Peacemaker
Dreamworks SKG
2.35:1/Dolby Digital 5.1/
16x9
Region:1
Also: French and Spanish Dolby Surround
Also: English and Spanish Captions
Running Time: 2 Hr 4 Min
Dual Layer Disc
Rated:R
"The Peacemaker" is one of those films that I enjoyed more on video, or in this case DVD. A Slightly overblown, yet underacted thriller, the film stars
George Clooney(doing his head down, eyes up style of acting) and Nicole Kidman(who has a few nice scenes, but her character is a bit underwritten) as
two Government agents out to track down a stolen neuclear weapon, or in the terms of another Hollywood movie, a "broken arrow."
This is the first major motion picture from Dreamworks SKG; it's directed by a woman who I think is really quite talented, but she's still in search
of a really great script to film; she hasn't found it yet. That woman is Mimi Leder, a veteran of TV's "ER". She has a great rapid style, but
in not only this film, but her second, "Deep Impact", she just hasn't found that perfect film for her, in my humble opinion.
So, Clooney and Kidman are tracking a neuclear weapon across countries to finally find that it's headed for the United States. They've gone through a
really well-done car chase in Vienna, a helicopter chase in, I believe, Iran and taken a few other stops along the way. The car chase is effectively done;
it's a thrillingly paced and well-staged bit of action. Although I won't get into the film's ending, I wish they could have brought together a scene
that's as effective as the car chase.
The writer of this film, Michael Schiffer, also wrote what I consider the smartest action film of the 90's in "Crimson Tide". Although he does give
these characters a few good lines, generally a lot of the film's dialogue is standard action fare. The screenplay is thought-provoking in its plot,
but the film doesn't want to expand on the characters, just shoot from action scene to action scene.
Hans Zimmer, who is my favorite composer, contributes an excellent and dramatic score to the film.
the DVD:
Video Quality: Generally excellent. At first I saw a little bit of grain in the opening scenes, but with a little adjustment of the television(I had the
"color" setting one notch above the default setting). After that, the problem was pretty much solved. It's amazing that the opening scenes, with all
the smoke, fog and darkness combined with the washed-out cinematography must have presented a tough job to the folks at Dreamworks that put the disc together,
but I can say that they did quite an excellent job. In the main body of the film, the picture looks great; colors aren't vibrant in this film on purpose,
but at least the colors in this transfer are accurate. The excellent contrast adds to the general strength of the picture. The car chase scene, the helicopter
chase and the film's final look wonderful. Although even after adjustment I still saw a few instances of grain(not compression, really, but just a grainy look) in the opening, it's a very minor
complaint when the rest of the disc looks fantastic. Images are sharp and very detailed throughout.
Sound Quality: Fantastic. The sound mix for "The Peacemaker" is incredibly accurate reproduction of the sounds of the film; explosions sound incredible, the action
scenes(especially the car chase) sound phenomenal and there are plenty of details in the mix that envelop
the viewer in the middle of the action. Hans Zimmer's score sounds really, really great and dialogue
comes through clearly even in the middle of all the action. This is a sharp, clear sound mix that isn't
as explosive as some of the other "action" films out there, but it's more accurate and a little less
tiresome.
Menus: Very cool. Animated main menu and scene selection. There's an explosion onscreen whenever
you choose an option.
Extras: A short documentary on the film's chase scene which is quite interesting. We go through
the rehersals for the scene, then see the actual scene.
There's also "From The Cutting Room Floor", which is a feature that has been on all of the first
Dreamworks SKG discs. "Mousehunt" included deleted scenes, "Small Soldiers" included some deleted
scenes and outtakes, "The Peacemaker" includes an introduction by director Mimi Leder and
some very funny outtakes from the film.There's also the teaser trailer and the full trailer as well
as production notes on the film.
Grades:
The Film:C+
Video Quality:A-
Audio Quality:A
Extras:B+
Menus:A
Overall:A-
