Adding your typical Jerry Bruckheimer action fare and his team’s excellent CGI capability with a kids story about guinea pigs who are trained by the FBI to be secret agents sounded like an iffy proposition. The trailer did look promising so I was hoping to get my hands on a review copy of the film G-Force once it debuted on Blu-ray. Well, the review copy arrived yesterday and I popped it in to the player for a look last night. I was glad I did.
Film
If you are looking for a tense spine tingling and gut wrenching action thriller, G-Force probably isn’t the film for you. However, if you are looking for a charming and funny film that has some great CGI effects and plenty of action, then by all means, give G Force a look. While it is primarily a film targeted at kids, there is more than enough stuff in the film to keep the attention of even the most cold-hearted adults. (The film features several scenes or snippets of scenes taken right out of some other popular action films. See how many you can spot!)
The plot of G-Force is fairly simple as is should be given that the idea for the film came from the then 5 year old son of CGI wizard Hoyt Yeatman. It seems that the FBI is funding a program to train animals to become special agents, equipping them with the latest spy gear and using their small bodies to infiltrate places that no human could possibly enter. The secret program was even able to create an interface that allows animals to speak with humans. However, one of the FBI directors is not impressed and he moves in to suspend the program. In an effort to stave off the elimination of the program, the head, without authorization, sends the team, consisting of three guinea pigs and a mole, to the home of the head of the world’s leading electronics manufacturer to gather intel on a suspected plan to supply computer chips for weapons systems to nefarious governments.
The plan backfires when they didn’t obtain the intel they sought (or so they thought) and the team is broken up when the lab is shut down by the FBI and the team scattered after landing in a pet store. However, a sinister plan was in the offering from a mysterious participant and the head of the world’s leading electronics manufacturer, just not the one they thought and the G Force team scrambles to reunite and save the day. The film features the voices of Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Steve Buscemi and Tracy Morgan. All in all, this is a fun film although geared mostly for children. Recommended for families with children.
Video
Yes, I have given this video presentation the highest score we give on this site. Is it a reference title? No but lurks somewhere between a 4.5 and a 5. Since it is closer in my mind to a 5 than a 4.5, I have rounded the score off to a 5. This is an excellent looking transfer anyway you look at it. It features a nice natural color palette with richly saturated colors. Clarity, detail and shadow detail are all excellent. The picture has excellent depth and exquisite levels of detail, especially involving the hair on the guinea pigs. You can really just about count every hair on their bodies.
The CGI effects are fantastic, with the various animals integrated flawlessly into the live action sequences to the point that you can actually forget that you are watching CGI effects. They are that good. Jerry Bruckheimer’s crew have again raised the bar in terms of what is possible in terms of integrating live action and CGI sequences, although it appears that that bar will be raised even higher by James Cameron in the soon to be released Avatar. I was not able to detect any edge enhancement, digital noise reduction or video noise in the transfer. Facial detail and background details are all excellent. Simply put, this is a first rate transfer that will thrill fans of the film. Well done.
Audio
Overall, this is a fine audio encode. The overall fidelity is excellent, with a smooth and full bodied sound that is very easy on the ears at reference volume levels. Transparency and imaging are excellent although not quite up there with the very best. Bass response is excellent with deep and tight bass that was not boomy in any respect. Dynamics are very good as well, although again, not quite up there with the best of the best.
The same is true of the surrounds. While used fairly often and quite aggressively when they are, there were segments of the film where the surrounds almost appeared to be off with the resulting sound field rather front heavy. Fortunately, these sequences were few and far between and for the most part, the film’s sound design delivers a very immersive effect, although, again, not quite up there with the very best.
Special Features
While there are many extras included with this release that are presented in HD, most are quite short. A large segment of my score on the extras can be attributed to the fact that the release comes with a DVD copy of the film along with a digital copy. The DVD is great as it enables you to take the film with you for the kids to enjoy in the car or on trips. DVD copies are increasingly being included with Blu-ray releases by Disney as well as some other studios. This is a trend which I would like to see continue and expanded. Universal for one is even bringing back the combo disc they used with the late lamented HD DVD format with the single disc releases of the Bourne films in January. These discs have been renamed “Flipper discs”. Hopefully they will not be marred with the playback issues that plagued HD DVD combo discs and will be a success.
But I digress… The film comes equipped with Cine Explore which you can enable to run along with the film which takes you behind the making of the film while the film is running on screen. Frankly, I find this feature to be distracting, at least for my initial of a film. Also included is Blaster’s Boot Camp where you can train to become a member of G Force as well as G Force Mastermind where Hoyt Yeatman’s then 5 year old son is revealed to be the creator of the story line the film is based upon.
The extras also include a featurette “Bruckheimer Animated” which takes a brief look back at the use of CGI effects in Jerry Bruckheimer’s other films, such as The Rock, the Pirates of the Caribbean films and the two National Treasure films. Also included is the featurette ” Access Granted-Inside the Animation Lab” which does just that, take you behind the scenes during the animation process.
Also included are deleted scenes, a blooper reel and three music videos, “Jump” by Flo Rida featuring Nelly Furtado, “Ready to Rock” by Steve Rushton and ‘Go G Force”. Frankly, the extras are rather lackluster. Nothing really stands out as a must view. I would just enjoy the film and get to the extras whenever you have nothing better to do.
Final Thoughts
G-Force is a fun action film that the entire family can enjoy. It features an excellent video presentation and a very good audio encode that fans of the film will love. Recommended for families with children and as a rental for everyone else.
