Maximum Conviction (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film:

Extras:

Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )
90





Studio and Year: Anchor Bay Films - 2012
MPAA Rating: R
Feature running time: 98 Minutes
Genre: Action

Disc Format: BD-25
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 1.78:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Starring: Steve Austin, Steven Seagal, Michael Paré, Aliyah O'Brien, Bren Foster
Directed by: Keoni Waxman
Music by: Michael Richard Plowman
Written by: Richard Beattie
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: November 6, 2012

Film Synopsis:

When former black ops operative Tom Steele (Steven Seagal) and his partner Manning (Steve Austin) are assigned to decommission an old prison, they must oversee the arrival of two mysterious female prisoners. Before long, an elite force of mercenaries assault the prison in search of the new arrivals. As the true identities of the women are revealed, Steele realizes he's caught in the middle of something far bigger than he had imagined.




My Take:

This might be the least verbose review I have put out. Why? Because this films plot was so dull and non-existent, with virtually no character development that I would be racking my brain to come up with any deeper thoughts besides a quick plot re-cap, which the above synopsis did well enough. I will answer the burning 20,000,000 dollar question; and thankfully its a resounding YES! Stephen Seagal was actually good here, and he and Austin kicked some arse. Their acting was much better than anticipated, making me long for a better vehicle for them in the future. Also, Maximum Conviction most worthy attribute is the inclusion of the highly underused Michael Paré (Eddie and the Cruisers Blu-ray anyone??). The flick will satisfy shoot-em-up fans who like to give their sound-system a work out, so if you love brain dead shooters that sound awesome, and don't care too much about a quality story-line and character development, then you can milk the maximum out of Maximum Conviction.




Parental Guide:

Rated R for violence and language throughout




AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

Audio: 92

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Video: 88

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

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Maximum Conviction comes to Blu-ray disc from Anchor Bay Home Entertainment featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 21.2 mbps and DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless surround sound that has a average bitrate of 3.3 mbps.

Anchor Bay delivers yet another stunning transfer with its Blu-ray release of Maximum Conviction. The 1080p 1.78:1 transfer was very nice, especially with the hand it was dealt. It isn't a film with scenic views or much sunlight, or robust colors. It is rather dark and cold, however, it comes through as elegant as possible. Blacks are strong, as are shadow details. Finer details do resolve well, and though not the sharpest film out there, this will certainly satisfy. But alas, this one is about the gunfire. Thats right- Rat-a-Tat-Tat folks. Now imagine that Rat-a-Tat-Tat loud, dynamic and deep, sounding articulate, as the bullets fly across the sound-stage; almost like you better duck behind your seat or you might get it! Dialouge worked well, especially with the infamous Seagal low and quite mono-tone delivery. Surrounds were mellow until action scenes, and LFE just came in and accented all that this mix had going for it.



Bonus Features:

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• Commentary with Executive producer/director Keoni Waxman and co-executive producer Binh Dang
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• (HD) Four behind-the-scenes featurettes
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• DVD Copy

Final Thoughts:

If you love brain dead shooters that sound awesome, and don't care too much about a quality story-line and character development, then you can milk the maximum out of Maximum Conviction. Anchor Bay deliver (like with all its new release titles) a top notch transfer of the source given to them, and they really let this audio track shine. Give it a spin if your want to wax nostalgic of the Seagal was hard to kill and above the law.











Lee Weber
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews





Reference Review System:


JVC DLA-RS45 3D 1080p 3D High Definition Front Projector
Screen Innovations Solar HD 1.3 120" 2.40:1 CinemaScope Screen
Onkyo PR-SC5509 Pre/Pro
Sunfire Theater Grand 7201 Amplifier
Sony BDP-S790 Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Triad InRoom Gold LCR's
Triad OnWall Silver Surrounds
2 Triad Silver OmniSubs