The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course on DVD
The main problem with a movie like this is there was absolutely no
reason for it to be made.
Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course clocks in at 89 minutes, less
than half an hour longer than Steve Irwins TV show. To add insult to
injury, the only parts of the movie that are worth watching are the parts with
Irwin doing his schtick, which you can see on TV for free (well, for the price
of cable, at least).
But they had to add a fictional story, supposedly, and this is it:
A United States satellite beacon has fallen from space and landed in Australia.
Before the Americans have a chance to retrieve it, its swallowed by a
crocodile. It just so happens that this particular croc is becoming a nuisance,
so Mr. Irwin takes it upon himself to relocate it. The U.S. government is on
the trail of the croc and the Crocodile Hunter, intent on getting back their
beacon.
Except for the bits with Steve and Terri Irwin doing what they do
best, this is a pretty terrible movie. Its major flaw lies in the fact that it
needed good actors acting poorly, rather than bad actors acting very poorly.
The way it is, it almost looks like it wants us to take it seriously.
Steve Irwin is always fun to watch, if for no other reason than to
see what hell do next. This time around, hes catching snakes,
spiders, and of course, crocodiles. Hes perfectly comfortable on camera,
with a great on-screen personality. His wife, Terri, however, doesnt seem
quite as comfortable. Shes not bad on the show, but in the movie she
seems like shes reading from a cue card.
Collision Course is not a bad movie if you take it for what it is,
but when you can watch The Crocodile Hunter on cable and avoid the terrible
supporting cast, bad screenplay and superfluous plot, why bother?
For some odd reason, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course has
been given a fantastic DVD, while movies like Windtalkers that deserved one,
didnt get one. The audio and video are both excellent, and there are a
ton of supplements to keep you somewhat entertained for a while.
Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, 16x9 TV compatible, the
picture is outstanding. Its crisp and clear, and looks as good as many of
the best DVDs these days. The Crocodile Hunter scenes, interestingly enough,
seem to have been filmed in full screen. Black bars appear on either side
whenever it switches to Steve Irwin, but the black letterbox bars
still remain. This is much better than it would have been had they switched
back and forth between widescreen and full frame. Since Irwin filmed many of
his antics himself, its understandable he didnt have a high-tech,
widescreen camera to use.
The audio is 5.1 Dolby Digital, and most is restricted to the
front except for some minor effects. But they can be misleading, since it
sounds as if there are insects flying around the room. At one point youll
pause the movie to find the bugs, but theyll no longer be there.
Its just a very subtle use of surrounds.
The many extras include a short making-of documentary hosted by
you guess it Steve Irwin, a Lights! Camera! Animals!
featurette, deleted scenes introduced by director John Stainton, some
behind-the-scenes effects footage, a music video, a pop-up croc track (sounds
like a croc to me), some interactive games, a photo gallery, and trailers.
Its a very generous array of supplements, especially considering the
movie didnt break any box office records. Most of them are short, but for
the most part theyre fairly enjoyable.
Its a great DVD; now if only MGM would give this kind of
treatment to more deserving movies.
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, from MGM Home Entertainment
89 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin, Magda Szubanski, David Wenham
Produced by Arnold Rifkin, Judi Bailey and John Stainton
Screenplay by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Directed by John Stainton
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