SYNOPSIS:
Get ready for the comedy adventure that's “smart, funny,
and tailor-made for the inner-Jedi in all of us,” (Pete
Hammond, Hollywood.com).
In 1998, four childhood buddies with a shared love of all things
Star Wars reunite for one final, hilarious odyssey.
Their insane plan: a cross-country road trip to storm George
Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and steal a copy of "Episode I" before
it's released. With the police, a crew of angry Trekkies, and
a crazy pimp hot on their trail, what could possibly go wrong?
MOVIE REVIEW:
As a Star Wars fan myself, Fanboys was a
movie that I look forward to since I got wind of it. Originally
planned for a 2007 release, the controversies surrounding
the movie were far more interesting than the end product.
The story opens on the night of Halloween,
1998 where we are introduced to four high school buddies,
Eric (Sam Huntington), Linus (Christopher Marquette), Hutch
(Dan Fogler) and Windows (Jay Baruchel) who decides to break
into Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of the long-awaited Episode
1 before its opening in the summer of 1999. It was not just
a silly idea to fulfill Linus’s fifth grade scheme but
a rather touching aspect that the friends wanted Linus to
watch Episode 1 as he is suffering from terminal cancer.
It’s more appropriate to classify Fanboys
as a road trip movie more than anything else. The notorious
Weinstein Company which funded the project wasn’t pleased
with director Kyle Newman’s treatment of the cancer
subplot so they wanted reshoots. But then after much hoo-ha,
the cancer plot was retained in the final cut. Now I couldn’t
see what’s the difference since not much emotional aspects
of it is invested in the script anyway. After all, Fanboys
is filled with so much Star Wars related throwaway gags, references
and a prolong sequence involving a feud with Trekkies (the
leader of the group played by an unrecognizable Seth Rogen)
that it no longer matters or tickle after the second act.
If Fanboys had entered the market pre-2007,
perhaps it would be better received. The various characters
here had a few distinct traits of their own though tough to
leave much of an impression with the exception of the horny
Hutch and Zoe (Kristen Bell from Forgetting Sarah Marshall),
the Princess Leia of the group. Movies like Superbad and Knocked
Up had a better interpretation of teens, loafers and yes sexual
humor. Though Fanboys tries hard to keep up with the trend
but the result is obvious.
When you see the guys landed in a gay bar
and the police station, you know it’s trying hard to
be afloat till the last act. Gems like the Millennium Falcon
inspired car chase are few and far and stuff like Hutch and
Windows getting into trouble with some escort girls in Vegas
stick like a sore thumb. In the meantime, just keep a lookout
for Star Wars alumni such as Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams,
Ray Park and amusing appearance by William Shatner aka Captain
Kirk.
To
conclude, the movie is not hardcore enough for geeks and too
distanced for non-Star Wars fans. What Yoda will say is "Weak
this bunch of Fanboys turned out to be".
SPECIAL FEATURES :
The first extra of the DVD is six Deleted Scenes
lasting 7 minutes. Nothing memorable or impressive to be retain
in the final cut.
Disturbance
In The Force: A Series Of Webisodes detailed some
rough behind-the-scenes clips of which some material is actually
repeated in the extra features stored here.
The
Truth About Fanboys doesn’t delve into the
problems faced by the director and its rocky road to the big
screen, just your typical 5 minutes promotional featurette.
The
Star Wars Parallel is a 5 minutes promo reel that
compares Fanboys to the Holy Trail.
4
Fanboys & 1 Fangirl features interviews with
the various main leads.
The
Choreography is a forgettable feature that shows
you how the guys learnt the dance steps and poses for the
movie’s gay bar sequence.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
For a movie with a petite budget, the visual
transfer is surprisingly good. The images are sharp and colours
are bright. The Dolby Digital 5.1 features a nice Star Wars-inspired
score, ambient effects and crisp dialogue.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
Posted
on 13 July 2009
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