Aside from the typically-contrived action plot, one thing this film can't be
faltered on is the picture quality. From the gorgeous locations, to the sleek
and stylish explosion-filled action scenes, the film is a joy to watch. Any
regular reader of my reviews will know how picky I am with artifacts, but I
could not spot a single one.
The film is presented in its original widescreen ratio of 2.35:1, is enhanced
for 16:9 widescreen televisions - thus allowing for higher resolution - and
the average bitrate is a good 5.59 Mb/s.
The sound comes in Dolby Digital 5.1 - which will benefit all of those with the
suitable hardware - and Dolby Surround for everyone else. Explosions, loud
and plenty, plus an occasional bit of guitar rock. Cover your ears...
Extras :
Chapters/Theatrical Trailer :
There are 28 chapters spread throughout the 90 mins of the film which is
superb, the last one bringing together the final explosion and the end credits.
The theatrical trailer is also included.
Languages/Subtitles :
There's two languages on the disc, English and German, both available in
Dolby Digital 5.1, with a Dolby surround option also offered in English.
As for subtitles? Take your pick from the following FOURTEEN languages :
English, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Icelandic, Hindi, Hebrew, German, Turkish,
Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Greek and Norwegian.
Filmographies :
Brief filmographies are available for Van Damme, Mickey Rourke, Paul Freeman
and director Tsui Hark.
Menu :
The menu is static and works well. On playing the disc you see the Columbia
TriStar logo before the main menu appears.
Upon selecting the "Start Movie" option, you'll first see a "Sony Pictures
DVD Center" logo, followed by the Dolby Digital helicopter demo, the
copyright logo and then the film itself.
Overall, this film will not worry the likes of Titanic and Shakespeare
In Love in the Oscar stakes, but it's easily a thoroughly enjoyable piece
of entertainment. Alas, there are scant extras (but the same fate befell the
Region 1 DVD too, unless for call a P&S version an "extra") and the packaging
has been changed from the sturdy keep-cases to a plastic - easily breakable -
casing as used since day one by Polygram.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
