5.1 | / 10 |
Users | 2.2 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Travel writer Lemuel Gulliver takes an assignment in Bermuda, but ends up on the island of Liliput, where he towers over its tiny citizens.
Starring: Jack Black, Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Amanda Peet, Billy ConnollyAdventure | 100% |
Comedy | 85% |
Fantasy | 78% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (2 BDs, 2 DVDs)
Digital copy (on disc)
DVD copy
BD-Live
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
You're never really gonna get any bigger than this.
Lost in the 2010 filmed adaptation of Gulliver's Travels is the rich allegory of Author Jonathan Swift's classic story of the same name, but in
this case that's not necessarily a bad thing...or is it? Director Rob Letterman's (Monsters vs. Aliens) movie was made to be a broad-appeal Comedy,
not
a pointed social critique. Intent and expectations are everything in a movie like this, and both are made clear by the presence of star Jack Black (King Kong) in the lead role, immediately cluing viewers in that this is
an
audience-friendly Comedy first and, well, nothing, really, second. Unfortunately, the movie flops at every turn; a meandering plot, dull
one-dimensional characters, genre cliché to the extreme, a shocking absence of humor, midlevel special effects, and even often poorly
converted 3D
visuals all greatly lessen what should
have been a far better movie given the richness of the source material and the opportunity to do something special with it not necessarily from a
thematic perspective but a visual one given the state of modern moviemaking technology, both digital effects and 3D alike. Jack Black is the one
saving grace; he plays himself, really, which is what a simple interpretation of this classic story needs, but every single supporting element fails to
help
the movie along, instead only allowing it to crumble with every ho-hum plot development that comes along. Maybe the movie should have gone for
the
allegory after all.
Small soldiers.
For a movie that seemed tailor-made for 3D, Gulliver's Travels is not only a disappointment in 3D, but it was converted after the fact rather than shot in 3D to begin with. Where the crew might have used the inherent scope and disproportionate sizes that make up the film's entire premise to great advantage using 3D technology, the picture was instead shot with 2D cameras and given the once-over to make it into a viable, but not exactly enjoyable, 3D release. Indeed, the results are fairly disappointing, and this Blu-ray release is indicative of the film's lackluster conversion. It's a generally flat image that more often than not looks no more extra-dimensional than a regular 2D image. Granted, there are moments where a greater general depth is evident or where objects seem to be spaced more naturally one from another, but the film rarely takes full advantage of the 3D capabilities, even when the material positively screams for something more visually interesting. On the positive side of the ledger, the 3D image sports a great color scheme that sees primaries pop and black levels true. The bright blue waters around Bermuda really shine, as does vegetation seen throughout the film. The image is crisp and strongly detailed, but this is still not quite the most intricate, all-revealing transfer out there. It's a touch soft here and there, and the digital photography really doesn't allow for much life. Fortunately, the image is free of excess banding and background noise. As a 2D-only image, Gulliver's Travels would rate considerably higher, but the shoddy 3D that only occasionally demonstrates much in the way of extra-dimensional goodness drags the score down significantly.
Gulliver's Travels sports a fairly strong DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's smooth and crisp, playing with a nice surround sound sensation that's apparent throughout, whether in action sound effects, ambience, or the fairly generic family-friendly score. Still, like the video presentation, the soundtrack never enjoys a more thorough, complete feel, seeming to lack that last little bit of oomph and clarity to ascend it to perfect-score heights. The track seems always pushing and pushing, often finding itself on the precipice of breaking out but never quite managing to explode and deliver what seems like should be a superior presentation. Still, what's here is quite good; there are a few snazzy directional effects; a solid low end when called upon; and efficient, center-focused dialogue. All in all, this is a good track that teeters on the verge of greatness, but that never quite gets there. Still, it's the best single part of this Blu-ray presentation.
Gulliver's Travels features all extras on the included 2D-only Blu-ray disc.
Gulliver's Travels should have been a fantastic Comedy. It's got all the right ingredients: a story ripe for humor, the technology to back it up and make it work even better, and a great lead actor. Unfortunately, Gulliver's Travels is all about missed potential. Few films as primed to explode into something as good as this flop this terribly, but don't blame Jack Black. Despite the absence of a superior story and laughs that are as rare as a country filled with inches-tall people, he gives it his all and tries his hardest to inject a semblance of humor into the movie, usually by playing the part with an ever-present smile on his face and taking advantage of whatever opportunities there may be be for him to milk the material with a strong physical performance. Unfortunately, he has no support structure, and the film even flops in its 3D delivery; what should have been the film's greatest strength is instead a glaring weakness. The relatively flat 3D conversion fails to do much of anything even on Blu-ray, where the image is more often than not indistinguishable from a 2D presentation. The lossless soundtrack, however, is fine but unspectacular, and the included supplements are of average quantity and quality. Gulliver's Travels might be worth a rental for Jack Black fans, and even then 3D-capable viewers might want to instead choose the standard 2D edition.
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