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| Ryan Philippe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Lena
Forlani, Tim Robbins |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Gary
Winston (Tim Robbins): Imagine it was all yours, Milo. It could
be, you know...
A
computer programmer is hired straight out of college by a Microsoft-like
software corporation, where suspicious circumstances surround the development
of their latest initiative.
 Whatever
happened to Tim Robbins? Last thing I remember, he's one of the most
interesting figures working in Hollywood, appearing memorably in pictures
like The Shawshank Redemption, The Hudsucker Proxy, Short
Cuts and The Player, and establishing himself as an intelligent
director with Dead Man Walking. Next thing I know, we're lucky
to even see him making cameo appearances in High Fidelity and
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, while his performance
in turkeys like Mission to Mars does little for his waning credibility
as an actor. Let's hope the upcoming Jonathan Demme picture The Truth
about Charlie turns out good enough to up his stock a little bit,
and helps bring him back into the public eye.
For now, he makes AntiTrust quite a bit more enjoyable than it
otherwise might have been by doing an excellent impersonation of Bill
Gates, lending his trademark quirky intelligence to the instantly recognizable
caricature. Playing another villain after 1999's Arlington Road,
Robbins' mannerisms are perhaps a little too easily recognized, but
he does have fun with his scenes, and just manages to make something
of a rather underwritten part. The film's plot rarely leaves the beaten
track of the Conventional Conspiracy Thriller, with a basic premise
that was already old when Tom Cruise did a quick retread of the genre's
highlights in The Firm (of which this sometimes feels like thinly
disguised carbon copy). But the narrative moves forward at a steady
clip, with the required number of unexpected and often illogical U-turns,
suspense sequences and random shocks. This makes it a moderately smart,
fairly likeable thriller that entertains most of the time and doesn't
wear out its welcome. |
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The
versions on release for Region 1 and Region 2 carry identical features.
The
anamorphic widescreen image is framed at an aspect ratio of approx.
2.35:1. The transfer presented here is bound to please, with crisp,
bold colors and good shadow detail and black levels. Compression artifacts
are rare, and visual noise is all but absent.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 sound mix is highly aggressive in the surrounds, making
use of a great deal of split surround effects, and drawing the score
all the way back across the rear of the surround field. Some of the
sound effects coming from the rear are about as subtle as someone jumping
up behind you and yelling 'Boo!', but the sound mix does get the job
done, and will give any home theater system a solid workout.
Director
Peter Howitt is joined by editor Zach Staenberg in a lively, informative
audio commentary that provides the listener with as much as one
would conceivably wish to know about the production. It's never quite
boring to listen to, but Howitt dues frequently fall into the trap of
narrating the plot and character motivations, which are really quite
obvious from what is happening on the screen. The 22-minute documentary
'Cracking the Code' wasn't made as an EPK, but it might nearly have
been, as it consists of little more than the usual collection of superficial
interview footage, behind-the-scenes clips and bits and pieces from
the film. It covers pretty much the same ground as the commentary, but
in less time, so I guess that's a good thing. The deleted scenes
are provided with optional director's commentary, and are better than
expected, many adding more character development to the often superficial
scenes from the final film. Finally, the theatrical trailer (lots
of fact cutting, 'In a world where...' narration, and loud music) is
presented in handsome anamorphic widescreen, and a music video from
the band Everclear is clearly little more than a promotional tool.Menus
are nicely animated in line with the film's themes, and designed like
computer screens with subtle transitional effects.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: June
30, 2002
Click
here for IMDB info on Antitrust.
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