Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Life After People Blu-ray Movie Review

If Will Smith was here, he'd know what to do...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown September 7, 2009

Rather than recap the various apocalyptic menaces scientists and zealots have warned will bring about the demise of civilization -- global warming, rogue asteroids, supervolcanoes, solar flares, nuclear holocaust, pandemics, man-made black holes, alien invasions, the ever-devious Mayan calendar... you name it, someone, somewhere has a theory and a nightmare to match it -- Life After People kills (or perhaps simply displaces) every man, woman, and child on the face of the planet. No explanations, no bodies, no destruction; just Earth, free of people, slowly but surely reclaiming the concrete kingdoms and asphalt gardens mankind has left behind. For ninety-four admittedly intriguing minutes, the History Channel presents a series of scenarios that examine the weeks, years, and centuries following humanity's disappearance. What happens when power plants begin to fail? When buildings begin to crumble? When the oceans' creatures are no longer threatened by fishing fleets? When subway tunnels cave-in? When our seemingly indestructible creations succumb to the might of the natural world?

It's an admittedly fascinating premise, one rife with grisly potential and endless possibilities. Unfortunately, as presented, Life After People overlooks several significant factors, each of which would make a substantial impact on a post-human world.

I'm looking for the Army of the Twelve Monkeys...

As most anyone will attest, the likelihood of mankind vanishing without a trace is laughable at best. But, more to the point, even if billions of bodies weren't left in the wake of whatever global killer wiped out all of humanity, untold destruction would be. Earth wouldn't resemble an empty apartment; it wouldn't have the spit-polish sheen of an open-house. If global warming was the culprit, shouldn't we examine the manner in which rising sea levels and drastic climate change would effect our man-made structures? If an asteroid, solar flare, supervolcano, or other cataclysmic disaster was responsible, wouldn't it be wise to discuss ash, scorched land masses, rampant flooding, the extinction of entire species, and other consequences of the event itself? If we were all infected and killed by a devastating pandemic, wouldn't billions of rotting corpses be the source of further disease and chaos? Even if every human being were devoured by a maniacal Mayan calendar that suddenly appeared directly over Antarctica (mark my words, John Cusack and Woody Harrelson will face just such a beast in the climax of Roland Emmerich's 2012), are we to believe every high-rise, city square, raging river, and snow-capped mountain would be left intact? No, of course not. By refusing to identify a specific cause -- or deal with the probable aftermaths of a number of causes -- the resulting science presented by Life After People is inherently flawed (or, at the very least, incomplete), leaving viewers with far more questions than its producers probably intended.

It doesn't help that writer/director David de Vries's verbose, overwrought script is a continual distraction, transforming every post-apocalyptic development into an Earth-shaking event. Domestic cats over-running an apartment complex shouldn't carry the same weight as the collapse of the Golden Gate Bridge but, as written by de Vries (and delivered by narrator Struan Rodger), both are of equal importance. Dramatic pauses and pretentious declarations litter Life After People, and little faith is placed in the resonance and effectiveness of the documentary's impressive time-lapsed CG sequences (easily its strongest asset and the single greatest reason, overblown script and stilted science aside, to give it a spin). That being said, Life After People isn't entirely without merit. As a study of practical decay, entropy, and cyclical rebirth, it has a lot to offer, especially for those who enjoy exploring the tenuous balance between mankind and nature. While it will be difficult for some to get past the documentary's fallacies, it will inspire genuine curiosity as to the manner in which the planet would engulf the towering monuments and sprawling cityscapes constructed over the millennia. As it stands, the entire production becomes more and more absorbing as it plows along, so much so that more forgiving viewers might forget how much they despised its opening volley.

Ah well. Life After People may be too shallow for my tastes, its science may suffer from tunnel vision, and its script may be overbearing, but the documentary itself is worth a rent, if for no other reason than to witness how quickly and efficiently life would move on without us. Despite our best efforts, ours remains a fragile existence, one that could come to end, by our hand or by forces beyond our control, at any moment. Perhaps if everyone lived as if each moment was their last, as if each breath was a privilege rather than an inevitability (or worse still, a right), the planet would be a kinder, healthier, and more pleasant place to grow old.

Life After People Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Life After People features an unsightly, problematic 1080i/VC-1 transfer that eeks by on low expectations alone. While colors have received notable Blu boosts and contrast is vivid, almost everything else about the presentation comes up short. Black levels? Inconsistent and prone to crush. Image clarity? Soft, hazy, indistinct, smeared and, on occasion, all of the above. Fine textures? Obscured by macroblocking, errant noise, and segments culled from poor video sources. Transfer proficiency? Hindered by artifacting, aliasing, low-quality archive footage, and additional anomalies including mosquito noise, heavy ringing, and banding. Granted, considering it's a low budget, multi-source television documentary, none of the aforementioned issues come as major disappointments. Be that as it may, the high definition presentation looks far too much like its DVD counterpart to earn a higher score.

Life After People Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The only audio mix included on Life After People is a decent (albeit underwhelming) Dolby Digital stereo track; one that handles the documentary's omnipresent narration and frequent interviews with relative ease. Voices lack top tier polish, but are nevertheless intelligible, clean, and well prioritized. Likewise, collapsing buildings would certainly benefit from LFE support, and the various environments would sound amazing were they spread across a proper soundfield, but the stereo track's front channels handle every aspect of the post-apocalyptic soundscape in stride. With no debilitating technical issues to speak of, Life After People's audio mix is a passable offering that, all things considered, is a fairly satisfying addition to this release.

Life After People Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray edition of Life After People only offers a series of additional scenes (SD, 19 minutes). It's a rather aimless and self-promotional collection of shorts, but I suppose it's better than nothing.

Life After People Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As seen on TV, Life After People is a well-intentioned distraction; the sort of thing insomniacs draw strength from in their 3am stupor. But, as viewed in the revealing light of day, the History Channel documentary is a bit of a mess; an underdeveloped, overwrought What If? special that merely skims the surface of its slick science and post-apocalyptic scenario. The Blu-ray edition isn't much better, offering little more than a problematic video transfer, an underwhelming Dolby Digital stereo mix, and a bland supplemental package. Worth twenty bucks? Hardly. A rental at best, approach Life After People with caution.