This movie is all looks and no brains.
In spirit, at least, this movie reminded me a lot of Frank Sinatra's old film, "Ocean's 11," where he and his pals got together and made a movie that must have been far more fun to perform in than it was to watch. The actors in "The Big Bounce" seem to be having a good time; they even seem to be improvising many of their lines. But just looking at people having a good time isn't very entertaining for an audience.
And where does all this leave one of my favorite actors, Morgan Freeman? Lost, most of the time, like everybody else in the film. He plays a pleasant-enough chap, the Judge, but he's hardly in the picture until the very end. As I say, a waste, really.
This movie is all looks and no brains.
Video:
I am convinced that movie studios are out to frustrate videophiles. It seems almost perverse that nine times out of ten, the worse the movie is, the better the video quality. This disc is a good example. The widescreen size closely approximates its theatrical-exhibition dimensions at a 1.17:1 anamorphic ratio; and the bit rate is quite high, rendering the colors rich, deep, dark, and solid, with object delineation sharp and precise. Moiré effects, wavy lines and such, are largely absent, as are halos, extraneous grain, and other artifacts of the digital transfer process. It is, simply put, a great-looking picture.
Audio:
Warners' Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix puts most of the sound in the front three channels and leaves very little for the side or rear. We do hear a little in the way of bird noises, waves crashing, and musical ambience reinforcement from the surrounds, but it's not enough to make one much aware of it. Still, the fronts are a different story, where the sound makes its presence known through strong, clean dynamics, an ample stereo spread, and a wide frequency response. With the exception of the music, though, there isn't really a lot for the sound system to do, in any case.
Extras:
The disc includes the usual things and less. Mainly, there are three featurettes, but no audio commentary. The first featurette is called "The Big Bounce: A Con in the Making," a twelve-minute promo wherein the stars and filmmakers discuss how much fun they had making the film. The second featurette is "Wicked Waves," an eight-minute compilation of stunt-surfer outtakes. And the third featurette is "Surfing the Pipeline," three minutes of surfing in the Aloha State. The extras conclude with twenty-four scene selections and a widescreen theatrical trailer. Warner Bros. provide English and French for spoken languages; and English, French, and Spanish for subtitles.
Parting Shots:
"Get Shorty," "Jackie Brown," and "Joe Kidd" are a few of the more successful film adaptations of Elmore Leonard stories; but "The Big Bounce" has so far proved a more elusive proposition. In two tries, it's got two strikes against it.
Maybe a stronger script, with more emphasis on characterizations and plot turns and less attention on incidental locales and irrelevant filler would have helped. Or maybe Wilson was the wrong choice this time to carry the picture, given his overly relaxed, typecast manner. There's nothing openly wrong or offensive about the picture; it just never builds any momentum and dies in its tracks. Too bad; I love Freeman, even when he's not doing anything.
And where does all this leave one of my favorite actors, Morgan Freeman? Lost, most of the time, like everybody else in the film. He plays a pleasant-enough chap, the Judge, but he's hardly in the picture until the very end. As I say, a waste, really.
This movie is all looks and no brains.
Video:
I am convinced that movie studios are out to frustrate videophiles. It seems almost perverse that nine times out of ten, the worse the movie is, the better the video quality. This disc is a good example. The widescreen size closely approximates its theatrical-exhibition dimensions at a 1.17:1 anamorphic ratio; and the bit rate is quite high, rendering the colors rich, deep, dark, and solid, with object delineation sharp and precise. Moiré effects, wavy lines and such, are largely absent, as are halos, extraneous grain, and other artifacts of the digital transfer process. It is, simply put, a great-looking picture.
Audio:
Warners' Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix puts most of the sound in the front three channels and leaves very little for the side or rear. We do hear a little in the way of bird noises, waves crashing, and musical ambience reinforcement from the surrounds, but it's not enough to make one much aware of it. Still, the fronts are a different story, where the sound makes its presence known through strong, clean dynamics, an ample stereo spread, and a wide frequency response. With the exception of the music, though, there isn't really a lot for the sound system to do, in any case.
Extras:
The disc includes the usual things and less. Mainly, there are three featurettes, but no audio commentary. The first featurette is called "The Big Bounce: A Con in the Making," a twelve-minute promo wherein the stars and filmmakers discuss how much fun they had making the film. The second featurette is "Wicked Waves," an eight-minute compilation of stunt-surfer outtakes. And the third featurette is "Surfing the Pipeline," three minutes of surfing in the Aloha State. The extras conclude with twenty-four scene selections and a widescreen theatrical trailer. Warner Bros. provide English and French for spoken languages; and English, French, and Spanish for subtitles.
Parting Shots:
"Get Shorty," "Jackie Brown," and "Joe Kidd" are a few of the more successful film adaptations of Elmore Leonard stories; but "The Big Bounce" has so far proved a more elusive proposition. In two tries, it's got two strikes against it.
Maybe a stronger script, with more emphasis on characterizations and plot turns and less attention on incidental locales and irrelevant filler would have helped. Or maybe Wilson was the wrong choice this time to carry the picture, given his overly relaxed, typecast manner. There's nothing openly wrong or offensive about the picture; it just never builds any momentum and dies in its tracks. Too bad; I love Freeman, even when he's not doing anything.
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