The Tuxedo (2002)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Action	Main Menu Audio & Animation Scene Selection Anim & Audio Deleted Scenes-9 Additional Footage-3 extended scenes Outtakes Featurette-Making Of Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	94:42
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (60:42)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Subtitle Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Kevin Donovan
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Jackie Chan Jennifer Love Hewitt Jason Isaacs Debi Mazar Ritchie Coster
Case	?
RPI	$34.95	Music	John Debney Christophe Beck

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Hungarian Polish Czech Romanian Greek Turkish Hebrew	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, outtakes run with the credits.

    In somewhat of a break from the typical, Chan is not playing a law-man, or a destined-to-be lawman, but Jimmy Tong, a goofy New York cab driver with no idea how to walk in a straight line, let alone perform any martial arts moves. The one thing Jimmy can do is drive - fast. It is for this reason that he comes to the attention of super-spy Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs), who hires him as his personal chauffeur. Clark Devlin has everything that Jimmy has ever wanted - the big house, the good clothes, and most importantly - the way with women. The one thing that Jimmy didn't count on was that he would have to become Clark Devlin when his boss is waylaid by the bad guys with the evil plot. Once he puts on Devlin's T.U.X. (Tactical Uniform eXperiment - one wonders how long the writers spent trying to come up with that), Jimmy becomes a whole new man, because the suit is able to control his actions and turn him into an all-fighting, all-dancing superman who is almost invincible. Using his new-found abilities, he partners with young CSA operative Del Blaine (Jennifer Love Hewitt) in an attempt to stop the megalomaniacal Diedrich Banning (Ritchie Coster) from taking over the world, or at the very least, the world of bottled water.

    If that plot description sounds a little silly, then it is spot on. There is almost nothing in this movie that is believable - in fact the whole thing seems like a live-action cartoon. The bad guy is creepy and very, very evil, and you can tell who he is because he is the only one in the movie with sideburns. The good guy can get away with almost anything because of his T.U.X. His sidekick - Del - cannot get a boyfriend despite being stunningly beautiful, with a likeable personality, and the government's secret organisation has no real clue of what it is doing, so it can be shown-up by a two bit taxi driver (okay, that could be closer to reality). Oh, and the bad guy has an underground lab. All bad guys need an underground lab.

    The silliness of the story aside, it is actually quite fun. Jackie Chan does his usual thing, while Jennifer Love Hewitt has never been all that difficult to look at. The combination makes for a good hour and a half's viewing. To delve into the artistic side of this movie is futile, largely because it is virtually non-existent. The performances are not all that much of a stretch for any involved - Chan does what he always does, while Love Hewitt simply turns on the charm to get the audience to like her. Peter Stormare is virtually a parody of every evil scientist that has ever assisted the bad guy who wants to take over the world, while Ritchie Coster has way too much fun with his evil, evil Banning. Even Jason Isaacs hams it up as the super-suave Bond...oops...Devlin, for the short time he is on screen. There are a couple of times when the film comes close to suggesting that the world is starting to fall apart at the seams as we pollute ourselves out of existence, but these are quickly glossed over so as not to disturb the audience too much. Aside from that, this film serves no purpose but to entertain, and that it does reasonably well.

    In the end, this movie will probably annoy as many as it entertains, simply due to how far "out there" the story is. It will probably help to think of this more as a sci-fi spy film than a contemporary spy film (although that still won't stop a number of "yeah...as if" thoughts floating along) - something along the lines of a Bond and/or Austin Powers with martial arts and slapstick. It is good fun, but does leave a slightly empty feeling at the conclusion.

Video

    Presented at the slightly cropped aspect ratio of 1.78:1 (the original theatrical aspect ratio was 1.85:1), this transfer is 16x9 enhanced.

    The clarity and detail of this transfer is extremely good. The image is extremely smooth, and while not as sharp as some, is considerably better looking for it. Fine detail is readily apparent, while never causing any shimmering. There is a constant presence of very low level grain, but it never really becomes noticeable, with only a few seconds of footage of the sky at 30:16 standing out. Shadow detail is as good as the other areas of the transfer, bringing a real depth to the image. There is no low level noise present.

    Colours are extremely good. From the gold-tinted hotel scenes to the blue-tinted CSA headquarters, all come across without any issues.

