Firewall (HD DVD)

Word on Firewall on its release into theaters was horrible. Carrying an 18-percent at RottenTomatoes was not something that boosted my confidence, but considering it stars Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany and Virginia Madsen I had to give it a chance. Fortunately, thanks to bad word of mouth, my expectations were so low I didn't dislike this movie as much as I might have had I seen it without opposing opinions. That said, it still remains a flawed picture only suitable for rental.

The film centers on the Stanfield family. Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) works for a bank and Bill Cox (Paul Bettany) takes advantage of a fake business proposal to worm his way into Jack's life. He kidnaps his family and sets in motion his plan to hijack millions of dollars from the bank using Jack's insider status as his means to an end. Yeah, not exactly an original premise, but it is a premise that has worked in movies forever so why not here?

Overall, if you are able to overlook a few logic flaws you aren't going to be overly upset that you took your time to watch this flick. Yeah, Harrison is 63 and Bettany is only 35, so the idea that Ford stands a chance in a fist fight with Paul is a bit silly, but considering Bettany is about 100 pounds soaking wet I was able to look past it and I think you will too. Where it gets a bit more ridiculous is in the race to "steal" the money as it becomes a two-sided affair and a process you are able to do within a matter of minutes. Considering it seems they went to lengths to try and make the actual "heist" relatively realistic it loses a lot of its realism when it comes to the actual theft. Fortunately the world of movies has always pushed the logic boundary, which makes it tolerable for the 104 minutes this movie lasts.

As far as special features go this disc is pretty limited. There is a short conversation with Ford and director Richard Loncraine as they chat up the film. The one thing you get from this conversation is that it seems Loncraine let Ford push him around a bit. Considering Loncraine's last pic was Wimbledon it may have been necessary, but on video it seems a bit degrading. Beyond that there is a short interview with screenwriter Joe Forte that is not a necessary watch.

Finally, I should comment on the HD DVD/DVD combo disc, which this is as it carries the DVD version of the film on one side and the HD DVD version on the opposite. Overall the look of the HD DVD is far superior to the DVD side. As I continue to watch more and more HD DVDs it becomes more and more obvious that DVD cannot even compare and when I get these flipper discs to review it only proves that sentiment.

While the HD DVD player does up-res the DVD image to HD it still does not compare as the image is so much crisper on the HD DVD version. I have said this before, I believe in my review of the Training Day HD DVD, it is the background images that are really improved. Even if a background image is blurry it is improved so much on HD that it really does change the viewing experience.

As far as audio goes Firewall isn't exactly a movie that takes major advantage of sound so it really doesn't matter either way. Granted the HD side boasts a more involving soundtrack, but it is a minimal upgrade from the DVD side.

Overall Firewall is a rental at best. I can see why it didn't do well in theaters, simply due to the fact that it is just one of those films you say, "I will wait for it on DVD."