Plot: What’s it about?
Alex Carville (Brian Bosworth) was the best agent the United States had in the Cold War, but since he’s been locked up for over a decade, he hasn’t done much of late. Carville has been imprisoned by the KGB for eleven years and although he was a valued agent, his file was pretty much ignored by the CIA. But his freedom could come from a most unexpected source, in the form of his old nemesis Basil Bellanin (Bob Dawson). It seems Basil has a plan however, so this act of kindness comes with a price, or at least it could. Basil seeks to lure Carville in a search for cheap, limitless power source, which could then spark a new Cold War and in the end, that seems to be an idea that Basil likes. With a beautiful woman (Rachel Hayward) and the fate of the free world in the balance, can Carville return to action in top form and thwart Basil’s evil efforts?
It’s hard to maintain high hopes for direct to video action flicks, but some end up being worthwhile, though most aren’t. So when The Operative with Brian Bosworth arrived, I held minimal expectations, although I did hope for a fun experience. Of course, you have to set up different standards for these lower budget movies, as these flicks just lack the resources to compete with the blockbusters, to be sure. So how does The Operative stack up in the end? This wasn’t one of the better action movies I’ve seen, but it has some very cool action driven sequences, as well as a terrific performance from Bosworth. It is more than obvious that the budget was low here, but the crew seems to balance it all out, using style choices to enhance the action, which works quite well, if you ask me. The Operative has some great moments of action and humor, which is enough for me to recommend a rental, to those interested.
The man in the middle here is Brian Bosworth, who has a decent screen presence, but never caught on in the movie business. I don’t think Bosworth is a good actor per se, but he does well enough and in this case, supplies some great humor. That humor is a real issue in how The Operative works out, so I think Bosworth was a wise choice to lead here. Of course, his finest asset is his skill in the action scenes and he delivers there as well, enhanced even more by the stylish approach used in those sequences. You can also see Bosworth in such films as Stone Cold, Three Kings, Black Out, and Mach 2. The cast also includes Bob Dawson (Freeway 2, The Invitation), Taras Kostyuk (The Untold, Tv’s Dark Angel), John B. Lowe (Atomic Train, Golf Punks), and Rachel Hayward (Knight Moves, The Final Cut).
Video: How does it look?
The Operative is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. Aside from some light grain, this is a superb transfer and while it isn’t anamorphic, it more than gets the job done, if you ask me. The image is quite sharp, but never too much so, which keeps compression flaws out of the picture. A few small instances of edge enhancement can be seen, but on the whole, this is a terrific looking presentation. The colors look solid, flesh tones are natural, and contrast is well balanced, all the bases seem covered. I am lowering the score due to lack of anamorphic enhancement, but even it stands, this is a pretty good looking transfer.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is an action movie and as such, the included 2.0 surround option has some real potential, in terms of dynamic audio. The limits of the 2.0 surround format and the film’s limited resources somewhat handicap the experience, but it all still sounds more than solid. The surrounds see a nice amount of action and while it never really explodes, I think this mix has some power, when it needs that approach. The dialogue is well presented also, very crisp and always at a proper volume. This disc also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
