Evolution (UK)

I`ve been eagerly awaiting this one for some time actually, so you`d probably expect me to be disappointed after all the hype then?. Well, even though it does have its fair share of shortcomings, I still found it eminently watchable.

The fact that it was directed by Ivan "Ghostbusters" Reitman was a frequent feature of the promotional campaign. Unfortunately it doesn`t really live up to the reputation of his most famous release (though I didn`t really expect it to) and comparisons to Ghostbusters will only serve to belittle all Ivan`s subsequent films. Which is a shame in many ways because I think Evolution has quite a lot going for it.

The film`s plot about newly discovered (quickly evolving) aliens is a pretty interesting one (while obviously being incredibly unoriginal at the same time). As this is supposed to be a light-hearted movie though, the ingenuinty of the premise is secondary to what the filmmakers manage to achieve with the cast and the overall tone. I don`t really think it`s a particularly hilarious film to be honest and many of the pratfalls/physical gags seem to fall-flat. This isn`t half as damning as it sounds though because the story feels more like a tongue-in-cheek parody than it does an outright comedy. As such, I think it`s possible to whimsically enjoy the experience without the need to laugh-out-loud at regular intervals.

The cast are all likeable and competent aswell. I think Duchovny is a little TOO under-stated if anything (though I imagine this was done on purpose) but I don`t think anyone lets the side down. Dan Aykroyd`s performance is arguably a little bit out of place, as his acting style is always a visibly old-school scene-stealing affair (when compared to the ironic modernism of all the others at least). His character really livens things up when he appears though, it`s just that he upsets the balance of the movie in some ways (although he is admittedly one of the highlights!).

The disc is lacking many of the extras it was supposed to come with (commentary, deleted scenes etc). Apparently they didn`t have time to clear all of the material before christmas, so they just provided the 15-min HBO special and left it at that. This means there will probably be an R2 S:E sometime in the future (depending on the sales of this version of course). The picture and sound are (as you`d expect) virtually faultless.

So with the A/V quality being so high and the film being so full of quality elements, why isn`t it raved about?. Well, not everyone will appreciate the surprising lack of genuinely funny moments and it is a tad silly in places (I`ve certainly read plenty of scathing reviews). I think the comedic expectations are the only thing that serve to harm the viewing experience in real terms and maybe if you think of it more as a `Men In Black` style production, you`ll like it a lot more (indeed, it has a lot more style than the Smith/Jones vehicle).

Basically, it`s a diverting and undemanding film that (presuming your expectations aren`t too high) will keep you reasonably entertained. It will probably stand up to repeated viewings very well too because most other comedies have a tendency to lose their appeal eventually (when the jokes start to wear off). Evolution concentrates more on the story and exciting visuals, so it`ll continue to work in the same way each time.

"Coming to wipe that silly smile off your planet", says the box.
How very true. This movie can only be categorized as a silly sci-fi comedy. Why silly? Just watch and you`d get your answer. Why sci-fi? `Cause of the alien life forms. And why a comedy? Ahm... . Well, that`s true. It`s not a comedy.
The video transfer is OK. While there are no compression signs, this new movie suffers from several grainy scenes and some too obvious edge enhancements. Most of the CG animation is OK, but in several scenes, the animation looks really bad and is poorly contrasted with the rest of the scene.
The DD 5.1 soundtrack is ordinary. The surrounds are nicely used occasionally for some sound effects but nothing mind-blowing.
The menus are all still and silent.
The extras include a short behind the scenes look and some production notes. Kind of disappointing.
Bottom line - a laughable movie with Jones having some funny lines. Give it a try, although I`m pretty sure it will not evolve to be a classic.

For some reason I enjoyed this film much more the second time around. On the first viewing many of the "comedic" moments just seemed downright silly at the time. During my second viewing however, I suddenly became much more forgiving (it may have had something to do with the couple of beers I had, but let's just forget about that for the moment!). This is a wonderfully silly film with some great moments. Although (despite the beer) I still found Julianne Moore's clumsiness to be annoying and kind of stupid. However. clumsiness aside, the irrelevant humour generally works well (especially when it involves the scene stealing Orlando Jones).

The video transfer and audio are excellent, what is disappointing (why is there always something?) is the extras. On the R2 disc we get production notes, filmographies and a HBO special that's funny in places but basically self-promotional in nature. On the R1 disc, there is - production notes, filmographies, an audio commentary, 6 deleted scenes, storyboard selections with scene match and photo gallery. Spot any differences?

Overall, an irrelevantly fun spoof - it's just a pity about the extras.