| The Pacifier | | Cast : | Vin Diesel, Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot, Brad Garrett | | Director : | Adam Shankman | | Studio : | Walt Disney Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 04, 2005 | | DVD Released Date : | June 28, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 31, 2005 | | Summary | I Love Vin | Content
 | He rocks as Riddick, but it is refreshing to see him in a family comedy from Disney. He's not a sellout!!!!!!!!!!! He did a good job. I loved it! Sorry that I cannot comment further, but he's done a real good job for what he's done so far. Keep up the good job, Vin!!! Eye Candy is in!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Rating | | | Date | August 28, 2005 | | Summary | The Pacifier | Content
| Vin Diesel was great in comic relief. The change from his tough guy countenance was refreshing and well done. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 27, 2005 | | Summary | Even a duck can't save this one. | Content
| Vin Diesel reminds me of Will Smith in a few ways. One of them being that he can make any movie he stars in a hit at the box office, regardless of its quality. Will Smith had Hitch, Bad Boys 2 and Wild Wild West, and Vin Diesel had Knockaround Guys, A Man Apart, and now The Pacifier. This movie has the Disney seal of approval all over it. I can see why it did good in theaters- it's a good family movie. Good for the same people that still think Full House is a good show. We've seen this kind of movie before- a tough guy watches a family of chaotic kids, and soon finds the value of being true to one another blah blah blah. But you know what I didn't expect? This movie to be made by the same guys who basically made Reno-911!, one of the best overall comedies on tv in the past few years. You'd think they would've included some of their signature charm here, but it's not to be seen. Maybe it's due to poor editing. I don't know. I have mixed feelings for The Pacifier now that I think about it. I didn't find the movie dreadful like I did Elektra, because it did make me laugh to myself in a few parts. But there are a hell of a lot better family movies out there to pick.
Shane Wolfe is a Navy SEAL out to rescue a scientist who has created a secret program called Ghost. When the rescue mission goes bad, resulting in the scientist's death (don't worry kiddies, we never see it), Shane is dispatched to take care of his family while the widow goes off to deal with the will, which includes a special key to recover Ghost. But since he's a top SEAL, he isn't quite ready to take care of a family, much less know where to start. There are two teenagers [the oldest boy looks identical to Mandy Moore], a younger girl, a toddler, and a baby along with a pet duck named Gary. Their nanny does her best to take care of them, but soon snaps and leaves. Shane is now left to take care of them alone. Of course, this calls for some of his own unique methods. Putting tracking devices on everyone, of which include a special emergency button only to be used if they're in danger, is one of them. Shane has it pretty rough. I mean, one teenager is bad enough, but two of 'em? Yeesh. And they both hate him, giving Shane the usual, "YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER" lines that we've heard time and time again. I've yet to hear these in real life. The toddler and baby are also up to no good- leaving a mess wherever they go. And the middle child likes Shane, and probably learns the most from him. She's in elementary school, probably around age 9, and is the only one nice to him. With all of this, Shane has to deal with the oldest boy's problem with the wrestling team and wanting to become an actor, the oldest girl's problems with driving and boys, the middle child being made fun of by the Boy Scouts, and more. And at the same time, he has to look for Ghost while protecting the family from home invaders, looking for the same thing. It's all predictable, there's diaper humor like you'd expect, and there are no surprises, save a slight one near the end. But even then, it wasn't much. When it comes down to it, you're better off watching something like Kindergarten Cop or Uncle Buck. The Pacifier does nothing new for the family movie genre. Had it been done by anyone other than Disney, who has been absolutely dying since Mulan (sans-Pixar), I honestly think it could've been alright. And again, with the writers of Reno-911!, it should've. If I were rating the movie on its own, it'd get 1.5 stars at the most. Sorry Vin. Better luck next time.
