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Top 5 Action Movies on HD
As the selection of High Definition DVD titles has broadened, we thought we'd pick a few newly released action/adventures that might strike your fancy. Chances are you've seen a couple of these. But have you seen them in HD?
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
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Kerry Conran's "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" may be one of the most beautiful action-adventure movies ever made. Its hero, Sky Captain (Jude Law), is the go-to man when New York is attacked by mysterious giant robots -- the first assault in a mad scientist's plot to destroy the world. As real as most of the movie looks, this art-deco nod to classic science fiction is almost entirely animated. Stars Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie performed in front of blue screens, but who can tell? The giant robots attack looks simply astounding. You'll have a field day viewing it in HD. And let's not forget about the underwater sequence with the amphibious fighter-planes. And then, of course, there's the ass-kicking henchwoman (played by Bai Ling). The Tomatometer puts "Sky Captain" at a fresh 74 percent.
Release Date: September 26, 2006
Starring: Jude Law, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow
Directed by: Kerry Conran
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Batman Begins
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Tallying 84 percent on the Tomatometer, Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" gets Rotten Tomatoes' highest overall stamp of approval for a Batman movie. This action-packed re-telling of the Dark Knight's origin jettisons the colorful, campy design of its predecessors, and goes for a grittier, high-tech presentation. Christian Bale dons the bat armor this time around as multi-millionaire industrialist and part time crime fighter Bruce Wayne; committed to striking fear into the hearts of those who would do evil, this new Batman becomes an arsenal of vengeance. The action is almost unrelenting in the movie's final 45 minutes, and it's one hell of a ride on Gotham's elevated train. Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman play their parts with a sense of fun. And Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow takes home the prize for Creepiest Villain.
Release Date: October 10, 2006
Starring: Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Christian Bale
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
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Sahara
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Matthew McConaughey stars in this under-appreciated actioner as explorer Dirk Pitt -- sort of a modern day Indiana Jones. Pitt's research leads him to believe a civil war vessel ("The Ship of Death") with a priceless treasure in its hold might actually exist. But not in America; in West Africa. So Pitt and his sidekick (Steve Zahn) head to the Sahara -- where they realize the closer they get to the treasure, the more they find themselves dodging bullets. Sure, the movie is contrived. But McConaughey, Zahn, and Penelope Cruz give the action some fun. Consider "Sahara" a guilty pleasure.
Release Date: October 24, 2006
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Steve Zahn, Matthew McConaughey
Directed by: Breck Eisner
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Mission: Impossible III
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Under the direction of J.J. Abrams, creator of TV's "Lost," this third installment in the "Mission Impossible" series is the best of the bunch, scoring a 71 percent on the Tomatometer. Say what you want about Tom Cruise -- as Ethan Hunt, the man knows how to turn up the intensity, thus making the absurd, absurdly entertaining. On a rogue mission to track down the killer of a fellow agent, Hunt finds himself in a life and death cat and mouse game with an international weapons and information provider, played with heartless malevolence by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The movie features grand action sequences that must be appreciated in the HD format, particularly the helicopter sequence through the windmills, Hunt's slide down a skyscraper, and an astoundingly cool turn of events on a bridge.
Release Date: October 30, 2006
Starring: Ving Rhames, Tom Cruise, Sasha Alexander
Directed by: Jeffrey Abrams
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Poseidon
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This remake of Irwin Allen's 1972 disaster flick doesn't have the character development of the original. But that's alright. "Poseidon" was made for its action. When a rogue wave overturns the ultra-modern ship on its maiden voyage, stars Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum, and Richard Dreyfuss must climb their way upward through a maze of fiery corridors and flooded compartments. The actual flipping of the ship is, of course, the movie's most impressive series of visuals, and certainly worth replaying in HD. But the good news is, even after the ship flips, the action never lets up. "Poseidon" is the perfect movie to test the audio/visual capabilities of your home theater system.
Release Date: December 05, 2006
Starring: Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum, Joshua Lucas
Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
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