The Last Boy Scout


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Details At A Glance

General
Extras
Category Action Theatrical Trailer(s) None
Rating Other Trailer(s) None
Year Released 1991 Commentary Tracks None
Running Time 101:01 minutes Other Extras None
RSDL/Flipper No/No
Cast & Crew
Start Up Movie
Region 4 Director Tony Scott
Studio
Distributor

Warner Home Video
Starring Bruce Willis
Damon Wayans
Chelsea Field
Noble Willingham
Taylor Negron
Danielle Harris
Case Snapper
RRP $29.95 Music Michael Kamen

 
Video
Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None MPEG None
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Dolby Digital 5.1
16x9 Enhancement Yes Soundtrack Languages English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Miscellaneous
Macrovision ?
Subtitles English
French
Italian
Dutch
Arabic
Spanish
Portuguese
English for the Hearing Impaired
Italian for the Hearing Impaired
Smoking Yes

Plot Synopsis

    The Last Boy Scout is one of my favourite action movies. Sure, there are plot holes, but there is lots of graphic violence, lots of massive explosions and lots of funny one-liners, and the best opening song of any action movie that I have ever heard.

    Bruce Willis is Joe Hallenbeck, a down-and-out private investigator who has seen much better days. He has a wife, Sarah (Chelsea Field), who is having an affair, and a daughter, Darian (Taylor Negron), who hates him.

    Enter Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans), an ex-pro American footballer and his girlfriend, Cory (Halle Berry). Cory has a secret and she needs protection. Joe is unable to save her from being killed, and he and Jimmy set about finding out who killed her and why. Joe progressively gets tangled deeper and deeper in the sordid world of professional football until the bad guys are all dealt with, in one way or another.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The video transfer of this movie is below par by today's standards, however, for a 1991 movie it is borderline acceptable.

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. It is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer suffered frequently from a lack of definition, with a lot of hazy scenes intermixed with sharp clear scenes. I would presume that this was how the movie was shot, but it remains quite distracting. Shadow detail was acceptable but not great. There was no low level noise.

    The colour was well saturated throughout.

    No MPEG artefacts were seen. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of considerable amounts of aliasing on numerous occasions, with all of the usual culprits responsible; venetian blinds, cars, and TV displays. Film artefacts remained at an acceptable level.

Audio

    There are three audio tracks on this DVD; an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, a French Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and an Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. I listened to the default English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack.

    The overall level of this disc was a little low, and increasing it by 5dB improved the overall effect nicely.

    Dialogue was almost always clear and audible.

    There were no audio sync problems with this disc other than some occasional ADR being marginally out of sync.

    The musical score was by Michael Kamen. It was well suited to the movie.

     The surround channels were aggressively used by the soundtrack for special effects and for music. They are nicely enveloping, especially during the action sequences. I did not notice any particular use of split surround effects.

   The .1 channel was heavily used supporting the soundtrack and was very well integrated into the overall mix.

Extras

    There are no extras whatsoever on this disc. The disc cover states that there are Production Notes on this disc. These are not present. Neither are Cast & Crew Biographies.

What's Missing / What's Extra

    We miss out on the following extras which are present on the Region 1 version of this disc;

Menu

    The main menu is plain and functional. It is 16x9 enhanced.

Summary

    The Last Boy Scout, whilst not having the greatest transfer, nonetheless remains as a better-than-average action movie. If you are a fan of the movie, you will not be disappointed.

    The video quality is just barely acceptable.

    The audio quality is pretty good.

    The extras are non-existent.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras nil
Plot
Overall

© Michael Demtschyna
9th July 1999

Review Equipment
DVD Pioneer DV-505, using S-Video output
Display Loewe Art-95 95cm direct view CRT in 16:9 mode, via the S-Video input. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Audio Decoder Denon AVD-2000 Dolby Digital AddOn Decoder, used as a standalone processor. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Amplification 2 x EA Playmaster 100W per channel stereo amplifiers for Left, Right, Left Rear and Right Rear; Philips 360 50W per channel stereo amplifier for Centre and Subwoofer
Speakers Philips S2000 speakers for Left, Right; Polk Audio CS-100 Centre Speaker; Apex AS-123 speakers for Left Rear and Right Rear; Yamaha B100-115SE subwoofer