The story is told via the camera of a documentary filmmaker. The documentary director is following a Criminal Detective named Michael Burrows (Joseph Fiennes) who is a whiz at solving crimes. In his off time, he obsesses over The Darwin Awards because he enjoys trying to figure out how the deaths happened. One day, when he botches a critical arrest, Michael is fired from his job. Trying to find a new job, Michael decides to lend his expertise to an Insurance Company. Suddenly, Michael finds himself teaming up with an Insurance Claims investigator (played by Winona Ryder) to investigate strange death claims across the country.

The main problem with the film lies within the story structure. The story is meant to be told through the documentary filmmaker and through flashbacks of the various deaths, but there are extra shots that are not done by the fictional documentary filmmaker. If the film is trying to be like a documentary, why would the REAL director include pointless shots done by himself? Not only is it illogical, it also takes you out of the film. If the film can't maintain it's own gimmick then what is the point of the gimmick in the first place?

In addition to the story flaws, the characters are completely unlikable. Michael and his quirks really become downright obnoxious. It's as if writer/director Finn Taylor wanted him to be like Tony Shaloub's Monk. I can honestly say that he is no Monk. Ryder's character is even worse. Throughout 98% of the film, she is a heartless, nagging shrew. Naturally, she changes, but by the time the end rolls around, who cares!

Darwin is not without merit. The re-created death/accident set pieces are fabulously done. It's evident that the crew put a lot of time into making them appear as believable as possible. I especially enjoyed the elaborate ice fishing scene that involves a dog, a truck, an explosive, fish in a tree, and all sorts of madness.

The cameos were also a fun inclusion. Picking out all the cameos (such as Metallica, Lukas Haas, Chris Penn, David Arquette etc.) certainly helped the time pass by.

The DVD

Video:
The film's aspect-ratio is in 1.85.1 Widescreen and it looks top notch. The picture is noticeably crisp during the film's set pieces (like the powered car, the concert, etc.)

Sound: The Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 was passable. It was slightly hard to hear the audio when the actors/actresses are having quiet or low toned discussions. Other than that, the audio track worked well especially during the Metallica concert scenes.

Extras: While I suppose it's better than a bare bones release, there isn't much here extra wise. First up is a brief 7 minute Making-Of Featurette which shows a few behind the scenes stunt snippets and quick interviews with the cast and crew. Following the featurette are sixty second (or less) cast and crew Interviews (which are pretty much entirely seen in the featurette). Lastly, the disk proudly displays the usual dull photo gallery that I doubt anyone ever watches.

Final Thoughts:
While "The Darwin Awards" is an ambitious film, it doesn't entirely work. I can't say I recommend it, but if you do end up watching it, the cameos and crazy set pieces are at least entertaining.

Film and television enthusiast Nick Lyons recently had his first book published titled "Attack of the Sci-Fi Trivia." It is available on Amazon.com.