Clockstoppers
Zak Gibbs (Bradford) is a resourceful teenager who has saved for his dream car by buying and selling on ebay.Unfortunately he doesn't get on with his Dad (Thomas), a brilliant scientist who has been sent a watch by previous student Doppler (Stewart) that has the ability to almost stop time for the wearer. When Zak finds the watch he discovers the ability to enter....
Zak Gibbs (Bradford) is a resourceful teenager who has saved for his dream car by buying and selling on ebay.Unfortunately he doesn't get on with his Dad (Thomas), a brilliant scientist who has been sent a watch by previous student Doppler (Stewart) that has the ability to almost stop time for the wearer. When Zak finds the watch he discovers the ability to enter hypertime, where his molecules are accelerated to the point where everything seems motionless and he can go where he wants, and do as he pleases, which he uses to impress the beautiful new girl at school, Francesca (Garcés). But when Zak discovers that a corporation, led by the ruthless Gates (Biehn) will stop at nothing to get the watch back, he must take on the company to save his family and the world...
Being able to stop time is one of those things that I dreamt about as a kid. The fun you could have with that is unbelievable. This movie, based on my famous What if theory of good science fiction movie, accurately reflects what we would probably all do with a watch that stopped time, as we see Zak and Francesca right wrongs and generally have a laugh. We also see the ikelihood that should any of us get said watch there would be plenty of people out to get it. Jonathan Star TrekFrakes directs this family movie with gusto, and keeps the action moving well with only as slightly pointless DJ competition holding the story up. French Stewart (3rd Rock from the sun) puts in a restrained performance as a crazed scientist, and Michael Biehn is good as the bad guy, but both play second fiddle to some pretty impressive SFX. The time freezing sections are very well done and it's hard to spot if the scenes have been done with composite or people standing very still, check out the car chase for a good example. There's also some well done bullet-time towards the end of the movie. This all adds up to an enjoyable movie that will probably entertain the whole family. It won't win any awards but it's good.
The DVD transfer is colourful and clear, with no noticeable grain, and I saw no problems in either light or dark scenes. The dolby digital 5.1 soundtrack is active and entertaining, bringing out some good rear effects and bass at times, although there isn't much in the way of explosions and gunfire to really test you hardware.
It was disappointing to find that there is no commentary track present. I was hoping to hear Frakes' take on the production, and perhaps the task of creating some of the more impressive special effects. Instead you get a 20 minute Making of Clockstoppers, which is promotional in tone, with interviews with the key cast and crew, but does include some behind the scenes footage and a breakdown of the creation of the bullet-time sequence. It's not a bad piece but short and sharp, with lots of scene highlights. Along with the trailer are some rather cool TV spots, 30 seconds in length, but a little different to your average spot. Finally you get a music video - Smash Mouth 'Holiday In My Head'.
So, a decent, entertaining film let down by few extras. If you can find this DVD cheap, go for it.
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