Review of Mimic

Introduction

New York City has had its fair share of disasters, whether violent or otherwise. Most recently of course was September 11: a day which really will live in infamy, a day when lives were lost of absolutely no reason.

And one genre that merges the horrors of fact with the power of fiction is the disaster genre. In this tale, a team of scientists discover a miracle cure that stops the spread of a deadly disease...only to find out three years later that something has gone terribly wrong. Their creation has taken taken on a horrifying life of its own - able to mimic and destroy its every predator: even man. And now, it threatens to wipe out an entire city, unless the stop it in time.

This style of film-making is usually clichéd and flawed from the start, so will Mimic break the mould?

Video

1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. The visuals are deep and well defined, with a good use of the palette to compliment the artefact-free transfer. The print itself is crisp and clear, and no compression signs are visible. A very satisfactory picture overall.

Guillermo del Toro, most recently known for directing Blade II, is on megaphone duty for this, and his distinct visual style is apparent. Quite happily mixing gore and suspense, del Toro creates a world in which the characters seem like mere pawns in a game that they don`t have complete control of, and only fate can choose their future path.

The whole premise of Mimic is built around insect-like creatures, therefore the creatures need to look, and act, the part. With what appears to be a mixture of CGI and traditional styles, they jump off the screen and do create an air of menace about them.

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1 (English). The definition of the soundtrack is probably the most apparent whilst watching/listening, as the rear channels spring to life fairly frequently and try to create - and maintain - as spooky an atmosphere as possible. The main audio stream is crisp and clear, and the only slight downside of the audio is that the subwoofer isn`t used as much as it should, and could, be.

The script is fairly competent for a disaster thriller, as the main two characters (Sorvino and Northam`s) are fleshed out quite well, probably because they are husband and wife, and their striving for a baby is played on at the start. There is some chemistry between the two leads also, and the rest of the characters are fairly distinctive, although their real modus operandi is to run and hide.

Features

Another disc to continue the Buena Vista policy that extra features should not be supplied to us consumers on DVD. This disc was released in 2002, yet contains absolutely nothing. Considering the popularity and potential of the medium, this is criminal.

The menus are completely static yet easy to navigate.

Conclusion

As an action film it is competent yet a bit bland; something to watch once and then forget. It is not a bad film, it`s just that it is not a good one. Although the characters are surprisingly developed, and the plot is intriguing, along with good directing from del Toro, Mimic lets up the pace at times and subsequently becomes a bit of a chore to watch.

In this type of genre it is predictable as to what will happen, and who will survive, so really the 101 minutes of film is fairly pointless - but then of course it is dumb but entertaining, so really, with some mates round and alcohol on tap, this is ideal popcorn fodder.

With a brain in neutral, this is quite enjoyable. With a `Film Critic` hat on, it doesn`t shape up as well. This type of film is never going to win any awards, but luckily does what it says on the tin and delivers some violent action with an ending that fits only becuase of the restrictions of the genre.

The disc itself is good presentation wise, but the non-existent extras make this a rent-only DVD.