Plot: What’s it about?
Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) is a divorced women in her thirties, looking to find a new home for herself, as well as her young daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart). The search leads her to a New York brownstone that doesn’t impress Meg all that much at first look, but it is soon revealed that it has more than meets the eye. The massive mansion is home to a special room, one that is sealed off from the others and has a ton of unique features, the room is called a panic room, the place you go when you’re in extreme danger. Once inside the panic room, you’re able to watch the rest of the house on numerous cameras, all while being sealed off from whatever poses the threat. This is enough to sell Meg on the place and of course, she begins to learn as much as she can about the panic room and how it operates. Soon however, she’ll get a crash course in its functions, when a trio of burglars raid the home and while Meg thinks she & Sarah are safe, it seems as though what the burglars seek lies within the panic room itself. Can Meg and Sarah outlast the invaders, who work to open up the panic room and takes what lies inside?
I’ve been sold on Panic Room since I read a brief synopsis of the premise, as it had an excellent basic storyline, a great cast, and the direction of David Fincher (Fight Club, The Game). But then Nicole Kidman pulled out of the project, though she was replaced by Jodie Foster, so it all worked out well enough. In the end, Panic Room wasn’t as good as I had hoped, but it supplies some nice visuals, eerie atmosphere, and some solid performances. Foster is joined on screen by such names as Dwight Yoakam, Jared Leto, and Forest Whitaker, all three of whom seem in fine form as the invading criminals. I do wish it was darker in tone and relied less on cheap pops, but even so, Panic Room was fun to watch. This is not the usual Superbit release, as it houses some extras and an alternate language option, but it looks & sounds good, to be sure. Not as impressive as some others in the line, but for fans of the movie, Panic Room is well presented in all respects. I think we all know a Special Edition looms on the horizon however, so be sure to keep that in mind when you decide whether or not to add this version to your collection.
As I stated before, the central role in Panic Room was first given to Nicole Kidman, then took over by Jodie Foster soon after the production started. Foster brings a stronger, more powerful presence to the role, while Kidman would have seemed more helpless, an interesting contrast that would have wildly altered the entire picture. But I think Foster reels in the character well and comes across with a terrific performance. Of course, we’ve seen her in countless terrific performances before, so that shouldn’t come as a surprise. I do think the lack of time to prepare hurt her effort a little, but she doesn’t stumble too much, even with only a little over a week of time to prepare, no small feat indeed. Other films with Foster include The Accused, Contact, The Silence of the Lambs, Taxi Driver, and Little Man Tate. The cast also includes Jared Leto (American Psycho, Urban Legend), Dwight Yoakam (The Minus Man, Sling Blade), and Forest Whitaker (Battlefield Earth, The Crying Game).
Video: How does it look?
Panic Room is presented in a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. As you’d expect from a Superbit release, the image is excellent here, although to be honest, it wasn’t quite as dynamic as I had expected. As this movie is very, very dark in terms of visuals, its an uphill struggle to maintain a top level picture, but with only a few exceptions, this presentation holds firm and handles this high difficulty level material. In a handful of scenes however, the black levels become a little too dark and in others, the image is a tad on the soft side. But even in those moments, you should be more than pleased with the visuals, so I can’t knock this treatment too much. The colors come across well also, while detail remains as intended, though since this is an extremely dark movie, you won’t always have a lot to look at. I expected perfection here and while I didn’t get that, Columbia has served up a top drawer visual effort in all respects.
Audio: How does it sound?
As is the standard for Columbia’s Superbit line, this disc houses both Dolby Digital & DTS 5.1 soundtracks. But this time around, there’s not much difference between the two and in truth, both fell short of my expectations. If you’re the type who gauges his home theater by loudness & punch, then the audio here will suffice, but if you also expect crystal clear dialogue and subtle, atmospheric presence, you won’t be too impressed here. The booms & bangs are more than effective, but whenever the mix needs to calm down, the audio stumbles and comes up short, not a good thing in the least. I am being a little too critical perhaps, as both mixes do deliver on most counts, but I expected more from such a new release. This disc also includes a French language option, as well as subtitles in English and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes some talent files, as well as the film’s theatrical trailer.
