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Bruce Almighty
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Universal Pictures Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (7th September 2009). |
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The Film
 "Bruce Almighty" marked the third collaboration of director Tom Shadyac and Jim Carrey and another hit for the duo earning Carrey a spot among the most successful comedians; earning an incredible $25 million (making the bump from his previous $20 million paychecks). So is the pay rise warranted? Does "Bruce Almighty" stack up as a landmark comedy? One for the ages? etc... Well not really. It's neither particularly great nor will it likely become a classic in the years to come (it certainly hasn't so far in the 6 years it's been in release) but it's still a fun and lighthearted film that'll put a smile on your face despite the the occasionally heavy-handed "God" message. "Bruce Almighty" tells the story of Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey), a local TV newsman. He's relegated to stories that no one else wants to do but dreams of being a anchorman, the only bright spot is his relationship with girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Aniston). On a particularly bad bay Bruce curses God, God (Morgan Freeman) hears his rage and decides to step in and sort Bruce out by empowering him with the divine powers and challenges him to do a better job. Drunk on Godly powers Bruce uses the powers inappropriately, using them for career advancement and general acts of selfishness. But all that comes crashing down when he loses his girlfriend and ignores the many responsibilities of being God... in the end Bruce learns a lesson he'll never forget. "Bruce Almighty" does in fact lay down the "God" smack at times, in fact it's unavoidable given its plot, so for that I can slightly forgive the film. The themes of doing right by one another are prevalent and can be a bit sugary and the third act main character change of heart couldn't be more obviously choreographed... but the comedic sensibilities of Jim Carrey and a career making supporting turn by Steve Carell make it palpable enough. At least it's not too preachy like the film's of Alex Kendrick and his God-fearing family of filmmakers, otherwise I would have turned it off a lot sooner. Having been a fan of Jim Carrey for years, I constantly marvel at the fact that he can turn an otherwise mundane film into something memorably funny. He's done it with "Liar Liar" (1997) before this and can always be depended on. Carrey's hilarious facials and expressions are all on board here as are his comedic sensibilities bringing his "A" game. The result are some funny encounters with his co-star Jennifer Aniston, particularly Carrey preparing for a night of sex and making her breasts bigger. Their chemistry works well here, something I wasn't so sure about going into the film when first viewed theatrically back in 2003. They make a believable match, and that's what matters the most. I was also impressed with the pairing of Carrey and Steve Carell, in his star-making performance that led to other memorable roles in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (2004), "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (2005) and other film and TV projects that launched the funny man into the fame stratosphere including the rather tedious and over-budgeted sequel "Evan Almighty" (2007) that follows his character. Carell brings his usual quirk to this film and is responsible for stealing a number of laughs away from the film's star. In a brilliant casting decision Morgan Freeman, and why not? He's been a western anti-hero, a detective, a president, a confidant to Bruce Wayne and the almighty God... be honest, who else would you rather play the role? (shut up Kevin Smith). He's perfectly suited with his soothing voice and kind eyes, he comes across as a friend you've known for years, that's the appear of Freeman and it works in spades to the benefit of the filmmakers and the audience. "Bruce Almighty" contains a simple theme wrapped in the Hollywood glaze that's known as "high-concept comedy" matched with a capable funny man and a decent supporting cast it manages to surpass the mediocrity of its script and makes for a good comedy that's worth wasting 101 minutes on, even though it's far from the best of its genre.
