Top Action DVD Reviews

2006 Releases

King Kong

Naomi Watts stars as Ann Darrow, an out-of-work actress in depressed New York. Fate sees her signed up to the lead role of a desperate location film on a dreaded Island in the South Pacific where her encounter with King Kong is a classic replay of Beauty and the Beast. After his success with the Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson was allowed plenty of leeway and plenty of money to remake King Kong as he had always wanted it. The action scenes with dinosaurs and other oversized creatures are spectacular if unbelievable. The film soon becomes more of a demo of what is possible with modern CGI technology than a serious attempt at cinema. When the actors get a chance to play their roles they do rather well, but this just makes us wonder how good the film could have been if the action had not gone quite so far beyond the laws of physics and the characters had been allowed to develop more instead.

2005 Releases

War of the Worlds

Spielberg wastes little time building up the suspense in this remake of the 1953 classic. Only minutes into the film the alien tripods are bursting from the ground and blasting everything in sight. From that point on, the plot is a rollercoaster ride from one scene of destruction to the next. Tom Cruise is comfortable in the role of Ray Ferrier who escapes from each near death experience to the next with his dysfunctional teenage son (Justin Chatwin) and preteen daughter (Dakota Fanning). The action is non-stop, the special effects are breathtaking and the plot is linear. Only the groan-wrenching conclusion really lets it down. If the explanation of their defeat leaves you asking Why would aliens not know that?, the miraculous survival of Ray's son will finally break your suspension of disbelief.

The Incredibles

When Finding Nemo was showing in the cinemas, it was accompanied by a trailer for the incredibles. Nemo was so good that frankly the trailor made it look like the next Pixar animation was set to be a dud. If you entered the theatre with low expectations then you would have come out transformed. The Incredibles is a story of a modern day superhero in a world where superheroes are not quite as appreciated as they once were. In a reflection on modern day society, Mr Incredible faces litigation for saving the life of someone who was trying to commit suicide. He settles down to a more normal life with his less than normal family, only to be called back to duty in the most unexpected of ways. Two things above all make the film work. The non-stop action and the humor can be appreciated by young and old alike. Each production that rolls out of the Disney Pixar collaboration is a new innovation taking animation where it has not been before. Let us hope this continues now that they have merged into one company under new leadership.

Batman Begins

With this film we see how Batman began his crusade following the death of Bruce Wayne's father. Batman also begins again in the sense that previous Batman films are ignored, so much the better. In this deeply moody version of the caped hero's story, the darker side of his character is developed. Christian Bale is perfectly cast for the role of Batman and is well supported by Michael Cane as his butler and confidant. At last we see batman as he should always have been. Only Robin is missing, the younger sidekick is hard to being to the new film genre where humor is used only sparingly.