    There are very few artefacts all up. A few film artefacts appear as small flecks from time to time, with the worst similar to those at 5:07 and 13:35 - very small indeed. Aliasing is only occasional and light, the worst offenders being the tuxedo stand at 17:47 and the glasses worn by Jennifer Love Hewitt at 61:17, and there are no compression artefacts at all. An excellent effort, and one that really complements the other areas of the transfer.

    These are, hands down, the most comprehensive sub-titles to be placed on DVD. They cover every sound uttered by the actors, and even keep up with the fastest of Jennifer Love Hewitt's expositional monologues. The only downside is that the volume of text sometimes becomes difficult to read - but that is where the rewind and pause buttons come in handy.

    This is an RSDL formatted disc with the layer change taking place at 60:42 during Chapter 14. It is reasonably placed, although still noticeable because of the audio drop-out at this point.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    This disc contains one solitary audio track - a Dolby Digital 5.1 track (at 448 Kbps) of the original English dialogue.

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times, and with Jackie Chan's rapidly improving English language abilities, few will find any dialogue difficult for accent reasons.

    Audio sync is generally good, although there is a slight problem early on where the secret agent is talking into his mobile phone. It seems as if the lines were re-dubbed, but it is hard to tell. Apart from that, it is spot on.

    The score gets a double act for this film with composers Christophe Beck and John Debney sharing the "Original Music" credit. Usually this means that one of the composers left the production part way through, usually following a disagreement with the director. Alternatively, it could have meant a short production cycle using two composers to get the film out on time. Whatever the case with The Tuxedo the result is seamless, and not unimpressive. The score carries the action very well, and is largely a modern-style effort which is well suited to a sci-fi influenced spy movie.

    Surround use is very impressive. The rear channels are in almost constant use, whether it be for ambient sounds, or for directional effects, but they never really sit up and say "here I am!" That is a very impressive achievement that really helps immerse the viewer in the experience of the film's sound.

    The subwoofer is also used very impressively. It backs up the numerous fight scenes and explosions with ease, and adds authority to the score at times, but is never overused.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

The Cutting Room Floor

• Deleted Scenes
• Extended Scenes
• Outtakes and Bloopers

Deleted Scenes (12:57)

• Mistaken Identity (1:20) - A partygoer mistakes Jimmy for Devlin, hurting Jimmy's feelings when she realises, and can't get away fast enough.
• Drowning In A Limo (1:56) - A water company executive is all washed up.
• "Sex Machine" (2:21) - James Brown makes a recovery and joins the "Last Emperor of Soul" for a number. Parts of this scene are included in the outtakes during the end credits.
• "Eliminate Him" (0:34) - The CSA directors discuss what to do about Devlin's T.U.X.
• Arrival At The Mansion (0:55) - A short sequence as Jimmy arrives at Devlin's mansion for the first time.
• Dusting (0:50) - Devlin's butler explains some of his boss' eccentricities.
• Clothing Theft (2:57) - Explains how Jimmy gets back to the mansion after the men's room scene.
• Professional Ambition (0:59) - Del and her boyfriend break up over her promotion.
• Del Gets Captured (1:05) - More on what happens with Del at the party.

Extended Scenes (5:43)

• A Botched Mission (1:22) - Additional sections added into what happens after the first mission.
• Information From The Girlfriend (2:46) - More from the hotel scene between Jimmy and Banning's girlfriend.
• Meeting Of The Water Company Executives (1:35) - Some additional creepiness from Banning during the executives meeting, plus the set-up for the limo drowning deleted scene.

Outtakes and Bloopers (7:25)

Featurette: The Making of The Tuxedo (13:03)

Theatrical Trailer (2:21)

• Cast and Crew Bios
• Production Notes
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack
• French 2.0 and 5.1 soundtracks
• French and Spanish Subtitles

• Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Romanian, Greek, Turkish, and Hebrew subtitles.

    The video quality is excellent - the image is smooth, detailed and clear. A very impressive effort.

    The audio quality is just as good as the video, presenting a subtly immersive surround field that is still very active.

    The extras are not exactly extensive - only around half an hour's worth - but they are at least mostly worthwhile.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall