Plot: What’s it about?
The Hemsworth brothers (Chris and Liam) are staying busy. The two of them both have a film in theaters and several more on the horizon. Liam is arguably the less popular of the two, but they’re otherwise interchangeable at least in terms of acting quality. Here, Liam Hemsworth headlines this espionage thriller which also stars Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman. I understand Hemsworth is a rising star and needs the work, but why Ford and Oldman would choose a role like this is beyond me. Maybe it looked good on paper, but the end result is one of the dullest films I’ve seen in some time. Hemsworth plays Adam Cassidy, he is an entry-level employee with big ambitions. After he and some other employees get fired during a presentation, he takes them out and splurges at a bar with a company credit card. Adam is soon brought in and offered a choice. He can either face the consequences and possibly jail time or act as a spy for Nicholas Wyatt (Oldman). He’s given 48 hours to get the task done or else… We’ve seen enough movies to know what option he chooses and so the games begin. Richard Dreyfuss also has a small role as Adam’s ailing father. Again, what interested him in this role is beyond me.
Paranoia is one of those films that tries to draw suspense out of any possible scenario. That is fails miserably comes as no surprise. The bombastic score creeps in on several occasions as if to remind us that it’s a chase scene or to feel suspense. I wish Hollywood would realize that staring at computer monitors is not frightening. There are a few chase scenes, but its hard to garner an ounce of interest when there’s so little investment in the characters. Harrison Ford plays Augustine “Jock” Goddard and looks bored stiff. He sports a shaved head in this film and I can only hope that he didn’t shave his head for such a forgettable role like this. Oldman speaks with his heavy native accent and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t annoy me after a while. The concept of being under surveillance is interesting if done right (See: Eagle Eye), but the film has no fun with the premise. It’s an overly talky film with characters often eying each other down with a deep stare. I suppose it’s meant as imposing, but it’s played so seriously that it’s hard not to just laugh at the thing. It doesn’t help matters that things become so downright predictable and by-the-numbers. If you’re looking for some good thrills then I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere. There’s truly nothing positive I can say about this film. The talented cast brings nothing to the table, the direction is lazy and the pace is slow and plodding and the suspense never builds. I was bored stiff from beginning to end.
Video: How’s it look?
Well what we have here is a crappy film with a great transfer. The AVC encoded image (2.40:1) is constantly sharp offering rich detail. Colors are deep and well saturated and no blemishes can be found. Oldman and Ford are certainly showing their age and the detail here is flawless. The lines and wrinkles on both actor’s faces is given strong detail here. The stubble on Ford’s shaved head shows up strong here and I spotted a few grays in Oldman’s hair as well. The transfer also takes advantage of strong background colors. They were always deep and spot-on. The various background shots of the tall buildings also adds nice detail here. This is a strong transfer from Fox.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The DTS HD track is more than exceptional as well. The vocals were always strong and the track was constantly involving. There are a few club scenes with loud music that makes good of the bass and rear channels. This is largely a dialogue movie, but things remained clear throughout the track. There’s a strong balance during the action oriented scenes, but the front channels remained the most active. The busy city noise with loud cars and trucks in the background displayed nice detail too. I feel pleased with the track.
Supplements: What are the extras?
There’s only a handful of extras on this disc. This is a combo pack with a DVD copy as well as a Digital copy insert.
- Deleted Scenes – Only a few small bits, nothing of importance
- Privacy is dead – Is a short feature that tells us what we already know…That privacy is dead. Most of what’s discussed is very obvious and features the actors talking about modern technology.
- The Paranoia begins – Discusses the novel on which the film is based and how much the actors loved the script. I now have my answer to why they chose the role.
- The Players – Takes a look at the cast
- Previews
- DVD/UltraViolet Copy
