The Devil’s Tomb
(2008/Sony DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: C-
Some films think that they can go and take ideas from
other films and redo them to “update” or “reimagine” them to “make them better”
or show that the idea still works.
Instead of admitting
that some films are classics and leave it at that, they will (even sometimes
with ambition, sincerity and a decent chunk of money) will do another feature
film like one or more previous successes.
In the case of Jason Connery’s The
Devil’s Tomb (2008) wants to be Cameron’s Aliens plus Carpenter’s The
Thing with a heavy dose of “war porn” that backfires badly.
Cuba
Gooding Jr. heads a paramilitary outfit who investigate a missing scientist
(Ron Perlman) and where he has gone. Is
it terrorists? Did he die by
accident? Did he defect? Was he kidnapped? Amnesia?
Well, if the first paragraph (or the cover of the DVD case), it is a
killer alien. Yawn. Despite some energy, this is bad and never
works well. At first, I hoped this might
pick up, but I was too optimistic and when it implodes, forget it. This Tomb
should stay buried.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is a bit soft throughout, with some of the shots
purposely color-gutted. A few good shots
surface, but not enough. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix is also disappointing, with a lack of soundfield and lame final
mix decisions. Extras include
outtakes, a making of featurette, alternate scenes that don’t help and an audio
commentary.
- Nicholas Sheffo