Video
Universal provides a mixed bag of a 1.85:1 high-definition transfer in 1080p 24/fps and mastered using VC-1 compression. This transfer appears to be the same as used on the previously released and now defunct format HD DVD. The image is at times sharp and other times soft and flat. I expected the image to be detailed right down to fine textures but that was not the case, I expected depth that looks great but instead we get a flat and uninteresting image with dull color saturation. Skin tones are nicely natural and the majority of the image is clean or dirt and specks which is a notch for the pros, but the cons get yet more ticks with lacking colors and crushed blacks. To my horror there were artifacts abound, edge-enhancement, telecine wobble (seriously? what the hell Universal?), I can't express my disappointment enough, this should have been a solid transfer, especially for a film that's only 6 years old.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mixed at 48kHz/24-bit as well as French or Spanish DTS 5.1 surround tracks. The DTS-HD audio is a significant improvement over the HD DVD's Digital-Plus track. If you've previously owned or viewed the HD DVD edition and have upgraded you'll notice that the scope and range of this DTS-HD track is a considerable step-up. The soundtrack feels much more open and richer in terms of its ambient and environmental sounds. Dialogue is as expected clear and distortion free but can at times remain front heavy. The score and ambient sounds help fill in the 5.1 sound space as does some key comedy scenes that utilize surrounds, but the track is still limited when compared to other comedy soundtracks, it's not exactly a dynamic effort but does the job and is far better than the image transfer. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
Universal has included a small collection of extras that include an audio commentary, a series of deleted scenes, outtakes, a short featurette and BD-Live content. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up is a feature-length audio commentary by the film's director Tom Shadyac. This is a very standard and ordinary track that covers the basics of the production, but manages to cover a lot of topics regarding the film, its script and development, working with Carrey and comedic timing etc. While there's a lot to take it nothing stands out as particularly memorable, I finished listening to the track only 30 minutes ago and it's practically forgotten. Perhaps the director could have been accompanied by the stars of the film, that would have made for a much more fun and memorable track (I hope)... skit it, unless you're really dying to know what Shadyac has to say. A deleted scenes reel is next with a total run time of 30 minutes 30 seconds, there are quote a few excised scenes cobbled together here and you can view the reel with or without optional audio commentary by the film's director Tom Shadyac. The director comments on the scenes and why they were omitted from the final version of the film. There's some funny scenes in here mostly featuring Carrey doing something over-the-top. It's no wonder there was a lot of footage cut from the film, as Carrey often took up to 30 takes on scenes. The scenes in the reel include "Kowolski's Bakery" and extended version of the baker interview, "Bruce On Hidden Camera" another encounter with God, "God Gives Powers To Bruce: Alternate Version" is another version of the scene in the film, "Confessions" Jack confesses to Bruce, "Jack Meets Anita" in this scene Bruce and Jack go to a diner and Bruce introduces Jack to Anita who works at the diner, "Grace And Her Sister In Grocery Store" sees Grace and her sister shopping as they chat about Bruce, "Bruce And Evan: Alternate Version" an alternate version of the scene where Bruce messes with Evan, "Bruce Reports While Skydiving" Bruce jumps out of a plane for a story, "Voices In His Head" an extended version of the scene where Bruce hears all the voices at dinner with Grace, "Answering Prayers" is another extended scene, "Bruce Uses His Powers" is more of Bruce using his powers this time to teach some car thieves a lesson, "The Mansion" in this scene Bruce tries to reconcile with Grace, "The Party" is a scene where Bruce throws a huge party at his mansion, "Bruce's Wrath" Bruce takes out his anger on the rioting people, finally there's "... And Whatever Became Of Sam" which is a scene of dogs playing poker. A standard outtakes reel is next and runs for 6 minutes 37 seconds, this clip features more moments of hilarity caught in-between takes some funny others not so much, often centering around Carrey again as he makes a fool of himself, but the other cast members are also caught missing cues as well, particularly funny are outtakes featuring Carell. "The Process of Jim" is a very short featurette that runs for 5 minutes 54 seconds, this clip takes a look at working with Carrey from the perspective of director Shadyac, it's a fluff piece and tends to pat Carrey on the back far too much, I would have much preferred a proper making-of clip rather than this vanity piece. The only Blu-ray exclusive extra on this disc are "MyScenes" bookmarks that allow you to save your favorite scenes and BD-Live access for profile 2.0 players only and allows you access to the Universal online portal and also allows viewers to share their favorite scenes with "MyScenes" sharing.
Overall
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