MELTDOWN
COLUMBIA TRISTAR has released Jet Li's answer to "DIE HARD" with
"MELTDOWN". " Li stars as a man haunted by his past until given a chance
to confront it. Throw in a subplot about a plan to steal the Crown
Jewels of Russia and you can pretty much guess the "paint-by-numbers"
structure of this formulaic action film. Ridden with guilt for not
being able to prevent the killing of his wife by a terrorist known as
"The Doctor", Li leaves the army disgraced. Years later, working as a
bodyguard, he attends a presentation of "The Crown Jewels" with his
employer, an action-film star. Soon enough, "The Doctor" and his
cronies take over the hotel in their attempt to steal the jewels, and
the guests are taken as hostages. That is, all but one! Li must now use
his wits and his skills to save the guests, the jewels and avenge his
dead wife! It's always a pleasure watching Li's moves, but it's too bad
he's not in a better film. No matter what demons haunt him from the
past, it can't be as painful as what the viewer has to face by sitting
through this ridiculous plot. It would be a different matter if the
film had a consistent tongue-in-cheek attitude, but it varies in
atmosphere too much to wink at it.
COLUMBIA TRISTAR has provided the film with its correct 1.85:1 aspect
ratio with 16:9 enhancement. The image is extremely sharp. Color values
are strong, with bright colors and no oversaturation. The contrast is
also impressive, with deep blacks and grays. There are some scratches,
but overall the film has a polished look to it.
COLUMBIA TRISTAR didn't provide the original soundmix here! However,
the dubbed mix is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby surround 2.0
sound. It's surprising that an action film is so devoid of surround
effects! There are a few directional effects, but surrounds are used
almost exclusively for the film's music tracks. The dialogue is focused
towards the center channel. It offers a wide degree of fidelity and is
free from distortion.
Trailers for "MELTDOWN", "ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA", "RED DRAGON", "THE
PRISONER", and GORGEOUS" are included.