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This is how
MGM Home Entertainment has chosen to market Fled on DVD. Being
the owner of a '99 Camaro Z28, I understand the concept of
a muscle-car and what it embodies. First of all, muscle-cars
are supposed to be loud and fast, so nothing big there. A
muscle-car is all about speed and looking mean. They are very
simple machines that are a little short on creature comforts.
The second part of the quote states it is a roller-coaster
ride. We all know that roller-coasters have their ups and
their downs. It seems to me that this is a fitting quote for
Fled. The film is all about looking like an action film and
getting there as fast as it can. What it lacks is a serious
plot or any sense of refinement. Much like my Z28, with its
sixties vintage live rear axle. It does its job, but it not
very refined. Fled also has enough ups and downs to be a roller-coaster
ride. The film has some good action sequences, and the rest
of the film is all downs. What this quote is telling us is
that Fled moves quick and makes a lot of noise. It tells us
that Fled has not plot and it has its good moments and bad.
Fled opened
on over two thousand screens and accumulated less than six
million dollars on its opening weekend. It was pretty much
a financial bomb. At one time the mindset in Hollywood was
that a Baldwin boy made for a blockbuster or solid hit. At
the time of Fled, the Baldwin's were showing diminishing returns
at the box office and the pre-Matrix Lawrence Fishburne was
not too bankable. The film had a good premise of a story,
but unfortunately, Fled stumbles over trying to become intelligent
and when the story is broken down, it becomes idiotic and
silly. There are enough plot holes in the film to make cole
slaw. After a while you find wondering why they keep throwing
movie references at you and how does Baldwin avoid scratches,
dirt and misplaced hair. It really does become a wonder.
Through
all of this trashing of Fled, if you check your brain at the
door, you may find yourself actually entertained by the picture.
There are some good moments of humor and Fishburne can hold
a commanding presence on the screen. The real trick to enjoying
Fled is to not pay attention to the horrible attempts at sounding
computer intelligent or descriptions of motorcycles. They
really do try hard to sound intelligent, but they don't. This
type of writing should be left to Tom Clancy and unlike brother
Alec, Stephen should avoid trying to sound intelligent. Perhaps
he should team up with Adam Sandler for a picture, it may
rejuvenate his career. For the male audience, Salma Hayek
does make a lengthy appearance, but the director and Hayek
have decided to avoid any wonderful showings of flesh. Her
rear end may have been the defining and best moment of Wild,
Wild West, but she does nothing to help Fled.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Fled looks
like a very expensive film. Most of the film was shot on location
in Georgia. There are some pretty nice stunts to be seen,
including racing from death in front of a train and a high
speed motorcycle chase. A couple shoot out scenes are thrown
in for good measure, and though they are far from a John Woo
sequence, they look pretty good. The film does have some very
nice sets and great shooting locations. There is absolutely
no way you can give the film grief for is appearance, except
for a couple of odd gaffing errors, such as the windshield
that is smashed, but after the vehicle rolls it is fine.
The digital
transfer of Fled does a rather good job of brining this nice
looking film to DVD. MGM has presented the film in an anamorphic
widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical
aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The colors are well saturated and
look outstanding. Detail and black levels are strong. There
are no faults to be found in the picture quality except for
a moment or two of film grain and a couple scattered moments
of edge enhancement. Fled's best qualities are in its visual
appearance and thankfully MGM has done well by it.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
Every other
scene in Fled is an action sequence of one type or another.
Whether it be a motorcycle chase or running from a train,
Fled demands a solid soundtrack to drive the action home.
Scenes depicting violent gunplay are aplenty and the bullets
do fly. Fortunately, the six-channel Dolby Digital AC-3 soundtrack
delivers the goods. When the bullets start to fly, you are
able to hear them easily through the split surrounds and the
front speakers. Close your eyes and you can almost imagine
being in the middle of the gunfight. Another prime example
of something that sounds good in this picture are the engines
of the two motorcycles that are given a supporting role in
the picture. They rumble the front channels nicely and sound
great.
Dialogue
is very clear and easy to understand. The dynamic range is
pretty good, and the volume can be set loud enough that you
can understand what is being said and the action scenes will
only mildly bother the neighbors. About the only complaint
to be found with the 5.1 mix is middle of the road treatment
given to the .1 LFE channel. The bass could have been harder,
but it does exist and the room does shake at times. Granted,
I viewed Fled after watching the assault on the senses Matrix
and perhaps the bass was better than I thought, but then this
just means that the bar has been set higher.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? One of the
most intriguing supplements is the "highly collectible booklet"
that accompanies MGM Home Entertainment DVDs. Most companies
have went as far as putting such information into menu screens
and called them ¨Production Notes' and ¨Talent Biographies'.
The MGM booklets are usually well done and give a wealth of
information, but it seems that the time has come for MGM to
make this information interactive. Some may argue that a film
such as Fled demands a little reading during slow scenes,
but there exist a wide range of magazine publications that
can usually suit the interests of anybody alive. Other than
this wonderful little booklet, MGM has seen fit to include
the theatrical trailer and full French language support. Fled
was not a box office success and probably does not warrant
a lot of supplements, but with the success of The Matrix,
it seems they could have capitalized on Fishburne and made
the DVD more highly collectible.
Parting Thoughts
A personal
recommendation is to perhaps rent this film, but not purchase
it. The film looked pretty good and had some rather nice action
shots. Unfortunately, you really have to check your brain
at the door and not pay much attention to the subplots or
overall scheme of things. There are some really bad sequences
that leave you wondering why the hell anyone would do that
or the coincidences are so bad they are silly. However, if
you are looking for a fast, loud muscle-car of a movie, then
perhaps Fled is for you. Just rent it to be sure. MGM has
not added any marvelous supplements to keep you busy or give
you other motives to purchase the disc. Seeing Will Patton
in a solid supporting role was a nice surprise, and overall
I was entertained by the film, but I will probably never watch
it again.
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