The Pretender – The Movie Edition (Pretender
2001 + The Island of the Haunted
telefilms)
Picture:
C+/B- Sound: C+ Extras: D Films: C+
Finally available
on DVD is The Pretender – The Movie
Edition (Pretender 2001, The Island of the Haunted) featuring
two 2001 telefilms that were created after the series was canceled (after four
seasons) in 2000. The films again follow
our mysterious hero, Jarod, a man who can do anything and assume any identity,
as he sneaks and integrates himself into all areas of society. Both films attempt to wrap up loose ends from
the cliffhanger type ending that the Fourth Season left (some reviewed
elsewhere on this site) but only do the job half heartedly. As a fan of the series this reviewer was
definitely sad to see the series go, but realizes now after viewing the series
on DVD that it did not old up as well as he had hoped. The films do clarify and put many questions
to rest, but at the same time open up a Pandora’s Box of further question and
confusion.
Without viewing
the complete series most viewers would be lost in these two films, this release
was meant for hardcore fans. The first
film (Pretender 2001) takes place
just as Season 4 ended and resolves an issue that left many fans hanging,
whereas it also just aggravates more.
The second film (The Island of
the Haunted) goes deeper into The
Pretender mythology and mystery of the series, but just begs the question
by the end of the film, why open this can of worms if you can’t resolve
it? Overall, if you are a fan go for
it! If you have never seen the series,
let this slip through the cracks and pretend it never happened.
The
technical features on this DVD seem slapped together to a degree. The picture in Pretender 2001 is presented in a seemingly stretched 1.33 X 1 Full
Screen and the second film is presented in a slightly better 1.78 X 1
Widescreen, but both remain slightly fuzzy and have color imbalance
issues. The sound is ok but nothing to
write home about in its bland Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Extras are sadly absent, but oh well!
Recently
the writers and directors of the series hinted that the series may be coming
back or a film may be in the works. If
it is as loose and bad as these films, this reviewer says no thanks.
- Michael P Dougherty II
