The movie centers on a team of Navy S.E.A.L.s that are assigned an extraction mission in a hostile African country. Their mission is to get an American doctor and her missionary colleagues out of an area about to be overrun by rebels who are killing everyone in their path. The doctor will not go without taking a large number of refugees, far more than the helicopters can take. This sets the stage for the events that take place with Bruce Willis as the lead male and the headstrong doctor played by Monica Bellucci.

Okay, my background in African politics leads me to believe that the various countries there have as much stability as Central America but with more killing. So the premise is sound as a starting point. The movie is set up as an action roller coaster ride with the typical female "I won't go without them" type thrown in for the female viewers. If I had been the lead male, I'd have knocked the doctor in the head and carted her off-letting the Monday morning quarterbacks fuss at me later. That wouldn't have made a long enough movie of course so we get stuck with the screenwriters trying to please everyone. In essence, it seemed to be made by committee. The limitations of the script were described by the two writers, Alex Lasker and Patrick Cirillo, who admit that they designed the movie to be picked up by a studio. When the compromises start before you even get a company signed up, you can't expect things to get better as time rolls along. The Director, Antoine Fuqua, makes mention of a lot of things relating to this too.

Willis brings his action hero sensibility into the movie like an old comfortable suit, none the worse for wear. He makes all the usual looks and says all the usual things when faced with problems. The supporting cast seemed competent too, if not excitingly fresh and went through the motions as much as we could ask of them when bogged down by limited material. I generally expect the explosions and other stunts to preoccupy my mind when watching this type of big budget action flick and unfortunately, there is a lot of dead space on screen between such happenings. It certainly wasn't a thinking man's action movie by any means but it also didn't keep the Joe average guy in me happy either. Is it any wonder the movie made it to dvd so quickly?

So, if the premise was flawed and the acting uninspired, it was a lousy movie, right? Not at all! It just wasn't anything special and as a time killer, or at best a guilty and minor pleasure, it was far too limited to really recommend as much more than a Rental. Like most eye candy, it lacks the substance to give it any legs but it's an okay watch.

Picture: The picture was presented in 2.40:1 ratio Anamorphic Widescreen which is a bit nonstandard. The colors were vivid and the night scenes looked as clear as I've seen them-with no large amounts of grain or color bleeding like so many other releases under similar circumstances. There were a few moments where the picture had a soft focus but such moments were few and far between.

Sound: The sound was presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital and made great use of all the speakers. The ambient sounds of the jungle made some scenes really come alive with my set up and I can only imagine what it'd sound like on a high end system. The primary channel was English but a French soundtrack was also available and the dvd provided optional English or French subtitles too. In all, the sound was very well done.

Extras: The extras included a Director's commentary track, where he explained a lot of what went on behind the scenes but mostly talking about his political viewpoints in terms of the movie. The movie also included an audio track where the two writers provided occasional observations (although they were too few and far between), some decent deleted scenes that fleshed out some of the characters, and a lot of trailers. Another decent extra was the Behind the Scenes feature and an interactive menu that allowed you to see some political background about Africa and the strife that goes on there. Lastly, the dvd case included an insert and a coupon for $5 off if you buy the movie and the deluxe edition of Black Hawk Down.

Final Thoughts: I had some fun with the movie but I don't think it's worth more than a rental or two. The limited range of acting, the weak story, and the lapses of logic shown in terms of how the military works made this one a Rental for a middle of the week. Had the script been as solid as the production values, I'd be happier than a bought off critic to tell you it was great but that wasn't the case here.