Big Trouble (2002)

Written by Robert Ramsey & Matthew Stone / Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci and Tom Sizemore.
85 mins / Buena Vista / Rated PG-13
Retail: $29.99 / Street: $27

Yes, it is.

Not since Death to Smoochy, has there been such a huge waste of talent as there is in Big Trouble. Perhaps that's the biggest disappointment of all. Sonnenfeld admits as much as he does his rather boring and unfunny commentary about the movie. He says that when you have an ensemble piece such as this, none of the actors feel like it's their film, so they don't really bring their 'A' game. Well put. I mean, just check out the cast list for the movie. All fine actors who have done really great work in the past: Big Trouble @ IMDB

Big Trouble was initially delayed because of the unfortunate coincidences with the whole terrorism / planes / bomb thing. I understand the studio's reticence to put this out during fall of 2001, but frankly, the movie bombs all by itself.

The problem is that Big Trouble just isn't a good movie. There's nothing good about it. At times it's only fairly funny, but it's mostly just famous actors running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The lately bad Barry Sonnenfeld, just can't decide what to focus on. It's as though the editor has Turret's, like he's trying to cram a lot of junk into a relatively short running time.

Big Trouble is something you’d watch while you vacuum. That's the kind of film it is. And that's all I'm going to say about it.

Movie Grade: C-

Video: 3.5 out of 5
It's a pretty and bright and with a Miami-esque color palette. Some of the scenes look a little desaturated at points, but everything's fine. I mean with the transfer, not the movie.
Anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1

Talented and Useless

Audio: 4 out of 5
Considering all that's going on in this movie, the tracks are pretty active. Lot's of music, loud sound cues and even the woofer gets a bit of a workout. Who really cares though?
English (Dolby 5.1)

Extras: 3 out of 5
There's something here that I really like, but it just proves how unneccessary the film is as a whole. Get this: there's an option on there called "5 minute movie" (it's actually 7 mins) in which the movie is compressed into a short film. Needless to say, it's a bit of a shock to see this on a disc - it only proved that the movie was really nothing more than lots of running around. The only other extra is the commentary by Sonnenfeld, who's know for being a funny guy. Unfortunately, he must have left his funny cap at home, because he doesn’t crack a single joke and frankly, spends a lot of time suggesting that the movie isn't that good. The disc is a single disc in a keepcase.

Overall: 2 out of 5
Pure curiousity will probably drive you to give this a spin. It's an exercise in character acting gone bad. I didn't care about the characters enough to get involved in the story.

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