Year One Blu-ray Review

"Year One" makes its Blu-ray debut with a 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer that delivers commendable video quality. The transfer offers a film-like experience with minimal grain, maintaining a pristine, untreated visual integrity typical of Sony's releases. Detail is remarkably sharp across numerous scenes, especially in brightly lit outdoor sequences where individual elements such as evergreen needles, wavy grass, and animal fur are finely defined. Close-up shots exhibit extraordinary levels of detail, showing every imperfection in wood and intricacies in rope.

Despite the generally neutral color palette dominated by browns and tans, the transfer provides splashes of vibrant colors—like Abraham's robe—without any banding or bleeding, maintaining vivid and striking color fidelity. Contrast is superb, ensuring excellent picture depth and clear delineation. However, night sequences occasionally present a blue tint from moonlit settings that slightly alter whites and skin tones, while some scenes reveal a heightened red tint in flesh tones. Although black levels could be darker, they still maintain an impressive balance, offering a satisfying viewing experience overall.

The audio presentation of "Year One" on Blu-ray is a mixed bag, utilizing a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix rather than Sony's usual Dolby TrueHD 5.1. While the film presents flawless dialogue reproduction, ensuring that verbal exchanges, particularly between Jack Black and Michael Cera, are crystal clear, the overall sound experience is somewhat lackluster. Much of the soundscape feels central with limited utilization of the surround channels. Though some scenes, such as the tribal beats in chapter three and a thunder clap in chapter six, offer glimpses of powerful and immersive audio, these moments are too few and far between to elevate the overall mix.

The bass component of the audio is notably timid, failing to deliver any substantial low-end punch aside from sporadic highlights like music segments or the impactful crash near the film's end. The surround channels unfortunately exhibit minimal engagement, which hampers the potential for a more dynamic audio environment. Even sequences that naturally demand a full multi-channel presence, such as caveman congregations or bustling lynch mobs, feel disappointingly subdued and centralized. While there are no glaring errors in the audio track, it remains underwhelming and does not fully capitalize on the technical possibilities offered by modern audio standards.

Overall, "Year One" offers a competent but uninspired DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio mix. Despite moments of clarity and isolated highlights, its modest bass response and limited surround usage render it an unremarkable auditory experience. The mix hinges heavily on dialogue clarity but falls short in creating an enveloping soundscape, which is a missed opportunity for what could have been a more engaging comedy soundtrack.

The Blu-ray release of "Year One" offers an impressive collection of supplemental features. The feature-length audio commentary provides a dynamic mix, with Director Harold Ramis detailing technical aspects while actors Jack Black and Michael Cera add humorous anecdotes. Interactive features include the 'Year One Cutting Room' for custom scene creation, CineChat for in-movie text discussions, and MovieIQ for real-time informative overlays. Additional content encompasses a behind-the-scenes featurette, several deleted, alternate, and extended scenes, as well as engaging outtakes and mock television commercials. Notably, however, the promised digital copy is absent.

Extras included in this disc:

• Audio Commentary: Insights and humor from Harold Ramis, Jack Black, and Michael Cera.
• 'Year One: The Journey Begins': Behind-the-scenes featurette on the film's evolution.
• Sodom's Got 'Em!: Mock commercial about Sodom.
• Leeroy Jenkins: The Gates of Sodom: Recreation of the World of Warcraft mishap.
• Line-o-Rama: Alternate and improvised takes of dialogues.
• Alternate Ending: Different film ending.
• Deleted Scenes: Unused scenes from the film.
• Extended and Alternate Scenes: Lengthened and alternative sequences.
• Gag Reel: Outtakes and bloopers.
• Theatrical Trailer: Official movie trailer.
• Previews: Trailers for various other films.

"Year One," despite an impressive lineup and a particularly amusing trailer, struggles to deliver consistently on its comedic potential. The film features the comedic talents of Jack Black and Michael Cera, along with direction from Harold Ramis, a name synonymous with classic comedy. While these elements set high expectations, the movie's execution often falls short, leaving audiences with a mixed bag of laughs.

The plot follows Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera) as they journey through a series of Old Testament events. Zed, who is ostracized from his tribe after eating the forbidden fruit, drags the timid Oh along for an adventure that spans iconic biblical scenes. The film attempts to juxtapose modern humor with ancient settings, but the effectiveness of this approach varies. Though there are humorous moments, such as the duo's ineptitude at hunting and encounters with biblical figures like Cain and Abel, the humor often relies on crude jokes and physical gags that feel out of sync with the film's cleverer elements.

Critically, "Year One" suffers from inconsistent historical accuracy and a lack of deeper character development. The timelines of various Old Testament characters are haphazardly merged, which may frustrate viewers looking for narrative coherence. Furthermore, while Black and Cera deliver performances true to their established comedic personas, they fail to bring new dimensions to their roles. The result is a comedy that feels derivative and uninspired despite its adventurous premise and occasional comedic hits.

In terms of production, the film achieves a decent period look on a modest budget, seamlessly blending primitive and slightly advanced backdrops suitable for a comedy. However, the direction feels reserved, focusing on letting the actors perform rather than innovating narrative or visual style. Overall, while "Year One" has its entertaining moments, it lacks the consistency and depth to stand out as a memorable comedy.

"Year One," directed by Harold Ramis and starring Jack Black and Michael Cera, is a comedy that offers a consistent flow of humor, predominantly characterized by the actors' typical comic styles. The narrative is underlined by a series of laugh-worthy moments, some of which outshine those in the movie's trailer. Ramis' direction, combined with the energetic performances of Black and Cera, ensures a stable comedic pacing, although the film does have a few glaring flaws that might distract more discerning viewers. Nevertheless, "Year One" does manage to deliver an enjoyable experience if the audience is willing to embrace it for its light-hearted fun.

From a technical standpoint, the Blu-ray transfer of "Year One" is commendable. The video quality is superb, presenting the film with vibrant colors and excellent clarity that enhances the visual enjoyment. However, the DTS-HD MA lossless soundtrack, while adequate, doesn't stand out, providing a somewhat underwhelming audio experience. The supplemental package included with this release is robust, offering a variety of extras that fans will appreciate.

In conclusion, "Year One" may not rank among the comedy greats, but it remains an amusing watch courtesy of its consistent humor and charismatic leads. Though the audio could be more impressive, the video quality and additional content make this Blu-ray a worthy consideration. Fans of Jack Black will find it an easy purchase, while casual viewers would do well to rent it first and gauge their enjoyment.