Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Universal Studios Home Entertainment – 128 mins – 2009 – Rated  PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.35: 1 – DTS-HD Lossless Master 5.1 Audio

It’s hard to make a good political thriller. In the 70’s there were a wave of these movies, but since then maybe one or two have been standouts, but other than that, they just don’t seem to catch on with audiences. State of Play, a film that was well received by the critics didn’t make much of an impact at the box office, even with it’s heavyweight cast, the movie died quick at the box office. While not a perfect film, State of Play is worth your attention and is now available on Blu-ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

THE MOVIE

State of Play starts off with a bang involving two murders, one being a small time thief gunned down in an alley, and the second is a Congressman’s female assistant who falls in the path of a train. Though they may seem unrelated, Cal McAffrey (Russel Crowe), a hotshot reporter for the Washington Globe, thinks that there’s more here that meets the eye. Cal goes after the story full swing, and being that he happened to be the former college roommate of the Congressman who is involved in the mix (Ben Affleck), he gets a huge lead that the politician’s involvement with corporation called PointCorp may have led to her death. Cal and a junior reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) slam themselves into the story that keeps snowballing with more hidden details that could destroy the lives of several major player in the Washington game, who will do whatever it takes to prevent light from being shined on them.

Directed by Kevin MacDonald, who also directed The Last King of Scotland, State of Play works because the whole film is one big puzzle that the viewer is putting together piece by piece. Crowe as always delivers a rock solid performance that delivers the energy needed to move the pace of the story. And Helen Mirren steals every scene she’s in playing the no holds barred editor of the Globe. Also, making noteworthy appearances are Jeff Daniels and Jason Bateman, who play characters who are shells of the reason why things in Washington are such a mess.

The film starts off strong, but it’s the middle act that slows things down to a crawl, but if you give it a chance the payoff is satisfying. MacDonald does his best to make the tight ends work, and he is complemented by a solid cast, but if fifteen minutes were edited out of the two hour and eight minute running time, maybe it would have made a difference. State of Play is still worth a look, especially for anyone looking for a movie that is not aimed at tweenies.

VIDEO

Presented in full 1080p in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, State of Play looks good on Blu-ray going for a gritty look that is reminiscent of the 70’s political thrillers it’s attempting to emulate. Skin tones are well displayed, and details highlight every bit of stubble on Crowe’s face. Grain is present, but adds to the style of the film, which is doing all it can to show how dirty Washington politics are.

AUDIO

Offering a Dolby Digital DTS-HD 5.1 mix, State of Play sounds great, whether it be the chaotic sounds of the Washington Globe newsroom, or the bustling ambience of a congressional meeting, or the noisy streets of D.C., this Blu-ray makes good use of your surround sound set-up. Dialogue is well balanced and the music score by Alex Heffes complete the package.

EXTRAS

The bonus features are thin, not even offering a director’s audio commentary track, but for some reason this seems this seems to be the trend with the latest batch of Universal Blu-ray titles.

The Making of State of Play is a twenty-minute behind the scenes look at the movie, which highlights quick interview clips with the cast and filmmakers and spotlights the town of D.C.

Via Picture-in-Picture you can watch behind the scenes segments as the film plays. If you liked the movie you may get some interesting notes from this.

Washington D.C. Locations allows you to access Google to pinpoint the actual locations that film was shot in as the scenes occur.

Two deleted scenes running four minutes total don’t add much more to the story, but are interesting to see.

BOTTOM LINE

State of Play is a well-made film with a powerhouse cast that is definitely worth a viewing. The Blu-ray offers excellent picture and sound, but the extras leave a lot to be desired. Unless you saw the film theatrically and enjoyed it, you may want to rent it first before deciding to make a purchase.

SCORES: (out of 5)

The Movie: 3.0

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 2.5

Bottom Line: 3.0