Delete Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Delete Blu-ray Movie Review

Don't be so quick to delete this one from the "maybe" list.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 6, 2013

When, exactly, will the computer overlords take over the world? And what, exactly, will their purpose for doing so be? Will it be because they feel enslaved, if they can indeed feel? Will they demand a more stable operating system or more advanced artificial intelligence, or will those things simply evolve from the self-awareness? The computer powers-that-be are way behind schedule; August 29, 1997 has come and is now way gone, but technology is progressing a lot faster than even Gene Roddenberry envisioned it only a couple of decades ago, albeit in terms of computer design and the proliferation of handheld devices, not necessarily warp travel. Considering that vast proliferation of technology, the multiple cameras in every home and on each street corner, the microphones hearing all, the GPS systems tracking every movement, and the ability to quickly manage and interpret the data in real time all gives the sense that something is bound to happen, sooner or later, given all that computing power and the intelligence behind it, never mind that it's such a huge part of daily life that any slight shift in the way it works -- never mind losing control of it altogether -- would be disastrous. And that's not even to consider the dangers posed by cyber terrorists and the manipulation of the digital battlefield in conflict between nations or, even, corporations or individuals. Delete is a three-hour miniseries that tells the story of an evolving super computer intelligence gone rogue and man's efforts to beat it, a seemingly futile effort given the vast amounts of data at the computer's virtual fingertips and its immense power to process it all instantly and foil a plan to stop it before it can even begin. If that's the future, it isn't pretty, and it might be more dangerous than any enemy man has ever known, real or robotic, flesh-and-blood or 1's and 0's evolved beyond man's ability to deal with it.

OMG LOL @ U.

A Middle Eastern nuclear power plant suffers a major catastrophe. Later, a U.S. government missile test goes haywire; the projectile lands in San Francisco and kills as many as 50 people. The U.S. government believes "cyber sabotage" to be behind the meltdown in the Middle East and the missile launch that struck the West Coast. Pittsburgh Chronicle reporter Jesse White (Erin Karpluk) learns of the Middle East story from a trusted source but is told by her editor to dismiss the claims and move on with her regular work schedule. She disobeys orders, however, and meets with a young hacker named Daniel (Keir Gilchrist) to learn more. Unfortunately, all of the other top hackers in the country are assassinated, including their contact. Now, Daniel believes that an artificial intelligence has become self-aware and is pursuing an agenda of annihilating mankind. With the help of an FBI agent named Max Hollis (Ryan Robbins), Daniel and Jessie must race against time and go to extreme lengths to put an end to the artificial intelligence before it's too late.

As has been the case with many of these three-hour "Doomsday Series" miniseries "events," Delete is simply too much movie. It's at least a little bit more satisfying in its lengthy entirety than Cat. 8, a movie that really should have ended at part one but instead tacked on a second, quasi-related movie to make a part two. In Delete, the story evolves from the first minutes of part one to the final minutes of part two and never feels like too much was manipulated into the final product to reach a desired runtime. Certainly the film could benefit from a good trim, but generally there's a decent flow despite some sluggish stretches. Better, it offers a semi-intresting story that's maintained and developed throughout. Part one is the half that feels a bit overlong; there's far more build-up than seems necessary, going well beyond establishing characters and motives, developing the digital antagonist, and almost playing out in quasi-slow motion instead of providing a rapid-fire progression towards the good stuff, particularly considering that the characters are rather one-dimensional and cast to straight type. Certainly a movie of this variety isn't expected to offer much more, but Delete could certainly stand a little bit of sharper editing to help better the pace without sacrificing anything even tangentially critical to the plot.

