Firewall: HD DVD And DVD Combo Format Disc Review

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Title: Firewall: HD DVD And DVD Combo Format

Media: HD DVD & DVD Hybrid Optical Disc

DVD Region: One

Genre: Thriller

Stars: Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Robert Patrick, Robert Forster, and Alan Arkin

Writer: Joe Forte

Director: Richard Loncraine

Feature length: 105 minutes

Extras: Conversation With Harrison Ford And Director Richard Loncraine, Firewall: Writing A Thriller, Theatrical Trailer, Previews

HD DVD Side Languages: English, French (Dubbed In Quebec), and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Sound

HD DVD Side Subtitles: English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing and French and Spanish Language Subtitles

DVD Side Languages: English, French (Dubbed In Quebec), and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

DVD Side Subtitles: English Closed Captions and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Elite Red HD Case

Chapter Stops: 28

HD DVD Side Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Sound

DVD Side Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2006/HD DVD Release: 2006/DVD Release: 2006

Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

“Firewall” is a pretty straightforward Harrison Ford star vehicle and thriller that allows the venerable actor to display some of his serious acting prowess as well as a bit of subtle humor and pit him against an array of villains that somehow his character dispatches in spite of the odds. In the film Ford is the designer of an unhackable firewall for a northwest coast commercial bank in the midst of a merger. The representative of the acquiring interest (Robert Patrick) is not that fond of Ford’s character to a point that after the merger is complete, he would likely fire him if he had the chance, but the software Ford’s character developed to protect the bank’s interest has garnered him a kind of carte blanch within the organization. His colleague (Robert Forster) and professional confidant as well as the bank’s regional branch director (Alan Arkin) are backing him up since he is an important asset to the bank and they obviously want to see the transition move ahead smoothly. Unfortunately there are other forces that have entered the picture lead by actor Paul Bettany. They have Ford’s family hostage and since the system cannot be hacked into from the outside, they are forcing Ford to destroy his life’s work and breakdown the firewall from within so that millions of dollars can be embezzled.

There is an absurd factor to the whole premise of the film. If news stories have revealed anything over the last twenty years it has told us all that there is no hack proof firewall whether Federal or corporate interests are using it. Teenagers have gotten into networks using there home computers just for the thrill of it so I have trouble believing a bank would have a firewall so impenetrable that someone would stage this elaborate plot. The next problem is the situations where Ford’s character is forced to take Bettany’s character around the bank to areas that most employees would not be allowed into seems far fetched and there is just no way I can imagine after causing so much attention and already being eyeballed by someone who would like to fire him, how Ford’s character could even get out of the office complex let alone make it to the garage without being stopped by security. The cliché of the inept overweight garage security guard just reeks of uninspired storytelling. To make things worse, the film shifts tones at times and while some of these shifts do add an extra bit of needed interest to the film, the reality is these bits occur too late in the story and seem like they belong in another film. Finally there is the site of Harrison Ford in action. In all fairness the man looks good for his age and Ford brings humanity to his performances that separates him from other actors in thrillers and action pictures. Unfortunately Ford is no Sean Connery when it comes to selling himself as a believable senior popcorn action and thriller star. One can only hope that if Ford should once again don the signature fedora and whip for a certain franchise where he once costarred in one installment with Sean Connery playing his father that the digital technology recently seen to make Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen appear twenty years younger in the prologue for the latest “X-Men” feature will be fully perfected to tone down Ford’s age a bit throughout because if I can’t buy him doing any of the action he does in this film, I certainly wouldn’t believe him doing something else.

If there is any advice that I would give viewers who buy this film on HD DVD and DVD it would be leave the logic at the door and just take it all as one would a popcorn film and then more than likely Ford thriller fans as well as those who watch action pictures in general regardless of the quality will enjoy it. “Firewall” is not a bad film, it just isn’t a very good one when you compare it to other thrillers of the genre including movies Ford has made like “The Fugitive” and the Jack Ryan films.

Released day and date as an HD DVD and DVD combo format disc, “Firewall” looks and sounds terrific with a high definition 16 by 9 2.4:1 aspect ratio presentation that has the potential to be presented in 1080p. Even at 1080i, which is the maximum resolution output of the first generation Toshiba and RCA HD DVD players, the level of detail and clarity makes the standard resolution 480i/p DVD presentation on the other side seem washed out in comparison. Keep in mind however that practically any film in standard definition is going to look washed out in comparison after viewing it in high definition. HBO’s recent high definition broadcasts of “Revenge Of The Sith” reveal a clarity and detail over a digital cable broadcast that is simply stunning to behold and that is even after losing some resolution due to the very nature of bandwidth and distance when it comes to television broadcasts in general. With an HD DVD disc, the loss associated with HD broadcasts whether it is over terrestrial airwaves or via cable and satellite are not an issue. About the only thing that limits an HD DVD presentation aside from the source material being presented is one’s own equipment that is used to view it on. So to wrap the picture quality issue up, “Firewall” in HD delivers fully on it’s promise, but for those who have yet to invest in HD DVD, the DVD edition on the flip side of the disc will not disappoint at all because you are not comparing it as I am to a higher resolution presentation and therefore as with other Warner Home Video DVD releases, the picture and sound quality lives up to the expectations already set by the studios other standard definition DVD releases.

The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Soundtrack even when converted by a contemporary receiver to DTS or DTS Neo Six Theatrical Surround Sound is impressive. French (Dubbed In Quebec) and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Soundtrack options are offered on the HD DVD side while the standard DVD side has English, French (Dubbed In Quebec) and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks. English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired as well as French and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded onto the HD DVD side while the standard definition side features English Closed Captions and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded as options.

Since practically the entire HD DVD side of the disc is devoted to the picture and sound presentation of “Firewall,” the extra value materials are all on the standard definition DVD side with the exception of the Warner Home Video HD DVD promo clip that precedes the film on the HD side. A conversation with Harrison Ford and Director Richard Loncraine discussing the development of the film in a manner at times that seems like they are interviewing each other (15:25) as well as a profile of the film’s screenwriter Joe Forte (3:15) and the theatrical trailer (2:14) are featured on the standard definition DVD side. The menus on the DVD side are all standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. A promo of various “Superman” related DVD titles available now or coming soon from Warner Home Video that culminates in the theatrical teaser for “Superman Returns” as well as a teaser for “Lady In The Water” (3:26) precedes the main menu on the DVD side of this hybrid disc.

“Firewall: HD DVD And DVD Combo Format” is available now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Warner Home Video.

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