local buddies in the mob to help him find Richie, and the mob are more than willing to do this because Richie is giving them a bad name.

Most of the time in a Seagal picture, his character is super cool, but here we see him actually get angry. This is because most of the time Seagal's characters are only trying to save battleships or cities or the world, but in "Out for Justice" it's personal. It's a friend the baddie has killed. You don't mess with friends of the big guy with the ponytail.

Video:
WB do up the film in a 1080-resolution, VC-1, high-definition transfer that retains its 2.35:1 theatrical-release aspect ratio. For an HD picture, it is merely OK. There is a touch of blur by HD-DVD standards and some roughness, but it is surely better than any standard-definition picture would be.

Colors are bright, rich, and deep, yet the picture's overall quality is rather dark, and facial tones are not always too natural, ranging from too pink to too purple. Black levels are generally good, but they don't necessarily help with the already dark characteristics I mentioned. While grain is not a problem, either, there is always some grain present to some slight degree and maybe a small amount of transfer noise. For the most part, I'd say the film is probably about as good as the master print from which the engineers made it, and that's all you could ask of it, for better or for worse.

Audio:
Even though the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 reproduction is somewhat hard, edgy, and forward, noticeable particularly in the background music, the midrange is fairly clean and clear. There isn't much of a stereo spread, though, and the processing sends very little information to the rear speakers except some ambient noise and musical bloom. Dynamics are good and highs are well extended, the latter only emphasizing the soundtrack's overly aggressive upper frequencies.

Extras:
Not much here. Basically, we get a theatrical trailer, and that's in standard definition, with a 1.78:1 ratio. Beyond the trailer, there are twenty-five scene selections but no chapter insert; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages and subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired. In addition, we get the usual HD-DVD items: a zoom-and-pan feature, bookmarks, a counter of elapsed time, pop-up menus, and an Elite Red DVD case.

Parting Shots:
Years ago I reviewed a Steven Seagal film called "Marked for Death." When I received "Out for Justice" on HD DVD, I thought it was the same film until I started watching it. Then I realized my mistake, sort of. The two films appeared only a year apart, but like all Seagal films, they are practically indistinguishable from one another. Somebody gives Seagal's character a reason to go after him. Seagal does. Seagal wins. End of story. "Out for Justice" has a modicum more action and humor than most films of this kind. That doesn't improve it much, but it is watchable insofar as these things go. The high-definition processing also makes it a fraction more palatable. If you're already a fan, go for it. Otherwise, I'd advise caution.

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