Overall, it's not a film that'll win many points for originality - especially
since it's a true story and so you know Carl will come out on top, but films
like this hammer home the anti-racism message all the same way and when it's
made across the big pond, they throw in the "Goddamn, we're so proud to be
Americans"-style of bravado that makes you sigh. However, good performances in
the main roles keep your interest and, as you're renting it, it's certainly
worth a watch for most of the way.
Although a rental title, it's still presented in the original 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen ratio and, quite frankly, it would be unwatchable without it as
some scenes are obvious in their use of special FX and others are more
subtle, such as one denoting when we come out of flashback, but I won't reveal
any of the details. The print looks a little hazy on some dark scenes but
nothing major that you'd notice from the usual viewing distance.
The sound is in DD5.1 and while there's no gunfire scenes that you might
expect, the speakers get a good workout underwater and later on when there's
an accident on deck. It doesn't last throughout the film like an actioner but
when it's called for you'll not be disappointed.
Alas, as this is a rental DVD there are no extras - not even a trailer!
This is daft since Fox released the same film for sale in the US on DVD
back in April with extras including an alternate ending, deleted scenes,
animated storyboards, featurettes and a music video.
There are 15 chapters, which isn't enough for a two-hour film, subtitles in
English for the hard of hearing and the menus are static and silent.
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
