5.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Antoine and Kenny Tyler are NCAA college basketball players, and Antoine is the star. Suddenly Antoine dies of heart attack and Kenny has to fill his shoes as leader of team. Some time later, Antoine returns as a ghost and helps Kenny in game and in life, but Kenny changes in the process and doesn't quite like it.
Starring: Marlon Wayans, Kadeem Hardison, David Paymer, Michael Michele, Kevin DunnComedy | 100% |
Romance | 57% |
Sport | 53% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
There was a moment in the mid-1990s where basketball pictures were all the rage (likely ignited by the sleeper success of 1992’s “White Men Can’t Jump”), with Disney especially determined to create their own comedy blockbuster with help from college and professional basketball. There was “Eddie” and “Celtic Pride,” but the worst of the bunch was 1997’s “The 6th Man,” a film that has the bright idea to merge comedy and death, trying to create laughs in the shadow of some rather mean-spirited behavior and brutal reminders of mortality. “The 6th Man” is clueless, but it does have confidence, with director Randall Miller (who recently served time in prison due to his participation in the death of camera assistant Sarah Jones) committing to everything the screenplay by Christopher Reed and Cynthia Carle dreams up, failing to recognize that the material is largely devoid of appeal, sensitivity, and laughs. But there’s plenty of basketball and NCAA atmosphere, with the production trying to work itself into a sports movie lather as it deals with DOA material.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation generally falls in line with other Disney catalog releases, arriving on Blu-ray without the benefit of a fresh remaster. The viewing experience shows its age, with slightly fatigued colors and mild baked-in filtering, which tends to weaken fine detail, with only close-ups delivering a sense of texture on faces and costumes. It's certainly not the worst of the BD bunch, offering some signs of life with bolder hues, including brighter basketball jerseys and arena interiors, surveying team colors and colored lighting. Ghostly events also bring out a heartier blue to sell the otherworldly visuals. Skintones are acceptable. Delineation is passable. Source is in good shape, with no overt evidence of damage.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix carries the mood of "The 6th Man" with reasonable emphasis on the dramatic essentials. Dialogue exchanges are appealing, with crisper emotional turns and louder comedic offerings, while basketball game time maintains the heavy breathing intensity of competition. Scoring is supportive, with adequate instrumentation, and soundtrack selections deliver more heaviness with hip-hop beats. Atmospherics with cheering crowds is noted, and sound effects are sharper, ranging from ghostly antics to squeaky game play.
"The 6th Man" ends up a confusing muddle of cheap emotions, bad slapstick, crude CGI, and plenty of NCAA atmosphere. It's also afraid to confront its own reality, creating a Big Game finale where the Huskies want to play on their own terms despite having cheated their way into potential sporting glory. Instead of inspecting the inherent complication of ghostly aid as it interferes with the trials of natural ability, the production would rather go the feel-good route, which isn't surprising considering Miller's directorial limitations, but it remains deflating. "The 6th Man" endeavors to be a thoughtful offering of bug-eyed nonsense, but the artificiality suffocates the picture, treating viewers to a series of dismal ideas (a running gag features the mascot of the Huskies trying to land trick shots with painful results), manic performances, and a questionable moral core to go with the basketball action, which isn't very invigorating to begin with.
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25th Anniversary Edition | Remastered
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