JoshB
Supporting Actor
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2001
- Messages
- 903
- Real Name
- Joshua Bal
Just got the disc and watched the film. I still think it is one of the years better films, and was hurt by bad timing and publicity. It has good performances, and is suprising realistic in terms of the way the the soldiers are portrayed. No reviews seem to be up yet for the film, so this is my thoughts so far.
The transfer is excellant, in fact I would say reference quality. It reminds me alot of Fuqua's Training Day, in terms of how well it handles daylight and night scenes. Some of the shots, which show off the very beautiful jungles of Nigeria (it was filmed in Hawaii) are stunning, and show a great level of detail and color balance. Edge enhancement it hardly seen, but not much concern since much of the cinematography is quite stark and muted in colors. This is the jungle after all. It actaully looks better than when I saw it theatrically, and a good example is i nthe night scenes. In the theater, soem of the night scenes seemed very dark, and lacked any detail and were hard to make out anything at all. I'm sure it wasn't the theater I saw it in, and was likely a result of being shown on the big screen. On DVD the night scenes are much better, and reveal much more detail and contrast. You can make out the actors faces so much easier, and see more detail in the jungle scenes. Thats all I can really think of, so I hope it helps. I would give the Video an easy 9, if not a 10.
The audio is equally impressive, but not as aggressive as you would get from a film like this. Keep in mind, this is not an action movie or war film with battles going on constantly. Most of the action is saved for the final 20 mintues or so. But for the most part, it is a great soundtrack. Dialogue comes through excellant, even in the actuon scenes. Ambient and background sounds comes through great in the surrounds, with helicopters blades sounding as great as the noramlly do, and the sounds of the jungles, with insects and various animals, come through nicely and give you a sense that you are their. When the action does kick in, it is a assualt from all directions. Bass response is excellant, as is directional effects. In the action scenes at the end, bullets whiz by through the surrounds and come from all directions. It was hard to make out certain slunds in theaters, since it was very loud. Here, the effects come through with much more detail and clarity. Hans Zimmer's score comes through well, and reminds me of his Thin Red Line score in many ways. This is not SPR or BHD by any means in terms of audio, but it is still an impressive soundtrack that will not disappoint in my opinion. I would rate at an 8 or 9, depending on how you like your action or war films to sound.
As far as extras, I have not listened to the commentary or seen the features yet. The disc does feature about 8 or 10 trailers for Sony/Revolution films, such as Basic, BHD, Anger Management, S.W.A.T., Charle's Angel: Full Throttle, and others. The main menu is animated, with music palying in the background, and the submenus are static but have mysic playing as well.
This is just a summary as to how I found the disc. If you saw the film and liked it, I would recommend a purchase. If you didn't see it in theaters and are hesitant, it is a must rent. If anyoen has questions about the disc, or would like to see screenshots of the transfer's quality, let me know and I can email the screenshots to you.
The transfer is excellant, in fact I would say reference quality. It reminds me alot of Fuqua's Training Day, in terms of how well it handles daylight and night scenes. Some of the shots, which show off the very beautiful jungles of Nigeria (it was filmed in Hawaii) are stunning, and show a great level of detail and color balance. Edge enhancement it hardly seen, but not much concern since much of the cinematography is quite stark and muted in colors. This is the jungle after all. It actaully looks better than when I saw it theatrically, and a good example is i nthe night scenes. In the theater, soem of the night scenes seemed very dark, and lacked any detail and were hard to make out anything at all. I'm sure it wasn't the theater I saw it in, and was likely a result of being shown on the big screen. On DVD the night scenes are much better, and reveal much more detail and contrast. You can make out the actors faces so much easier, and see more detail in the jungle scenes. Thats all I can really think of, so I hope it helps. I would give the Video an easy 9, if not a 10.
The audio is equally impressive, but not as aggressive as you would get from a film like this. Keep in mind, this is not an action movie or war film with battles going on constantly. Most of the action is saved for the final 20 mintues or so. But for the most part, it is a great soundtrack. Dialogue comes through excellant, even in the actuon scenes. Ambient and background sounds comes through great in the surrounds, with helicopters blades sounding as great as the noramlly do, and the sounds of the jungles, with insects and various animals, come through nicely and give you a sense that you are their. When the action does kick in, it is a assualt from all directions. Bass response is excellant, as is directional effects. In the action scenes at the end, bullets whiz by through the surrounds and come from all directions. It was hard to make out certain slunds in theaters, since it was very loud. Here, the effects come through with much more detail and clarity. Hans Zimmer's score comes through well, and reminds me of his Thin Red Line score in many ways. This is not SPR or BHD by any means in terms of audio, but it is still an impressive soundtrack that will not disappoint in my opinion. I would rate at an 8 or 9, depending on how you like your action or war films to sound.
As far as extras, I have not listened to the commentary or seen the features yet. The disc does feature about 8 or 10 trailers for Sony/Revolution films, such as Basic, BHD, Anger Management, S.W.A.T., Charle's Angel: Full Throttle, and others. The main menu is animated, with music palying in the background, and the submenus are static but have mysic playing as well.
This is just a summary as to how I found the disc. If you saw the film and liked it, I would recommend a purchase. If you didn't see it in theaters and are hesitant, it is a must rent. If anyoen has questions about the disc, or would like to see screenshots of the transfer's quality, let me know and I can email the screenshots to you.