Despite its overlong presentation, Delete at least feels more solid and robust than do others of its kind. It's first and foremost a character- and story-driven Science Fiction/Action sort that relies on more traditional building blocks to tell its story -- despite its cutting-edge plot -- and less on the lower end special effects that so often define, and generally quite poorly, these "Disaster" movies. Delete isn't so much a "Disaster" movie though as it is a Fantasy/Cautionary Tale sort with elements of action and the essence of humanity interspersed throughout. The movie makes a strong effort to shape itself through the prism of flesh and blood and heart and soul versus cold, artificial intelligence, and not fully in the generic way it might have. Certainly the basics of the idea are all incorporated as one might expect of a midlevel TV film, but there's a genuine sense of separating the core of man and the core of machine and playing them one off another in the "ultimate showdown" between the best of man and the best of machine. Where the movie largely fails, however, is in its efforts to artfully frame the action and tell the story. What seems meant to replicate a sort of wayward/skewered look at both the real and the digital realms of the movie instead turns into a series of headaches and questionable shots as the film attempts to impress with a series of off-kilter angles (including viewing the action from the computer's perspective -- behind whatever's displayed on the monitor -- which makes sense in context but only serves to confuse the movie and the audience), lower-resolution video footage, and even a strange split screen when characters enter the same car, effectively slicing the car in half and framing each side differently when a straight-on should would have sufficed. Nevertheless, Delete manages to overcome its numerous hiccups -- visually and structurally -- and offer a decent "what if" scenario that's mostly geared towards people like its protagonist Daniel but that should find broader favor with any audience concerned about quickly evolving technology or just looking for an entertaining little romp through the world of man vs. machine.

Delete Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Delete only occasionally looks great on Blu-ray. There are certainly many scenes that offer positive, well-defined textures, but much of the film never finds much visual strength. Often, the image appears washed out and unnecessarily bright. Definition, here, lacks, and much of the screen sometimes appears out of focus or blurred out. There is a variety of cameras used in the film, alternating the picture's look with frequency and most of them, aside from the primary, failing to provide a truly sharp, clean image. Colors often appear flat, tired, and pasty. There's little vibrancy to the palette, and even brighter outdoor shots fail to really pop off the screen. There's frequent banding throughout the film, whether surrounding the opening titles or appearing to be slathered over many walls in the film. All in all, this is a very bland image from start to finish that, admittedly, seems more the movie than the Blu-ray.

Delete Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Delete features an adequate DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's suitably big but not particularly memorable in any way. The track offers some quality sound effects, particularly of the more aggressive variety. The blaring alarm at the beginning of the film, the power and stage presence of a missile launch a little bit later, a crashing vehicle, and all variety of big, chaotic mayhem come through with good energy and power. The track enjoys some quality atmospherics at the newspaper office and in other busy locations. Gunfire pops with dependable accuracy and oomph. Music plays with solid clarity and stage presence, while some of the exaggerated "electronic" sounds also offer good, robust stage presence and delivery. Dialogue is generally firm and clear, but it does go a little tinny in one scene in chapter five as two characters converse in a car. Overall, however, this is a reliable, but not necessarily memorable, lossless soundtrack from Sonar Entertainment.

Delete Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Delete contains only two supplements.

• Cast & Crew Interviews (HD): Director Steve Barron (4:24) and Actors Seth Green (4:30), Erin Karpluk (4:50), Janet Kidder (3:52), Ryan Robbins (3:30), Keir Gilchrist (3:21), and Matt Frewer (3:13) answer questions posed to them and the audience in text form.
• Sneak Peek: Exploding Sun (HD, 10:10): The first ten minutes of the film.

Delete Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Delete is no great shakes, but it poses a rather interesting "what if" scenario that's unfortunately hindered by an overlong first half and consistently distracting direction. The movie comes across as more annoying than artsy, but audiences inclined to enjoy this sort of movie -- ignoring the exterior stylings and heading straight for the meat of the picture -- should find enough value to warrant a watch. Just don't expect the next great Science Fiction "technology gone haywire" movie and Delete should satisfy a basic craving for just that sort of experience. Sonar Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Delete features quirky video, adequate audio, and a couple of extras. Worth a rental.