In what could best be described as an awful excuse for mixing MTV with Extreme Sports on the big screen, Paramounts Extreme Ops is probably the most boring excuse for a film I have seen in a while. Not only is it boring but the entire premise is rediculous in every way, from the idea that a bunch of ragtag thrill seekers could take on terrorists to the "fake" commercials that the entire movie is based upon.
A film crew travels to the Austrian Alps near the (former) Yugoslav border to film three extreme sports enthusiasts being chased down by an avalanche for a commercial. What they don't know, however, is that they're filming near the secret hideout of Slobodan Pavle, a Serbian war criminal. Accidentally catching him on film, they become locked in a life-or-death chase through the mountains that includes skiing, snowboarding, sky diving, white water rafting, helicopters, motorcycles, and base jumping.
Of course the first of the movie is filled with idiocy, such as the director and producer butting heads over what can and can't be done. Then there's the extreme ops cast, making fun of a gold medal winning skiier who seems out of place when compared to the more street style version of skateboarders. It's such a silly dramatic sequence that one can't help but laugh even when it's not meant to be funny.
In fact none of the action is well done. The movie is one huge joke with scenes that are meant to be scary and thrilling nothing more than laughable. The movie does offer some exquisite looking stunts but nothing that is really new. I forced myself to watch the entire film purely for the review but believe me I wanted to turn this junk off after 10 minutes. nothing extreme here except extreme crap.
The Disc:
Paramount Home Entertainment has brought Extreme Ops home and
gives us two options to chose from: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen
and 4:3 pan & scan, both accessible on the same side of one
dual-layer disc. I've been a fan of choice and I will give Paramount props for this but unfortunately it comes on a film that is completely boring.
Being an action film, and one full of really outrageous stunts, Extreme Ops features really good sound. Once again it is wasted on a film that is so terrible it's hard to appreciate. Sounds zoom around the house just as they would in the theater. If you want to give your system a workout, this film is a good start.
With the unsurprising failure at the theater, it's not surprising that the DVD has few extras to offer viewers. All we get is a self-running trailer
"gallery' with two spots: Star Trek: Nemesis and Abandon.
Both are presented in 2.0 surround and non-anamorphic widescreen.
bottom line:
An awful film full of nobodies that almost turned me completely off to the entire extreme sports genre. Paramount may have had good intentions but this is no XxX, not even close.
1 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
