"They have 45 minutes to save the world, they need 46."
Distributed by
Touchstone Home Entertainment
Cert: PG-13
Cat.no: 24021
Running time: 85 minutes
Year: 2002
Pressing: 2002
Region(s): 1, NTSC
Chapters: 12
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Widescreen: 1.85:1
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: DVD 9
Price: $29.99
Extras:
Audio Commentary, Five Minute Movie
Director:
Barry Sonnenfield
Screenplay:
Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone
Cast:
Eliot Arnold: Time Allen
Anna Herk: Rene Russo
Alan Sietz: Omar Epps
Snake: Tom Sizemore
Matt Arnold: Ben Foster
Puggy: Jason Lee
Walter Kramitz: Patrick Warburton
The last movie delayed by the terrible events of 9/11 has finally arrived with mixed results.
Originally slated to premiere on October 29, 2001, a plot at the end involving
a bomb on a plane sent it to the dismal February 2002 slot.
Was anyone suprised when it tanked? I wasn't. If it had been released
back then I think it would have done more than 8 million. They
advertised the hell out of this movie summer 2001 and that's usually the
formula for success (i.e.
xXx
and
Signs).
So here it is, another Barry Sonnenfield group comedy for better or worse.
Big Trouble has a very complicated plot. It's pretty much just a typical
star-filled comedy. Something about a man who has a hit on him because
he squealed about a mafia job and terrorists obtaining a nuclear bomb.
Two convicts end up stealing the nuclear bomb towards the end and there
you go. It's nearly impossible to define the plot. So I'll just say that
it's got some big actors and it's a comedy. Pretty basic, huh?
Barry Sonnefield films have to be taken lightly. I lost some respect for
his work after the terrible
Men in Black II
but this shows him at his roots. Seemingly like the pacing of
Fight Club
in a way but it works
well. Clocking in at 83 minutes it's pretty fast paced but there are
alot of plot holes missing. Some that would have added to the overall
sense of the film I presume. But despite it's convoluted plot, the
cleaverness is there in spades and provides for an average way to kill
an hour and 23 minutes.
The video is typical Touchstone again. Not great, not bad as always.
Presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen, the first thing you'll notice
is a sufficient amount of grain. Even though it was delayed from last
year this shouldn't have been a problem. Next up you'll find some
pixelization here and there. Since there are no real extras here this
shouldn't have been a problem either. The transfer just has a flat,
murky feel to it and just doesn't do it enough justice. Now don't think
it's like watching a VHS tape or anything, it's good but not as great as
it should have been. Most people won't even notice but hey, I have to
review the video right?
Sound is provided in a decent enough Dolby Digital 5.1 mix offered in
English only. This is not very aggresive but for a comedy what can you
expect? On the level of comedy it works well but there were sometimes
when dialouge interlaced somewhat. During action scenes it gets pretty
good, but don't expect this to wake up your neighbors.
An audio commentary with director Barry Sonnenfield is the only real
extra we get here. I tend to find one man commentaries a little bland
and gravitate more towards the group commentaries. But it's here for
people who want it. Oh and I almost forgot about the other extras, maybe
because they're pretty weak. Sneak Peeks for some of Touchstone's
upcoming movies and a worthless five minute (7:50 to be precise) cut of
the film. Packed, huh?
Overall, like many releases from this studio, this is a decent movie
coupled with a bad DVD. The movie is cleaver and has some funny parts,
the video is just alright, the sound is also just alright, and the
extras are pretty nilch. Oh and did I mention this DVD only has 12
chapters? Give it a rent though and save the $29.99 (a rip-off if I ever
did see one)
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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
