Conspiracy Theory Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Conspiracy Theory Blu-ray Movie Review

When Mel Was Fun

Reviewed by Michael Reuben April 21, 2014

I would love to see a film based on screenwriter Brian Helgeland's original pitch for Conspiracy Theory. Helgeland had an idea for a story about a conspiracy nut who publishes a newsletter filled with whacko theories, but one of them turns out to be right. The conspirators come looking for him, and he flees for his life, but no one believes his story, because he's obviously a paranoid lunatic. It's an ingenious concept, and Warner even used it in the trailer for Conspiracy Theory, where the voiceover narration described Mel Gibson's character in precisely those terms. (In what appears to be a "conspiracy" to erase this marketing scam, the trailer has been omitted from the Blu-ray, as it was previously omitted from the DVD, despite a notation to the contrary on the back of the DVD snapcase.)

Unfortunately, Helgeland's concept was not the film that director Richard Donner made, co-producing with his Lethal Weapon partner, Joel Silver. Released in August 1997, Conspiracy Theory was a box office success on the strength of star power from Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson (who hadn't yet sabotaged his career through personal misbehavior) and Donner's solid craftsmanship with big action set pieces, but it doesn't live up to its title. The script that Helgeland ultimately penned for Donner and Silver dutifully assembled a series of blockbuster cliches into a tidy package spiced with just enough novelty to raise the film a notch above the generically forgettable. At its center, however, isn't a man but a plot function—indeed, a Swiss army knife of plot functions, all jammed into one barely manageable frame. That Gibson managed to pull off the role is a reminder of what an impressive screen presence he could be before his off-screen life imploded.

Gibson plays Jerry Fletcher, a New York cabby who rattles on about outlandish plots to his passengers (or, when he doesn't have any, to the empty back seat). In his spare time, Jerry scans the newspapers, draws connections between unrelated events and publishes his theories in a newsletter that has a short subscriber list. He also keeps tabs (or is it more?) on an attorney with the Justice Department named Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts), to whom he tries to report the manifold threats to the nation that only he seems to notice. (Most recently, it's a plot to kill the President with an earthquake generated by a beam from the space shuttle.) The security guards in the Department's New York office know him by name, and Alice talks to him even though Jerry won't stop showing up without an appointment. The reason for her indulgence is part of the backstory that emerges during the film.

One day, however, confirmation arrives that Jerry is more than a nut when he is suddenly snatched off the street and taken to a hidden location where he is drugged, tortured and interrogated by a mysterious man known as "Dr. Jonas" (Patrick Stewart, clearly having a good time playing the villain). Jonas keeps asking Jerry "who knows?", in a manner reminiscent of Laurence Olivier's famously vague query in Marathon Man, "Is it safe?" But Jerry can't remember anything; Jonas' question produces only a blur of confusing images. Eventually Jerry manages to break free and escape, injuring Jonas and killing several henchmen in the process. It's the first of many indications that Jerry is more than just a cab driver.

When Jerry shows up at Alice's office bleeding and disoriented, Conspiracy Theory shifts gears. Federal authorities descend upon the case from all sides, including the CIA, represented by Jonas, the FBI, represented by Agent Lowry (Cylk Cozart), and other agencies so secret they don't even have names. "If the intelligence community is a family", says one mysterious figure, "think of us as the uncle no one talks about." Organizations and dialogue like that only exist in the movies, and Helgeland's script reaches for increasingly absurd plot devices to put Alice and Jerry in jeopardy—and also to create typical Silver/Donner sequences of over-the-top chaos and destruction (which, one must concede, are well-done and entertaining).

In the process, though, the character of Jerry Fletcher ceases to make sense. The plot requires him to be, at alternate moments, Travis Bickle, Rain Man and Matthew Bourne, with an occasional touch of James Bond. He's a consummate professional who, we're supposed to believe, is simultaneously dysfunctional. He's also supposed to be a convincing romantic hero. Except in the movies, there isn't a person on the planet who could credibly fulfill all those functions.

Traces of what Conspiracy Theory might have been are still visible in such details as Helgeland's riff on the peculiar fascination of crazed assassins for the J.D. Salinger novel, The Catcher in the Rye, but these are few and far between. One can enjoy the film for its expertly staged set pieces, including a chase sequence involving helicopters, followed by a pursuit in a movie theater (showing director Donner's earlier film Ladyhawke—in the wrong aspect ratio!), but ultimately the film is as nutty as Jerry's yammerings in his cab.

Conspiracy Theory Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cinematographer John Schwartzman (The Rock and Armageddon) shot Conspiracy Theory, and he gave it the same kind of high-contrast sheen that he brought to his work for Michael Bay. I lived in Manhattan during the period when Conspiracy Theory was shot, and I recognize many of the locations. They never looked as good in real life as Schwartzman's lighting makes them appear on film.

Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray presents an impressively sharp and detailed image, with vibrantly rich colors in the neon-drenched night of Manhattan, and also in Jerry's memory when he withdraws into an interior state. Less colorful locales like Alice's home or office are equally detailed. Blacks are deep and solid, and the shadow detail in darkened locations like the stables at Alice's family home in Connecticut, or the derelict hospital where Jerry is held captive, is exceptional. Except for an occasional soft-looking shot (which is probably inherent to the source), there is nothing to fault in this transfer.

Warner has wisely placed this 135-minutes film on a BD-50, thereby allowing sufficient space to attain an average bitrate of 25.94 Mbps. While not generous, this is more than sufficient to avoid compression errors.

Conspiracy Theory Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's original 5.1 soundtrack is presented in lossless DTS-HD MA, and it's an active and involving mix. Jerry's waking nightmares (intentionally induced or otherwise) surround the viewer with a confusing jangle of voices and sound effects. Several dramatic and inventive chase sequences give the audio engineers numerous opportunities to place sounds of breaking glass, scraping metal, falling bodies and other assorted accompaniments of violence to left, right and behind the viewer. Helicopters fly back and forth, and bullets fire in several directions. An elaborate scene involving fire effects (which I can't describe more specifically without spoilers) sends flames racing through the speaker array. Dialogue remains clear throughout. All in all, whatever the shortcomings of its script, Conspiracy Theory's soundtrack does not disappoint. Carter Burwell provided the engaging, energetic score.

Conspiracy Theory Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No extras are included. Warner's 1997 DVD also did not include extras, except for some brief production notes. (As mentioned above, a notation on the back of the DVD case indicating the inclusion of a trailer was in error.)

Conspiracy Theory Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Conspiracy Theory happens to be a guilty pleasure of mine. I can't take the film seriously, but I enjoy Richard Donner's craftsmanship, Patrick Stewart's villainy and the ability of movie stars like Gibson and Roberts to fill in the outlines of badly drawn characters with a great deal more life and substance than they deserve to have. I wouldn't recommend the Blu-ray to someone new to the film, but for anyone who is already a fan, Warner has done a fine job.