Ridley Scott?s work speaks in volumes, an impressive resume that spans over forty years including such memorable films as Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and Kingdom of Heaven. I could go on boasting his past accomplishments for quite some time, but the matter at hand is G.I. Jane. Before I say anything else, I?ll let it be known that G.I. is by far Ridley Scott?s worst picture I have seen, not to say it was immensely horrible, …ut the bar was set a little high in my mind pertaining to the caliber of movie G.I. Jane could have been.

The premise of this picture is quite simple? Demi Moore stars as Jordan O?Neil the first ever-female candidate for the United States Navy SEAL training program. Being the first, as to be expected, comes with a lot of political and public pressure, and these issues get a lot of screen time throughout the duration of the picture.

Master Chief John Urgayle (Viggo Mortensen) makes life even harder on O?Neil and the recruits with twenty-hour days that include running, crawling, writing, carrying, and pretty much every physical feat you could imagine. With a sixty percent dropout rating the odds are looking mighty rough against O?Neil, but this is Hollywood so you try and guess exactly how this movie is going to end.

Demi Moore?s character was extremely courageous and commendable as she faced her adverse training with no special treatment; of course being a fictional character this has no real life bearing, making the film feel less inspirational. In fact the movie was very dull and predictable, at times awfully repetitive as well. By the time the movie was done, I had had enough of seeing Demi Moore doing push-ups and curl-ups. This movie tries too hard to press feminist issues and provide political commentary, while only delivering multiple clich?d scenes; betrayal, the inevitable downfall followed by a heroic speech, and montages all included.

Aside from being a snooze-fest, I do applaud Demi Moore?s acting – physical acting not verbal that is. Her character is ultimately a one-dimensional grunt and we are provided with no back story or reason as to what drives her, or who she is as a person. Instead we get to see her jump from helicopters and run around with a gun like a true soldier, a commendable acting effort. Then there?s Viggo whose character has no depth as well, but still manages to come off as a hard assed leader with a heart of gold, overall a solider acting effort as well.

Ultimately this movie couldn?t be saved baring a complete script re-write, truly not up to Ridley Scott?s standards. If you haven?t seen this picture yet I wouldn?t bother because you?re not missing out on much.

Video

G.I. Jane is presented in a 1080p 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and unfortunately is one of Buena Vistas weaker Blu-ray releases. The transfer reminded me a lot of the one found on Flight Plan? soft. This is unfortunate because it hides those nice subtle details we have all grown to love from Blu-ray. The lack of detail also makes the transfer a bit flat, grain also doesn?t help this; fortunately the print itself is in pretty good condition. The transfer lacks color, often looking washed out, blacks however look rock solid. There are a few nice subtle looking things in the transfer that help it from becoming a total disappointing, for example the bright red white and blue on the American flag. There is no doubt that the Blu-ray transfer is vastly superior to the DVDs, however is pales in comparison to best we have seen from Buena Vista.

Audio

Buena Vista has included 5.1 PCM track with this release, and is by far the best thing about the disc. As with any PCM track, this one sounds great and makes a ten year old movie sound like new again. Dialogue sounded crisp and clear blending well with the films soundtrack. Rear and bass support was just as impressive, often making those many boring scenes much livelier. There were a few scenes that had me adjusting my volume due to a sudden increase between scenes but this only happened a couple times throughout the films duration. Overall G.I. Jane?s audio left me impressed, even though the film itself didn?t.

Special Features

Fans looking for a slew of new special features will be very disappointed to see that Buena Vista has included not even one for this release.

Final Thoughts

G.I. Jane was a boring movie which I expected more out of it. There were a few decent scenes and some good performances but all the characters lacked depth. The video wasn?t what it could have been but it sufficed. The audio was much better, but the complete lack of inclusion for special features was a severe blow to the level of quality this disc possesses. I wouldn?t go as far as to say I completely hated this movie, but it was boring and really it was ultimately a lackluster disc, I have truly come to expect better from Blu-ray at this point. I have a hard time suggesting this picture to fans of the movie unless of course you absolutely love this movie and want to see it in a shiny blue case on your shelf. For the rest of you, avoid G.I. Jane on Blu-ray.