McCanick Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray release of "McCanick" from Well Go USA offers a virtually flawless AVC encoded 1080p transfer in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The Red Epic-shot film exhibits excellent clarity and precision, enhancing the viewing experience with strong and consistent contrast. Despite the film’s frequent use of a sickly yellow sheen for color grading—a departure from the typical blue palette of crime thrillers—the transfer maintains impressive detail and sharpness. The facial features and textures are rendered quite well, especially in close-ups where the image shines.

However, some of the stylistic choices made during production slightly compromise the overall image quality. The warm, almost hazy veneer in wider shots can reduce fine details, delivering an overly manipulated look. While daytime scenes benefit from high contrast that prevents white levels from running too hot, nighttime or shadowed scenes suffer significantly. Heavy crush leads to an unnatural pixilated effect, making parts of the film look like scrambled channels on an old satellite dish. Although colors appear mostly rich, the industrial palette and warmness don't offer much in terms of vivid colors. Despite these issues, the transfer still provides an above-average standard of detail that enhances the visual aspects of "McCanick."

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the Blu-ray of "McCanick" offers an exceptional audio experience, with a balanced and consistent surround activity that effectively utilizes the film’s bustling urban settings and action sequences. Dialogue is meticulously clear with excellent fidelity, ensuring that every spoken word is distinct and comprehensible. The dynamic range is impressively wide, capturing both the quietest and most intense moments with precision.

The mix accentuates both dialogue and the film's score harmoniously, maintaining clarity without either element overwhelming the other. During critical scenes, especially near the film's conclusion, the score does slightly overreach in its attempt to convey unearned sentimentality. Nonetheless, the handling of sound effects, particularly gunshots, is superb. The LFE channels are utilized to deliver immense power and presence, enhancing the realism of these moments. The setting's distressed urban environment is effectively rendered through the immersive mix, adding to the film's gritty, real-time atmosphere, even if the overall film fails to meet this auditory standard.

The Blu-ray extras for "McCanick" provide a decent overview of the production process and additional content, which will appeal to fans of the film. The Behind the Scenes feature offers a typical yet insightful glimpse into the filmmaking, showcasing interviews with the cast who discuss the script's unique appeal. The Deleted and Extended Scenes compilation allows viewers to explore content that did not make it into the final cut, adding value to the home viewing experience even if these scenes were considered non-essential by some. Lastly, the Trailer captures highlights of the film in high definition, providing a neat, cinematic preview.

Extras included in this disc:

• Behind the Scenes: Interviews with cast about the remarkable script.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes: A set of extraneous scenes.
• Trailer: Highlights of the film in HD.

"McCanick" offers a final glimpse into the late Cory Monteith's filmography, yet falls short in delivering a compelling narrative. Despite possessing a notable cast including David Morse, Mike Vogel, and Ciarán Hinds, who are drawn to the hardboiled crime story, the film squanders their profound capabilities. Monteith's limited screen time disappointing those who might watch the movie for his last performance. Instead, Morse's portrayal of the tormented Detective Eugene 'Mack' McCanick takes center stage, depicting a volatile cop on his worst day. The film attempts to build intrigue through convoluted backstories and a series of predictable flashbacks that lack impactful revelations.

Although the actors deliver strong performances, highlighting Morse's talent and Hinds' memorable albeit brief presence, the film’s script undermines their efforts. Screenwriter Daniel Noah and director Josh C. Waller ambitiously weave an intricate narrative that, upon closer inspection, is rife with unnecessary complexity. The narrative ostensibly teases a mystery intertwined with flashbacks and dramatic sequences, yet primarily extends a brief premise into an overstretched runtime. Heavy-handed editing and overtly stylized sequences further bog down the pacing, rendering suspense ineffective and the eventual climax predictable.

"McCanick" suffers from an overblown structure that ultimately detracts from its potential impact. Director Josh C. Waller’s inclination towards overly dramatic scenes with handheld camera work gives an air of false profundity to a superficially crafted storyline. The film’s insistence on crafting a labyrinthine plot overshadows the core story and relegates Monteith’s and Vogel's characters to mere plot devices. This overly ambitious narrative leaves viewers with a sense of unfulfilled potential, resulting in a lackluster cop thriller marred by its own misplaced grandiosity.

`McCanick' attempts to present itself as a gripping crime drama but ultimately falls short in delivering a compelling narrative. Despite an impressive cast featuring David Morse and Cory Monteith, the film's execution lacks the depth and complexity needed to truly engage its audience. Morse delivers a noteworthy performance but occasionally overextends his emotional range, while Monteith, more famously known for his role on 'Glee', finds himself miscast and underutilized in the part of Simon Weeks. This miscasting coupled with inconsistencies in storytelling leads to an underwhelming viewer experience.

From a technical standpoint, the Blu-ray release is commendable. The audio quality is notably robust, offering clear dialogue and dynamic soundscapes that enhance the viewing atmosphere. The visual presentation is equally impressive, with sharp image clarity and balanced color grading that brings out the best in the film’s cinematography. However, these technical merits do little to salvage the film's intrinsic flaws in narrative and character development.

Monteith fans may be willing to overlook some of this film's manifest shortcomings in order to catch one last glimpse of the actor, but there's probably little else of interest here, despite an impressive cast. Those who are interested in this title due to Monteith or another cast member should be very pleased with the technical merits of this release.