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Firestorm
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Howie Long made his action debut in John Woo's thriller "Broken Arrow", and as John Travolta's sidekick, he had a few very good sequences. The combination of having to carry a movie and the debut of director Dean Semler in this film though, makes for an unsuccessful effort. Semler is a marvelous photographer, as witnessed on films like "Dances With Wolves", but "Firestorm" was not the best choice for a debut effort.
Long stars as Jesse Graves, an ace "smoke-jumper" who runs into fires to save lives and put out the blazes. During a particularly bad fire, he finds himself jumping into the action once more to find himself confronted with a legion of criminals led by a character played by actor William Forsythe. Of course, he must also rescue the girl is trouble played by Susy Amis.
I suppose it's not all the fault of Long that his performance is weak; the screenplay is so poor that I doubt anyone could do much with it. The action sequences are nicely done, but don't leave much of an impression. I suppose that the story could have made for an interesting film had things been different (and the screenplay better), but I suppose everything can't always come together.
The DVD
VIDEO: An early Fox title, "Firestorm" is presented in a non-anamorphic transfer in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio; although it's non-anamorphic, it still looks very impressive. Images are consistently razor sharp, providing very good detail and images that are never lacking in clarity, even during the smoky, fire scenes. Colors are wonderful, looking bold and rich, and never showing any signs of bleeding or other problems.
There aren't too many flaws to speak of; there is some slight traces of shimmering and pixelation once or twice, but they aren't terribly noticable or distracting. The print used is clear and free of flaws as well. Not perfect, but a very good transfer for a non-anamorphic one.
SOUND: Well, the movie stinks but the sound's pretty darn good. "Firestorm" presents stunningly enveloping audio during the action sequences, and it feels as if the fire is raging throughout the entire room. Surround use is very agressive, and makes for a remarkable sense of space and dimension. Bass is another major factor; the soundtrack provides plenty of deep bass that is very effective. A pretty solid action-movie soundtrack.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated main menu that simply uses the cover art.
EXTRAS: Well, we get a trailer. And that's it.
Final Thoughts: Fox's DVD is a decent early effort from the studio, lacking in extras but strong in audio/video quality. The film, on the other hand, is pretty weak action/adventure fare. Skip it.
Howie Long made his action debut in John Woo's thriller "Broken Arrow", and as John Travolta's sidekick, he had a few very good sequences. The combination of having to carry a movie and the debut of director Dean Semler in this film though, makes for an unsuccessful effort. Semler is a marvelous photographer, as witnessed on films like "Dances With Wolves", but "Firestorm" was not the best choice for a debut effort.
Long stars as Jesse Graves, an ace "smoke-jumper" who runs into fires to save lives and put out the blazes. During a particularly bad fire, he finds himself jumping into the action once more to find himself confronted with a legion of criminals led by a character played by actor William Forsythe. Of course, he must also rescue the girl is trouble played by Susy Amis.
I suppose it's not all the fault of Long that his performance is weak; the screenplay is so poor that I doubt anyone could do much with it. The action sequences are nicely done, but don't leave much of an impression. I suppose that the story could have made for an interesting film had things been different (and the screenplay better), but I suppose everything can't always come together.
The DVD
VIDEO: An early Fox title, "Firestorm" is presented in a non-anamorphic transfer in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio; although it's non-anamorphic, it still looks very impressive. Images are consistently razor sharp, providing very good detail and images that are never lacking in clarity, even during the smoky, fire scenes. Colors are wonderful, looking bold and rich, and never showing any signs of bleeding or other problems.
There aren't too many flaws to speak of; there is some slight traces of shimmering and pixelation once or twice, but they aren't terribly noticable or distracting. The print used is clear and free of flaws as well. Not perfect, but a very good transfer for a non-anamorphic one.
SOUND: Well, the movie stinks but the sound's pretty darn good. "Firestorm" presents stunningly enveloping audio during the action sequences, and it feels as if the fire is raging throughout the entire room. Surround use is very agressive, and makes for a remarkable sense of space and dimension. Bass is another major factor; the soundtrack provides plenty of deep bass that is very effective. A pretty solid action-movie soundtrack.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated main menu that simply uses the cover art.
EXTRAS: Well, we get a trailer. And that's it.
Final Thoughts: Fox's DVD is a decent early effort from the studio, lacking in extras but strong in audio/video quality. The film, on the other hand, is pretty weak action/adventure fare. Skip it.
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