Plot: What’s it about?
One benefit of the format we all love, DVD, is that studios can release a movie with limited appeal, like Omega Doom, by placing on the flip side of a more established movie, such as Blind Fury. While Omega Doom is a decent way to spend ninety minutes, I don’t think many people would rush out to pick up the disc, as it serves a better purpose as a renter. Blind Fury on the other hand, has a following which would purchase its disc, but by placing Omega Doom, a movie which appeals to similar tastes, Columbia has increased the value of the release greatly, which will create more interest and sales. I doubt we’d see a release for Omega Doom without this double feature, and I can certainly see the sales of Blind Fury increasing thanks to the bonus inclusion.
In Blind Fury, we follow the path of Nick Parker (Rutger Hauer), who has been missing in action for over twenty years. During the Vietnam war, Parker was captured by the enemy, and ended up tortured and blinded. Even with the loss of his sight, he manages to return home after two decades, to look up a fellow Army man and friend, Frank Devereaux (Terrance O’ Quinn) and let him know he is forgiven. As Nick tracks him down, Frank has some problems to deal with, mainly a casino boss who wants him to create some high caliber drugs, and won’t seem to take no for an answer. When Frank refuses, his life is instantly in jeopardy, as well as the lives of his family. With the pressure building, Nick ends up right smack in the middle of all this, and he is isn’t in the mood to let the casino boss and his thugs screw with his friend. His samurai sword in hand, Nick decides to help even the odds, and although he may be blind, he can still kick some ass.
Omega Doom also features Rutger Hauer, but in a little bit different role, this time taking on the science fiction side of acting. In the future, the landscape is no longer ruled by humans, but by machines. The machines conquered the humans, leaving nothing behind of them, few survivors from the human race can be found. The machines are all that remains, and two separate divisions exist within them, roms and droids, and the two have no love loss between them. The two groups battle back and forth all the time, in a lethal search for one remnant of mankind, guns. Enter Omega Doom (Hauer) who draws the attention of both camps, who intend to leave him as little more than a red splotch on the ground. The machines continue to wage war on each other, as well as Omega Doom, as they come closer and closer to the holding area that holds the guns. But will anything be left to shoot once the warring factions reach the hold?
While these movies aren’t Oscar material, fans of science fiction and action flicks will find more than a little to like here. There’s plenty of what you’d expect from these type of films, action and effects, and I recommend them to genre fans. While Omega Doom is not as easy to recommend, I view it as simply a bonus when you purchase the Blind Fury disc. Blind Fury stars Rutger Hauer, Randall “Tex” Cobb, and Terrance O’Quinn, and was directed by Phillip Noyce. Noyce is a very talented director with a plush resume of hits, such as Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games, The Bone Collector, The Saint, and Dead Calm. Omega Doom stars Hauer, Tina Cote, Shannon Whirry, and Norbert Weisser, and was directed by Albert Pyun. If you’re looking for a director that does low budget action better than most, Pyun is a natural choice. Pyun has vast experience directing movies of this type, including Urban Menace, Nemesis, Brainsmasher: A Love Story, Mean Guns, and his classic Cyborg. The disc itself is well worth the reasonable asking price, with two solid movies, both getting good treatment here.
Video: How does it look?
Blind Fury is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. As usual, Columbia has issued a wonderful transfer, even on a lower profile catalog title like this. The colors look bright and vivid, with no bleeding or errors present, and flesh tones remain natural and distortion free. The movie has some very dark scenes, but they look sparkling, with high visible detail levels and no shadow murkiness. The transfer shows little signs of compression troubles, and overall, this is one fine transfer.
Omega Doom is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. While the transfer is quite good, it falls short of the high standards Columbia has set for themselves. The movie is very dark in visual style, but the contrast levels keep detail high and shadows fairly clear. The colors look good for the most part, but some minor bleeding appears from time to time. The main fault I find with this transfer is the frequent and distracting edge enhancement that occurs. While it may seem minor in the scheme of things, it can be quite annoying. But, the transfer is still solid aside from those scenes which display the compression errors.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio for both films is presented in Dolby 2 channel surround, which is more than adequate in both cases. The surrounds are fired up quite a bit in both, but Omega Doom sports the more active track, by a small margin. While neither have as much audio dynamite as more action driven flicks, there is enough to create a powerful audio experience. The dialogue in Blind Fury is crisp and clear, but the mix in Omega Doom seems to leave the dialogue a few notches too low. This results in a little remote fiddling, but not too much.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release contains theatrical trailers for both movies in this double feature, as well as a bonus trailer for Arctic Blue. The insert leaflet has brief production notes for both films, and very slim talent files are also found on the disc.
