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Big Trouble
Studio: Touchstone
Year: 2002
Rated: PG-13
Film Length: 85 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.85:1)
Subtitles: English, French & Spanish
They have forty-five minutes to save the
world. They need forty-six.
It sort of troubles me that Big Trouble
didn't fare that well with the critics during its
theatrical run. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men
in Black and Get Shorty) and boasting a huge cast
of recognizable faces, this movie had me laughing
aloud for nearly its entire 85 minute run.
In fact, the only problem I see anyone could
possibly have with this film is trying to follow
all the characters that are constantly walking in
and out of the story. Let's see if I can put it
all together for you. The story involves a
former newspaper columnist (Tim Allen), his son
(Ben Foster) and friend (DJ Qualls), a corrupt
businessman (Stanley Tucci), his wife (Rene Russo)
and daughter (Zooey Deschanel), two police officers
(Patrick Warburton and Janeane Garofalo), a hitman
(Dennis Farina), a wandering spirit (Jason Lee), and
two FBI agents (Omar Epps and Heavy D) out to stop
two morons (Johnny Knoxville and Tom Sizemore) from
smuggling a nuclear bomb into a Miami airport and
taking off to the Bahamas. Phew! Got that all?
Many of the gags here are totally off-the-wall,
representing the best kind of stuff you would find
in a Zucker Brothers movie. Perhaps the biggest
laughs from this film are those that poke fun at
the terminally stupid and how they make life
difficult for everybody else. With its ensemble
of colorful characters and the actors who play them,
Big Trouble becomes an endless array of
zany antics that keeps hitting you round after round.
How is the transfer?
Generally, Big Trouble looks pretty decent
with its clean and bright transfer that holds its
vivid colors quite well. You'll be impressed how
well Rene Russo's pink shirt stands out as well as
how colorful an airplane full of Gator fans can be.
It is those moments that come across quite pleasingly.
The only problem I saw here was the inclusion of
film grain that shows up in many of the brighter
scenes, primarily in any shots that involve sky.
Otherwise, this transfer averages out to be as
good as any other DVD release of a recent comedy.
The 5.1 surround sound mix seems to be a little
uneven here. While sound is clear and robust across
the front soundstage, it's the rears that fell
virtually silent through the first half of the film.
Oh, they were on, but the levels were a little too
low to be noticed. As the action picked up
considerably in the second half, I started to notice
the effect noises coming behind me. These included
bullets that whizzed past my head, and airplane
flyovers that seemed to cross the entire listening
area.
What is most unusual here is the use of the LFE
channel. I have never seen its use dedicated to
one single prop in the film. That prop is the movie's
focal point of attention, the suitcase. Every
time that suitcase is opened or moved, you can
practically feel the floor shake beneath you. It
is so cool to see such an emphasis put on this one
object.
Special Features
As much as I loved this film, I was rather
disappointed in the lack of extra materials
included here.
I am not sure what exactly the folks at Disney
had in mind when they put together Five minute
movie. Basically, this is the entire 85 minute
film condensed to a running time of just over 7
minutes. Was there a reason for including something
like this? It may be considered clever, but I greatly
question its usefulness.
A full-length commentary by Director Barry
Sonnenfeld is quite interesting to listen to
especially for the fact that Barry doesn't hesitate
to give every intricate detail -- fully dissecting
everything that went on in each of his scenes. We
learn how the actors were picked, what went on during
the day's shoot, and some of the interesting camera
angles Sonnenfeld chose to use. The director has a
story for everything and everyone, and though his
voice comes across as being rather unemotional, his
delivery is fluid and informative.
What is really sad here is that no trailer is
included, although we get Sneak Peeks of
Out Cold and Corky Romano.
Final Thoughts
I love off-beat, zany and clever movies like Big
Trouble, that manage to be stylish and different
while delivering huge laughs. It's the sort of film
that you take out at social gatherings amongst your
coolest friends. At the very least, I urge you to
rent this one. I'll be interested to see how many
of you opt to purchase this afterwards. This is
certainly a movie that I will watch again and again.
Release Date: Now
