Blu-ray

This fun sci-fi actioner stars Guy Pearce as Snow, a smart-mouthed former government agent accused of a crime he didn't commit. When the inmates onboard an orbital prison escape and take the President's daughter (Maggie Grace) hostage, the authorities have no choice but to send Snow in to get her out alive.

In other words, it's Escape from New York, only set on a space station. Which is no bad thing, because not only is it a fun little film, but its very existence should finally kill off any lingering plans for a straight remake of John Carpenter's 1981 flick that still exist.

Picture: Videophiles will have very little to complain about when they run Lockout through their home cinemas. While it's not quite at the top tier of 1080p encodes, the Blu-ray's AVC 2.40:1 imagery is extremely impressive.

Particularly awe-inspiring is the profusion of fine detail on display at all times (but particularly in the wrinkles, pores and hairs evident in facial close-ups), but you'll also be wowed by the colour saturation and overall clarity of the image. The only things holding it back from a perfect score are one minor technical issue and one aesthetic one. The former is the presence of banding in a several shots, while the latter is to do with a deliberate haziness to some high-speed CG sequences such as the motorbike chase at the start of the film.
Picture rating: 4.5/5

Audio: Lockout explodes onto Blu-ray with a sizzling DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack that appears to have been designed to show off your speaker setup. Make no mistake about it, this audio mix packs a killer punch, delivering enough devastating bass and thrilling positional effects to make it a demo room favourite with AV enthusiasts.

The most impressive element is just how expansive it all sounds, giving the space station interiors a scale that lifts the movie beyond any on-screen budgetary constraints. The fact that it manages to do all of this while also keeping the dialogue audible and cleanly pinned to the centre channel makes it all the more impressive.
Audio rating: 5/5

Extras: Entertainment in Video's UK Blu-ray release isn't exactly over-burdened with bonus features. There are interviews with actors Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace and Joseph Gilgun, plus another with director Stephen St. Leger. After that there's a 4-min French-language piece focusing at the creation of one the sequences, featurettes looking at shooting action scenes and set design, plus a pair of extended scenes that the finished film is better off without.
Extras rating: 2/5

We say: A fun, unpretentious slice of high-octane sci-fi action that looks and sounds spectacular

Entertainment in Video, Region B BD, £25 Approx, On sale now
HCC VERDICT: 3.5/5