| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Project: Viper
Lionsgate Home Entertainment // R // August 20, 2002
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
A secret NASA team of scientists has bioengineered a thing in a jar that's supposed to be used to terraform Mars, but unfortunately for the unlucky astronauts transporting it, it apparently doesn't want to go to Mars, it wants to eat astronauts. That's the one in orbit; there's also a secondary prototype on Earth that's equally eager to wreak havoc. In order to stop it from, well, wreaking lots of havoc, the U.S. military calls on a hot-shot playboy agent with a lousy personality to save the day. This probably doesn't sound very promising, and in fact I can assure you that Project Viper is bad, very bad. Unfortunately, it doesn't descend into the depths of being very, very, very bad, because if it did, it might have gained some value in being unintentionally funny. As it is, Project Viper is simply too awful to be enjoyable to watch.
Action movies don't have to have particularly elaborate plots; what they require, however, is a point, some reason for the action. If Project Viper were in fact a science fiction action movie and stuck to that premise, I might have found it mildly entertaining. After all, Predator isn't exactly Shakespeare, but it's fun to watch. However, Project Viper lacks a central premise; it lacks a coherent plot; it lacks, in short, anything to make it hang together as a watchable movie.
Take the plot, for instance. After a while, I came to the conclusion that the scriptwriter must have come up with the story by putting a bunch of movie clichés into a jar, shaking them up, and pulling them out one by one to insert into the screenplay. A car chase! A shootout! (Never mind that we have no idea who anybody is, nor do we care.) An explosion! Another explosion (because if one is good, two must be better, of course.) A plane crash! More explosions! (because if two are good, then...) And all this in just the first thirty minutes or so. It's enough to make your head spin. Admittedly, well-crafted action movies do indeed contain things like car chases, explosions, and so on; but writers who understand that genre know how to pace the action, to make it meaningful, and to make it suspenseful. Project Viper, if it does anything at all, merely numbs the viewer from sensory overload.
Project Viper also starts getting unpleasant from the very beginning with its incredibly high body count. The filmmakers apparently were of the opinion that more killing is more fun, as far as action elements of the film are concerned: in one early sequence involving a raid on a NASA scientific building, the gun-wielding assailants knock off people left and right, far more than is necessary either for the plot or to indicate "yes, we are bad guys." Yes, it's an action film. Pointless violence is still pointless and repulsive.
Not only is Project Viper badly plotted, it is positively schizophrenic. Is it a space adventure, a la Apollo 13? (Alas, no. The opening sequence promises more than the film even comes close to delivering.) Is it a technothriller involving a group of hot young scientists? Is it a cops-and-robbers chase-the-bad-guy adventure? Is it Aliens? Is it Predator? Is it Aliens vs. Predator? Is it an X-Files episode rip-off? Is it a teen slasher flick? No to all of these, but Project Viper does manage to include at least one worn-out cliché from all of the above.
To the credit of Project Viper, it is only 85 minutes long. However, it manages to blow even that minor saving grace with an ending that doesn't just hint "sequel," it shouts it to the world with a bullhorn. When the best part of a movie is the relief at seeing the credits roll, who in their right minds would voluntarily endure a sequel?
Video
Project Viper looks a lot better than it deserves to, all things considered. The image is presented in widescreen anamorphic at a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and on the whole it looks very attractive. Colors are bright, contrast is good, and the print appears clean. The only faults are a touch of edge enhancement, a mild noise level, and a slight over-brightness of highly-lit white areas.
Audio
The Dolby 2.0 track is fine, though not particularly outstanding. Dialogue is reasonably clear, and music and sound effects are adequately balanced with the rest of the track, though there's not much by way of surround effects.
Extras
There's not a single special feature to be had.
Final thoughts
I honestly tried to find something to like in Project Viper, but I completely failed to do so. The film really has no redeeming value as a piece of entertainment, even as a light and fluffy no-brainer thriller. Bad plotting, uninteresting characters, cheesy special effects... Don't even waste your hard-earned cash on a rental of this one.
Action movies don't have to have particularly elaborate plots; what they require, however, is a point, some reason for the action. If Project Viper were in fact a science fiction action movie and stuck to that premise, I might have found it mildly entertaining. After all, Predator isn't exactly Shakespeare, but it's fun to watch. However, Project Viper lacks a central premise; it lacks a coherent plot; it lacks, in short, anything to make it hang together as a watchable movie.
Take the plot, for instance. After a while, I came to the conclusion that the scriptwriter must have come up with the story by putting a bunch of movie clichés into a jar, shaking them up, and pulling them out one by one to insert into the screenplay. A car chase! A shootout! (Never mind that we have no idea who anybody is, nor do we care.) An explosion! Another explosion (because if one is good, two must be better, of course.) A plane crash! More explosions! (because if two are good, then...) And all this in just the first thirty minutes or so. It's enough to make your head spin. Admittedly, well-crafted action movies do indeed contain things like car chases, explosions, and so on; but writers who understand that genre know how to pace the action, to make it meaningful, and to make it suspenseful. Project Viper, if it does anything at all, merely numbs the viewer from sensory overload.
Project Viper also starts getting unpleasant from the very beginning with its incredibly high body count. The filmmakers apparently were of the opinion that more killing is more fun, as far as action elements of the film are concerned: in one early sequence involving a raid on a NASA scientific building, the gun-wielding assailants knock off people left and right, far more than is necessary either for the plot or to indicate "yes, we are bad guys." Yes, it's an action film. Pointless violence is still pointless and repulsive.
Not only is Project Viper badly plotted, it is positively schizophrenic. Is it a space adventure, a la Apollo 13? (Alas, no. The opening sequence promises more than the film even comes close to delivering.) Is it a technothriller involving a group of hot young scientists? Is it a cops-and-robbers chase-the-bad-guy adventure? Is it Aliens? Is it Predator? Is it Aliens vs. Predator? Is it an X-Files episode rip-off? Is it a teen slasher flick? No to all of these, but Project Viper does manage to include at least one worn-out cliché from all of the above.
To the credit of Project Viper, it is only 85 minutes long. However, it manages to blow even that minor saving grace with an ending that doesn't just hint "sequel," it shouts it to the world with a bullhorn. When the best part of a movie is the relief at seeing the credits roll, who in their right minds would voluntarily endure a sequel?
Video
Project Viper looks a lot better than it deserves to, all things considered. The image is presented in widescreen anamorphic at a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and on the whole it looks very attractive. Colors are bright, contrast is good, and the print appears clean. The only faults are a touch of edge enhancement, a mild noise level, and a slight over-brightness of highly-lit white areas.
Audio
The Dolby 2.0 track is fine, though not particularly outstanding. Dialogue is reasonably clear, and music and sound effects are adequately balanced with the rest of the track, though there's not much by way of surround effects.
Extras
There's not a single special feature to be had.
Final thoughts
I honestly tried to find something to like in Project Viper, but I completely failed to do so. The film really has no redeeming value as a piece of entertainment, even as a light and fluffy no-brainer thriller. Bad plotting, uninteresting characters, cheesy special effects... Don't even waste your hard-earned cash on a rental of this one.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||