From executive producer Snoop Dogg, 1992 is a tense crime-thriller that follows Mercer (Tyrese Gibson) as he desperately tries to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son (Christopher A’mmanuel) amidst the turbulent 1992 L.A. uprising following the Rodney King verdict. Across town, another father and son (Ray Liotta and Scott Eastwood) put their own strained relationship to the test as they plot a dangerous heist from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions rise in Los Angeles and chaos erupts, both families reach their boiling points when they collide.

For in-depth thoughts on 1992, please see my colleague M.N. Miller’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

1992 arrives on Blu-Ray with a respectable 1080p presentation in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio that looks very nice in high definition. The clarity throughout is consistent with distinct textures in the throwback production design and clothing coming through perfectly. Black levels showcase a strong amount of depth and do not fall victim to significant digital noise or banding outside of intermittent shadowy moments. Color saturation is deftly executed with the reserved color palette presenting moments exactly as intended. Skin tones are natural with some exposed skin showing off blood, bruises, and scars as the narrative develops. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has delivered a solid HD presentation here.

Audio Quality

The Dolby Atmos track brings this story to your living room with great complexity and immediacy. This narrative delivers hard-hitting moments fairly consistently from the chaotic scenes of the riots to the exchanges of gunfire during the heist. The track offers a substantial low-end response that sells the brutality of the narrative. This story allows for moments of quiet in the beginning, which emphasizes the sounds of the locations around the characters, which the soundscape disseminates from numerous directions. The addition of height channels expands things out quite assuredly without stealing focus. Dialogue emanates crisp and clear as it balances well with the music and the sound effects. This track delivers in all respects. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director-Cowriter Ariel Vromen & T’Shaun Barrett

A South Central Story: A 12-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team look back at the history depicted in this film and the experience of shooting on location.

Two Families, Two Worlds – Making 1992: A nearly 26-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team explore the process of making this film, the casting, the themes of the film, and more.

Deleted Scenes: A nearly four-minute collection of unused material is provided here.

Trailer: The two-and-a-half-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

1992 is a surprisingly solid blend of heist film and snapshot of societal unrest. The social commentary is nothing too groundbreaking, but it offers something a bit different within this particular genre that adds a bit more thematic resonance. The performances are good for the most part, especially Tyrese in one of his most measured performances to date. It is also nice to see the late Ray Liotta sinking his teeth into a villainous role one last time. This has the appearance of a direct-to-streaming effort, but there is a bit more going on here than you might expect. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a very strong A/V presentation and some cool supplemental features. If you are a fan of crime dramas, this is worth your time. Recommended

1992 is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.