BLU-RAY REVIEW: UNTRACEABLE
05/11/08
SYNOPSIS: Within the
FBI, there exists a division dedicated to investigating and
prosecuting criminals on the internet. Welcome to the front
lines of the war on cybercrime, where Special Agent Jennifer
Marsh (Diane Lane) has seen it all... until now.
A tech-savvy internet predator is displaying his graphic
murders on his own website – and the fate of each of his
tormented captives is left in the hands of the public: the
more hits his site gets, the faster his victims die. When
this game of cat and mouse becomes personal, Marsh and her
team must race against the clock to track down this
technical mastermind who is virtually untraceable.
REVIEW: I dread to
think that there really could be that many sick people in
the world. Human curiosity is a very potent driving force. I
would be the last person to criticize that, however, one
thing is to be curious about let’s say looking up a video
clip on the web that shows a recording of someone’s last
living moments, and it’s something else to go to a website
that by simply calling it up adds to the eventual demise of
a human being which you get to watch live as it happens.
That is the premise of this movie. But you wonder what is
worse, the demented person behind the website or the
millions of web users that go to the website and help
complete the crime. It’s a scary thought. It’s cyber age
killing. From that perspective, the movie is pretty good.
It’s an interesting and modern concept but the delivery was
a little weak. In order to appreciate the film more, you’ve
got to be computer/internet literate. This is a high-tech
storyline and it might turn you off if you are not into
that. This movie is also not for the faint-hearted. There is
plenty of strong shock scenes so be aware.
The cruelty in this movie is as you can imagine. I kept
remembering the movie Seven only because I haven’t seen any
of the Saw flicks or Fear.com (other titles that have been
tossed around in discussion regarding this one). The torture
inflicted on the victims is definitely not for an
instantaneous death, but it’s not exactly a days-long
process either. But again, it depends on the website hits
and as the popularity of the site grew the deaths were that
much quicker. That just added more pressure on the FBI cyber
crime team with Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) at the helm for
this particular investigation. Now I love Diane Lane; she is
a superb actress and she did a fantastic job with this role
but after further thought I realized what was bugging me
about it. She seemed out of place like she really didn’t fit
in that role. She is playing an FBI agent which even though
it’s the cyber crime division, which means you sit at a desk
in front of a computer most of the time, you should at least
be somewhat menacing. Diane is about as menacing as Meg
Ryan. Heck, Ashley Judd is a lot more menacing in some of
the roles I’ve seen her do. Diane seemed more like a damsel
in distress than a trained FBI agent. It was good to see
Colin Hanks again. Although his role was small he was
effective as Griffin Dowd, Jennifer’s closest co-worker. You
can tell he is going to have a bright future in film. Joseph
Cross was cold, calculated, and crazy as Owen Reilly, the
criminal mastermind. His blank deep-blue-eyed stare was
quite creepy.
Nowadays computers control just about everything. This
psychopathic genius knew how to take advantage of that and
of the human curiosity factor to accomplish his goals. The
cyber related dialogue as well as the cinematography used to
represent the website and webcam usage were all well done.
The climax in the movie gave way to some limited cheers in
the audience. It really was the most intense and
entertaining part of the picture. But the overall plot was
its weakness. It was too simple and too cookie-cutter.
Director Gregory Hoblit has quite the collection of
thrillers under his belt: Primal Fear, Fallen, Frequency,
and Fracture to name a few. I’ll give him credit for this go
at something modern-day, but it’s not one of his stronger
works. I won’t hold it against him though.
Film
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
The picture in Blu-ray looks spectacular. It is amazing to
see that with the proper equipment it is now possible to get
the theatrical experience at home. The colors used in the
movie are beautiful and the look of the movie is a real
delight. The audio is just as great. This translation blows
the standard DVD edition out of the water. The Blu-ray disk
includes the original featurette and a Bonus View
Picture-in-Picture: Beyond the Cyber Bureau - An immersive
experience featuring interviews with the filmmakers and
cast, storyboards, production photos and behind the scenes
footage that runs concurrently with the movie.
VIDEO:
High Definition 1080P Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English
5.1, French (Canadian) 5.1, Spanish (Latin Am) 5.1,
Portuguese (Brazil) 5.1
Subtitles(s): English (US), French (Parisian), Portuguese
(Brazil), Spanish (Latin Am)
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Audio Commentary with Director Gregory Hoblit, Producer Hawk
Koch and Production Designer Paul Eads
“Tracking
Untraceable” - The director, producers and
screenwriters take you through the process of bringing this
cutting-edge script to the screen and explore what makes it
such a relevant topic into today’s cyber-dominated world.
(15:44)
“Untraceable: The
Personnel Files” - A look at the cyber crimes team
and the characters portrayed in the film; includes
interviews with cast members Diane Lane and Colin Hanks.
(15:06)
“The Blueprint of
Murder” - Take a journey through the production
process of this visually stimulating film; includes insights
from the production designer, FBI Advisor, special effects
supervisor and filmmakers. (13:31)
“The Anatomy of
Murder” - An inside look behind the scenes at
creating the film’s three gruesome murders. (5:44)
Bonus View
Picture-in-Picture: Beyond the Cyber Bureau - An
immersive experience featuring interviews with the
filmmakers and cast, storyboards, production photos and
behind the scenes footage that runs concurrently with the
movie
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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