Plot: What’s it about?
John Brown (Matthew Broderick) wants nothing more than to be a policeman, so that he can become a hero, stop crime, and save citizens from danger. But Brown never seems to make the final grade, ending up as a security guard instead of a cop. One night, after a break in at the lab where he works, Brown chases down the folks who broke in, but he ends up being blown up by the bad guy, and lands in a hospital bed. The doctor from the lab decides Brown is a perfect candidate for an experimental program, which would turn him into a mechanical policeman, which seems like something Brown would love, right? When he comes to, Brown is shocked by the new him, but he begins training on how to control all the gizmos he now has installed in his body. Dr. Klaw (Rupert Everett), the bad guy who first blew up Brown, is after the technology used to create this new robot cop, and he will stop at nothing to master it, including kidnapping Brown. Can Brown master his new robotic self, rescue the entire city, and stop the evil clone Klaw has created?
Whenever live action Disney movies are released, the free world usually shudders, and hopes for a short box office stay. Such was the case with this film, but in truth, I found the movie to be fun and very visually impressive. Sure, the storyline calls for some suspension of belief, but hello, this is based on a cartoon, what did you expect? The special effects are pretty good, especially all of Gadget’s goodies, which was crucial to the film to me. If I didn’t like the gadgets, I knew I wouldn’t like the movie, but I loved the gadgets. The special effects were impressive, but they were just one element of the visuals here, which are nothing short of awesome. The opening sequence, drenched in color, is incredible, and the overall comic book visual style is used throughout the film. The liberal use of color and background action made the film seem like a live action cartoon, which seems to be the point. Ignore the bad press you’ve heard about this movie. If you want a fun movie that entertain as well as impress your eyes, this film will turn the trick.
The director of Inspector Gadget is David Kellogg, who also directed the cult classic Cool As Ice. For those of you unaware of the film, Cool As Ice starred a then popular Vanilla Ice, and was a failure, although it found a cult following on home video. While Matthew Broderick wouldn’t be my first choice to play Inspector Gadget, he surprised me at how well he fit into the role. His face isn’t right for the part, but his mannerisms and voice are, so it levels out. Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Election) is hilarious in this film, and captures the spirit of the character quite well. Also providing entertaining performances are Joely Fisher (Mixed Nuts, The Mask), Rupert Everett (An Ideal Husband, Shakespeare In Love), and Michelle Trachtenburg (Snow Day, Harriet The Spy). The supporting cast of this film also includes Andy Dick (The Cable Guy), Dabney Coleman (Stuart Little, You’ve Got Mail), Rene Auberjonois (Where The Buffalo Roam, The Little Mermaid), and Cheri Oteri (Lured Innocence, Liar Liar).
Video: How does it look?
Inspector Gadget is shown here in a non anamorphic widescreen transfer, which is framed at the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. This has to be one of, if not the best non 16X9 enhanced transfer on the market, this movie looks so good it almost hurts. The colors are vamped up to the Nth degree, but no bleeding occurs, which is very impressive. Flesh tones and contrast levels also appear normal and problem free. I also noted no compression errors, this is a perfect visual presentation, to be sure.
Audio: How does it sound?
While this film does provide some moments of dynamic audio, usually low level effects and dialogue dominate the speakers, so the mix is good, just not super powerful. When the music kicks into gear, the surrounds will pump up a little as well. Dialogue sounds very good, with no volume or separation issues to contend with.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release contains a theatrical trailer, a music video by Youngstown, and a brief featurette, with interviews and behind the scenes footage.
