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Enemy Mine
Fox // PG-13 // March 27, 2001
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
I knew nothing about "Enemy Mine" before watching the film. Between the title and the cover art, I assumed that it was a film about some enslaved human miners who rise up against their otherworldly captors. Apparently a subplot involving a mine was added so as not to confuse people as daft as myself. Sure, the plot I envisioned is unoriginal, but it probably wouldn't have been any less uninteresting than "Enemy Mine" turned out to be. The film adds a sci-fi spin to a premise as hackneyed as the one I mentioned -- two members of warring races are put in a situation where they have to work together or face certain death. The two learn to put aside their differences and realize that the other side isn't evil after all. Awww... In "Enemy Mine", the conflict is between humans and the reptilian Dracs (all of whom talk like Mer-Man from Masters of the Universe) over mineral rights. When a Drac fighter successfully destroys a ship helmed by a friend of Willis Davidge (Dennis Quaid), Davidge attempts to exact revenge, but ends up stranded with his alien enemy on a desolate planet. Louis Gossett Jr. plays the main Drac in the story, and surprisingly, he doesn't come through looking like Louis Gossett Jr. with purple makeup. If not for the credits, I wouldn't have been able to guess the actor behind the foam latex, which is pretty high praise, I suppose. Anyway, you all know how the story goes. The Drac and Davidge start off disliking each other, then when forced in close corners, they start to befriend each other, there's the obligatory conflict afterwards, a weepy resolution, and then...a new subplot suddenly appears involving enslaved Dracs that Davidge sets out to rescue. Whatever. Plots don't really need to be original, but they should at least be executed well-enough to inspire some sort of tension or interest. "Enemy Mine" fails here, offering too much sappy melodrama and far, far too little action to satisfy its target audience. "Enemy Mine" isn't a bad movie, but with so many superior science-fiction/action films out there, this one would be pretty far down on my list of recommendations.
Video: "Enemy Mine" is presented in 2.35:1 and is enhanced for widescreen televisions. Although "Enemy Mine" was released in 1985, I wouldn't have had a hard time believing that the film was shot in the early '90s by watching the spectacular transfer used for this disc (well, the old 20th Century Fox intro aside). The amount of detail in the image would be impressive for a film released last year, let alone a release of an obscure 16-year-old catalog title. Colors seem accurately reproduced, and black levels are rock solid.
Audio: Last night I watched "Zardoz" in Dolby Digital 3.0, and this afternoon, I experienced my first DVD in DD 4.0. I'm guessing this is the same format used theatrically -- the IMDb, at least, just describes the mix as "Dolby". Whatever. If this by some chance is a remix, it's a fairly poor one. The overall range is very limited, with effects that should roar from the speakers sounding flat, and there's (ouch!) light crackling when our heroes raise their voices. The keyboard-heavy score sounds too trebly, and the handful of directional effects -- mostly ships flying across the screen -- don't make as smooth a transition as they should. Stereo English and French tracks are also selectable.
Supplements: I was expecting "Behind The Scenes" to offer some sort of 10 minute long featurette, but instead, there were three photos comprising the shortest still gallery I've seen to date. The only other extra related to "Enemy Mine" is a trailer for the film, along with trailers for other sci-fi releases from Fox.
Conclusion: "Enemy Mine" is a quality DVD presentation from Fox of a film that is at times excruciatingly dull. Worth a purchase for those who have seen the film previously and enjoyed it, but I wouldn't recommend it as anything more than a rental otherwise. Rent it.
Video: "Enemy Mine" is presented in 2.35:1 and is enhanced for widescreen televisions. Although "Enemy Mine" was released in 1985, I wouldn't have had a hard time believing that the film was shot in the early '90s by watching the spectacular transfer used for this disc (well, the old 20th Century Fox intro aside). The amount of detail in the image would be impressive for a film released last year, let alone a release of an obscure 16-year-old catalog title. Colors seem accurately reproduced, and black levels are rock solid.
Audio: Last night I watched "Zardoz" in Dolby Digital 3.0, and this afternoon, I experienced my first DVD in DD 4.0. I'm guessing this is the same format used theatrically -- the IMDb, at least, just describes the mix as "Dolby". Whatever. If this by some chance is a remix, it's a fairly poor one. The overall range is very limited, with effects that should roar from the speakers sounding flat, and there's (ouch!) light crackling when our heroes raise their voices. The keyboard-heavy score sounds too trebly, and the handful of directional effects -- mostly ships flying across the screen -- don't make as smooth a transition as they should. Stereo English and French tracks are also selectable.
Supplements: I was expecting "Behind The Scenes" to offer some sort of 10 minute long featurette, but instead, there were three photos comprising the shortest still gallery I've seen to date. The only other extra related to "Enemy Mine" is a trailer for the film, along with trailers for other sci-fi releases from Fox.
Conclusion: "Enemy Mine" is a quality DVD presentation from Fox of a film that is at times excruciatingly dull. Worth a purchase for those who have seen the film previously and enjoyed it, but I wouldn't recommend it as anything more than a rental otherwise. Rent it.
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