6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A documentary crew follows an elite unit of soldiers in the wake of an alien invasion.
Starring: Joe Reegan, Reiley McClendon, Scott E. Miller, Matthew Holmes (V), Rick RavanelloThriller | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 46% |
Action | 40% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Restrepo was one of the more eye opening documentaries to come out of the United States’ long (and contentious) involvement in various combat zones around the world in the wake of 9/11. First person confessionals were combined with footage of interactions (both friendly and otherwise) with locals in one of the most dangerous outposts in Afghanistan, providing an up close and quite intimate look at the rigors of modern day warfare. Alien Outpost wants to recreate that same sort of ambience within a patently derivative framework which will no doubt remind many of fare like District 9, positing a ragtag group of fighters manning an isolated outpost that is part of a sporadic “clean up” operation that is attempting to put the final nail in the coffin of a mostly contained alien invasion. Any attempts to link this science fiction premise to actual current day events are equally sporadic, and deprive Alien Outpost of subtext and nuance, leaving a film that offers little innovation and (probably worse for a supposed science fiction “epic”) few special effects worth writing home about.
Alien Outpost is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. When director Jabbar Raisani and director of photographer Blake Clifton (both of whom also co-wrote the feature) simply plop their camera down for a second or two, this presentation looks suitably sharp and well defined. Unfortunately these moments are few and far between and tend to be limited either to the first person confessional interstitials (which offer great fine detail and lustrous black levels) or brief establishing shots out in the wild. The bulk of this film offers hand held "jiggly cam" that adds the impression of softness simply because the camera never anchors on any given item for more than a nanosecond. As mentioned above in the main body of the review, one of the conceits of the story is that the cameras themselves experience various anomalies, and those moments tend to (one assumes intentionally) devolve into pixellated swarms and the like (see screenshot 13). Several sequences, including some recurring moments in field tents and the like, are bathed in a yellow hue and suffer from a minimal but noticeable dusting of noise.
Alien Outpost features both a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Obviously those whose home theaters are so equipped should opt for the surround track, which is quite boisterous during the attack sequences, offering some nicely immersive and at times rather bombastic gunfire effects. Unfortunately for action movie soundtrack junkies, Alien Outpost is not a series of set pieces strung together with brief narratives, but is instead talkier, including the glut of first person confessionals which dot the premises. These by their very nature offer little in the way of surround activity, though in all cases dialogue and monologues are offered with excellent fidelity. Dynamic range is very wide here, but in what tend to be brief bursts of activity.
There are some interesting ideas wafting through Alien Outpost, but co-writers Jabbar Raisani and Blake Clifton don't seem to know quite what to do with some of them. There's virtually none of the "meta" quality that gave District 9 (to cite just one example) such force, something that's especially odd given this film's obvious references to post-9/11 fare like Restrepo. Performances are generally good here, but the story meanders somewhat and isn't helped by too many text cards bridging narrative gaps, as well as some lackluster CGI that fails to deliver on the perceived menace of the aliens. Genre fans may find this of passing interest, but as more of a curiosity than as any undiscovered classic, and for those technical merits are generally very good (video) to excellent (audio).
2014
Ultimate Collector's Edition
1986
1987
2014
Director's Cut
2000
2001
2017
2012
Endless Descent
1990
2004
1997
3-Disc Set
2010
2000
1995
2008
Import
1990
2018
1991
70th Anniversary
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Extreme Unrated Set
2007