Johnathan Frakes, aka Commander William Riker to many of us, has crafted an amusing family film that features science fiction easy enough to digest by even the most non-technical of all people. Clockstoppers is a family film in the tradition of titles during Disney's great run in the 50's and 60's with Fred MacMurry.
Jesse Bradford stars as Zak, a young man who craves attention from his father, Doctor Gibbs, physics professor at the local University. His father is always working more on his students than his own family. Zak wants a car, which hes worked hard selling stuff on Ebay oer a year to buy. When his father goes out of town instead of taking him to approve the car, a rift emerges between the two leaving their relationship strained.
On his way out of the house, Zak finds a watch on the floor which he assumes is old junk. Enter former student Dr. Dopler, played excellently by French Stewart. Dopler sent the watch to Dr. Gibbs looking for mathmatical help on a top secret project. See this watch speeds up the molecular movement of the person wearing it and anyone touching that person. It's called Hypertime and allows a person to move so fast that everyone else seems to be moving at a standstill. Basically a person in Hypertime could seem to magically move around and do things. While helping a girl he is courting rake leaves, Francesca played by Paula Garcés, Zakk discovers that his watch is actually quite special. From here ensues the magic and fun as Zakk gets himself, Doppler and his Dad in a whole mess as the government and the corporation that invented it all come after the watch.
I really enjoyed this film as it had that feeling of Flubber and Absent Minded Professor. It just is a film the whole family can enjoy and it doesn't dumb things down just to entertain the kids. The action isn't so dramatic but the storyline does offer some smart moves on Zakk's part. While it's not Back to the Future, the film ultimately is one worth seeing.
The Disc:
These days you can count on quality looking transfers, especially from the folks at Paramount. Same thing applies here, a great looking film that really avoids those nasty edge halos. The sound is equally impressive with deep reflexive bass that got me moving. I couldn't hear much directional use but the 5.1 track did make good use of center channel clarity.
As for the extras that the disc presents, you have pretty much standard fare here. The commentary track is missing with a full screen featurette doing the duty. The Making Of Clockstoppers is a nice 10 minute segment that shows too much hype and not enough reflection. It's best not to watch it first as it spoils alot of the movie. There are also two music videos, both of which I found to be quite catchy tunes.
Aside from the trailer and promotional spots, this disc is just a bit on the thin side. It's too bad because a Johnathan Frakes commentary track would have made my day.
bottom line:
A nice family film that entertained me the entire time. I found the acting to be well directed and the story to have a good pace. Back To The Future will always be king but Frakes has shown us another look at time travel the popcorn way.
3.5 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
1/2
