John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum Blu-ray review

Sep 09, 2019- Permalink

They say death and taxes are the only sure things, but I’m thinking that when you’re a semi-retired hitman who does an unsanctioned kill of a crime lord who is part of a mysterious syndicate you can be sure that there will be attempts at retribution. That’s exactly where John Wick (Keanu Reeves) finds himself at the beginning of John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. With a legion of assassins hoping to cash in on the $14 million bounty on his head, Wick needs to fight back and the audience knows that they’re in for a thrill ride. Those thrills can now be taken home with Lionsgate’s home entertainment release. I had a chance to review the Blu-ray/DVD/Digital combo pack.

The 1080p AVC-encoded transfer is in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Shot digitally with Arri Alexa cameras, this digital transfer is pretty amazing. A lot of this movie’s scenes take place in dark and stormy locations and so you’d expect it to have good depth in the black levels and you won’t be disappointed. There is only the occasional loss of detail in the shadows and you can put your stationery away because it’s nothing to write home about. The colour palette is infused with a lot of purple and blues. Brighter scenes have amazing detail.

On the audio side of things, your ears have the choice of English Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtracks as well as a Dolby Digital 2.0 track optimized for late night listening a.k.a. not waking the neighbours up during the chases and battles. There are also French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French and Spanish. Those with an Atmos setup will notice that this soundtrack makes good use of the height elements, while the other surround speakers are given quite the workout too. This soundscape will surround you with so much ambient detail that you may find yourself desiring an umbrella and a firearm. Your subwoofer will also clock in a workout during the many bone and metal crunching battles. Dialogue is clear and centred.

On the extras side, the Blu-ray also comes with a DVD copy and a digital code. There’s a decent collection of cast and crew interview and behind-the-scenes featurettes, theatrical trailers, and looks at the John Wick: Hex game.

If you’re a fan of quaint, quiet films where people discuss their feelings in pastoral settings then John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum may not be for you. If you like to sit on the edge of your seat for heart-pounding action scenes with excellent video and audio presentations, then this Blu-ray is right up your blood and rain soaked alley. You’ll want to add it to your home entertainment collection.