The Fan Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		1.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

The Fan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 29, 2020

Note: 'The Fan' is currently only available as part of a two-film bundle with 'The Contractor.'

Usually, when one adds together "Wesley Snipes" and "Baseball," the answer is more often than not Major League, the uproariously funny 1989 film starring Snipes as an up-and coming top of the order speedster convinced he's the second coming of Willie Mays. Years later, Snipes returned to the diamond for The Fan, a much darker film centered on celebrity obsession and baseball fandom in which he plays a middle of the order power bat who becomes life's focus for one boisterous, and breaking, baseball fanatic. The film, directed by the venerable, late Tony Scott (Top Gun, Man on Fire), creepily juxtaposes life focuses and pursuits and their evolutions through the course of a challenging baseball season, challenging for each man in greatly different ways.

The San Francisco Giants have just acquired star outfielder Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes) from the Atlanta Braves. He’s a three-time National League MVP whose presence in the middle of the order is sure to transform the Giants into pennant favorites. But he’s bumping the team’s longtime centerfielder, Juan Primo (Benicio del Toro), to left and taking his spot on the field. But things are problematic right out of the gate. Primo already wears Rayburn’s jersey number, 11, and the longtime Giant isn’t about to give it up, at least for nothing less than half a million dollars. Rayburn balks at the offer and decides to drop the pursuit. When he and Primo collide on opening day, Rayburn continues to play hurt and gradually drops into a serious funk. It is Primo who carries the team, leading the Giants faithful to turn their backs on the newly acquired $40 million superstar.

Only one man, it seems, still believes in Rayburn: Gil (Robert De Niro), a hardcore, lifelong Giants fan with a short fuse and a longstanding passion not just for the Giants, but for the game. Gil’s temper and obsession have broken his family and threatens his career, too. When his life outside of baseball falls to pieces, Gil hangs onto his newfound Rayburn obsession, even through the star’s struggles on the field. As the Giants find success on Primo’s back and off his bat, Gil finds he cannot enjoy the wins if his man Rayburn isn’t producing as the lineup’s centerpiece. Now, a desperate Gil finds he has no choice but to go to great lengths to ensure Rayburn’s return to glory.

Bobby Rayburn is clearly molded after Barry Bonds, a slugger and two-time National League MVP with the Pittsburgh Pirates who signed a large free agent contract with the Giants prior to the 1993 season. Bonds is left-handed, Rayburn bats right handed, Bonds played left, Rayburn center, but there’s no mistaking the similarities. Rayburn is even jokingly referred to as Bonds at one point in the film. But no matter any real life similarities because the film goes to some very dark psychological places that peer into the mental state of both ballplayer and fan. The film is, of course, primarily focused on Gil’s obsession and downward spiral, which plays in parallel with Rayburn’s slump. But it’s only after Gil manages to get to know Rayburn a bit better -- and ironically as Rayburn begins to hit again -- that the fan truly loses his grip on reality. It is Rayburn’s admission that his turnaround is due in part to letting go of his own obsessions and skewered view of reality that drags Gil further into his own personal abyss. It’s an interesting psychological juxtaposition that the film plays up rather well in a key scene when the two finally come into contact for an extended period of time.

De Niro plays Gil with an edge and unbalance that is obvious from the get-go. He’s negligent of his son, he bad mouths fans around him, disrespects his family, and shows no regard for decorum either in his personal or professional lives. The script does not allow De Niro to dig so deeply into the sort of insanity as he demonstrated in Cape Fear several years prior to The Fan, though there’s a similarity to the performances that are unmistakable from the start. On the other end is Snipes whose character uses his professional downfall to reevaluate his personal life. He gradually comes around to seeking balance in his life from his pain whereas Gil only falls deeper into the grasp of his demons that lead him from unhealthy obsession to almost inhuman antagonist. The movie could stand to dig a bit deeper into the psychology; it’s rather superficial but saved by De Niro’s dedicated work with the part. Perhaps there’s more in the Peter Abrahams novel on which the movie is based, but even as it is the film’s exploration of obsession and psychological decline, along with De Niro’s and Snipe’s work and Scott's direction, prevent the movie from striking out.

The Fan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Few are going to be fans of The Fan's 1080p Blu-ray presentation. It's a mess, notably due to severe macroblocking that plagues most every shot. Look at a scene in a dimly lit conference room in chapter two in the nine-minute mark. Not only is the image soft with drab colors and print damage evident, but the macroblocking is so out of control as to border on debilitating to the scene. Look, too, in chapter eight during a critical beachside scene. It's nearly unwatchable. There are countless other examples, some not quite so extreme as these and others, but there's definitely no shortage of blocking to be found. There is also much evidence of edge enhancement. Look around a ticket scalper in the 14-minute mark. He appears to have a force field around him. When Rayburn's golfing in chapter three, he, too -- as well as Manny (John Leguizamo) and the golf cart -- appears to be completely encircled. These are two of the worst offending shots in the film, though there are several additional extreme examples creeping in throughout. The picture in total appears grossly processed, flat, and devoid of all but basic textural might. There are scattered moments of near-excellence when the movie's true filmic roots see light of day, when the stars briefly align to demonstrate clearly defined facial features, for example, in close-up. But for the most part this is a dim, dull, drained image. The picture is warm and tonally depressed by its nature, but the Blu-ray certainly does the palette as it is no favors. There's no color vitality to be found, skin tones are bland, and black levels are not eye-catching. The Fan deserves better.

The Fan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The included DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack, the only audio option on the disc, delivers a passable listening experience that handles the movie's sound design adequately but without flair. The presentation wants for a fuller, livelier, more dramatic presentation both during baseball game sequences -- particularly for crowd din and chatter around Gil's seat -- but also in other locales with would-be lively sound elements, such as key beachside scenes later in the film. Music finds good essential clarity and stretch. Dialogue is clear and images well enough to the center location.

The Fan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Fan contains no supplemental content. As it ships with the above-linked two-film bundle, a DVD copy is included.

The Fan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Fan may be one of the lesser films in Tony Scott's body of work, but it's a fundamentally sound, if not superficially focused, Thriller. It can't quite reach so deeply into Gil's mind and madness as the material demands, but De Niro saves the film with a quality performance, supported by good work from Wesley Snipes whose character also battles his own demons throughout the movie. Mill Creek's Blu-ray is largely in shambles. Awful video, mediocre audio, and no supplements make for a poor overall presentation. The movie may not be a classic, but it deserves better.