Oh, Wow! Eye candy...aural sundaes...the Men In Black DVDs! After dragging my heels at looking at yet another big blockbuster movie with lots of mundane, we-tried-too-hard graphics and extras, was I ever surprised at this disc! Quite frankly, I didn
Story Synopsis:
Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith star as Agents K and J in the playfully hip and hilarious science fiction comedy Men In Black. Veteran MiB agent K (Jones), discovers a talented New York cop (Smith) whom he recruits to join the ranks of the elite organization that keeps control of the aliens populating our planet and ensures that those civilians who discover the secret have their memories wiped out. As partners, their first case is to stop a intergalactic terrorist
DVD Picture:
Undoubtedly, the anamorphically enhanced 1.85:1 DVD exhibits an excellent picture, with sharp and finely detailed images. The picture appears to be identical to the non-limited edition DVDs. Color fidelity is well balanced, with natural fleshtones, rich hues and deep blacks. Sometimes these eye-popping hues seem a bit pasty with undefined crayon-like coloring, but this is generally not too distracting. Contrast and shadow delineation are nicely rendered throughout. There is a hint of edge enhancement noticed throughout, but the occasional pixelization is not distracting for a picture that will surely please. Though bettering the LaserDisc reviewed in Issue 27, the picture is just not quite as pristine as the anamorphic transfers available today.
Soundtrack:
The Dolby
This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities: Subscribe Now!
WSR DVD-ROM Review
DVD-ROM Enhancements Rating:
Mediocre
DVD-ROM Review:
After installing this PCFriendly compatible title, you are brought to the DVD-ROM main menu, which is very plain and ordinary. You are given the options to view the movie, see some "exciting" DVD features, or go to the DVD-ROM portion of this disc. In the actual DVD-ROM section, you can find three interesting sub-sections, including the weapons and equipment of the MiB team, different aliens around the Manhattan area, and a navigable image of the Men In Black headquarters. Introductions to eight of the extra-terrestrials that live in the Manhattan area can be found in the Resident Alien Tracking section. For each, you are given a small picture, with a few brief notes on their lifestyles. Everything from their disposition to their favorite part of Earth can be found here. This section is not presented as well as it could be, but is still easy to read with a large green font on a dark background. Images and brief descriptions of the weapons, equipment, and attire of the MiB crew, as well as a training game can be found in the MiB Training Center section. The sections for each weapon contain images of the weapon, as well as documentation of the history and usage of each weapon. As for the non-lethal weapons, there are Shockwave movies giving you interactive step-by-step instructions on how to use each. Also in the non-lethal weapons division, you can find a detailed paper on how the MiB must dress, as well as the vehicles its agents have available to them. There is a Shockwave game included on this disc that puts you in the spot of a new MiB recruit, trying to make it into the ranks. For the first test, you must shoot 20 aliens in a cityscape, while missing all of the humans around. Once completed, you then have to shoot 20 more aliens that pop up in hollowed out windows on the side of a building. After finishing that tedious task, you run around a room shooting more aliens while rescuing the humans from getting eaten by the aliens. When you successfully rescue 20 humans, you then must shoot down 20 alien scout aircraft and then blow up the alien mothership. Once you finish this, you have beaten the game, and get nothing in return. What fun... The 3D Exploration MiB Headquarters section gives you a 360 degree image of a room in the Men In Black headquarters. You must have Apple's Quicktime version 3.0 or higher installed on your system to view this section (if you do not have Quicktime installed, there is a link where you can download the program for free). The image is rather small, with a low resolution, so everything in the room is very difficult to pick out. You can zoom in and out, but everything is still really grainy doing this. When playing the movie directly from the PCFriendly software, you are brought to the fabulous DVD Video main menu (why they did not take this level of creativity to the ROM side is beyond me) where you can view the movie like you normally would. This titles special features are not only incomplete, but are poorly laid out. As always, I am disgusted that there is no script, and after seeing the DVD Video main menu, they added insult to injury. A true masterpiece could have been created for this title, but I guess there is always next time, right? (Danny Richelieu)
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