Fortunately, the picture quality isn't half bad. Some scenes are iffy, like when the alarm goes off at night, while others look great. Especially that action-packed intro (which was basically just there to trick people into thinking this would be a typical Vin Diesel movie, had they never seen a trailer for it). The audio is decent though. Some voices are too quiet in scenes, and sound effects leave much to be desired. Get this though- there's a French language track. Don't get me wrong: I'm not going "LOL DERE IZ UH FRENCH TRAK. THEY H8 AMERIKANS!111!", but why just a French track? I would expect Spanish, French, Japanese and German subtitles, but an all out French dub? I don't know what to make of that. Maybe the movie did great over there or something.
At least they got the special features right. First up is a commentary with the director and both writers. This is one of the better tracks I've heard in a while, and the guys offer more laughs than the movie did. The guys have fun pointing out things wrong with the movie, like how some scenes were shot a few months apart, and pointing out the horrible editing (seriously, it's bad). I loved it when they mentioned how the movie was written with Jackie Chan in mind for the star...then go on about how he's doing Vin's stunts in the opening scenes. Sure, it's dumb, but for some reason, it had me laughing. And just wait until they get to the family. They sure loved the oldest kid's wig. There are a few quiet spots in this commentary, but they generally talk for at least 5 minutes straight at a time. The deleted scenes aren't anything special, though one of them should've been included. It's a scene where Shane is talking to Gary. Gary was hardly used in the movie at all, and I don't get why he was in the trailer so much. He's in 3 scenes at the most, and this could've helped. I mean, it's Vin Diesel having a deep conversation with a duck while they're sitting in pool chairs and having drinks. None of the others were this good. The blooper reel also includes more Gary footage, most of which is him going gung-ho at the buffet table on the set. Everything else is just the actors messing around, not really screwing up the scenes they're in. On the Set with Mr. Diesel is a bunch of the actors sucking up to him, but it's kinda cute. They talk about how in between takes where he's holding the baby, he'd keep holding it, showing that he actually cared and isn't one of those "I'm better than you, don't touch me" actors *looks over at Jennifer Lopez*. As much as I dog the guy, Vin Diesel -is- cool off camera. It's a shame to see him get bad roles after Pitch Black and Saving Private Ryan. On Set With Brad Garrett: Unpacified is just that- Brad Garrett going on about his wrestling spandex and how disturbing it must be for people to see him in it. There are also Special Ops commercials, including Shane taking on Gary. No big deal.
I watched this movie two nights ago, and there isn't much I can remember about it aside from the plot summary. It's just something to watch with the family if there's nothing better to do, and definately a better choice than some other stupidly bad family movies that came out this year. Like...Madagascar. But by all means, get Kindergarten Cop before The Pacifier. It did so much more right. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 25, 2005 | | Summary | this one brings it home for me | Content
| I was in the military for 8 years and loved it. I was in the field artillary as a forward observer. The biggest reasons why I loved this movie was because of Vin Diesel, and because of the military terminology (front & center, do you copy, ect.) The only thing wrong that caught my attention was in the beginning of the movie where Shane Wolfe (Vin Diesel) was briefing his troops about the upcoming mission to save Mr. Plummer, he was a few feet away from the other troops and he was more or less yelling. That's the only thing that was in this movie that would never happen. A friend of mine didn't like the jet ski scene shortly after that, but for me, this movie touched a little on every one of my senses (action, tender moment, family, good fight scene, excellent dialougue, the lone hero (ex: Riddick, Blade) I would suggest this film to anyone of any age. I work at a hotel full time and talk to guests of all ages, and of the people that have seen it, all have liked it. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 25, 2005 | | Summary | I want Vin Diesel to be MY Den Mother!!!! | Content
| Well, yes, I saw it. I have five younger siblings, so of course I did. Annnnnnnnd........
Well, the 'action' is lame, the 'supporting roles' are unsupportive, the 'comic moments' tend to fall flat, the 'twists' predictable, and the duck? Well, that was just stupid. Nevertheless, it was an ok movie. I'm more of an action/adventure sort of girl, but as kiddy comedies go, at least you don't go for sixteen popcorn refills just to escape it. And there is the attraction of the scene in which Shane Wolfe pops into the kitchen sporting nothing but a towel. During which I found myself very much at one with the Girl Scouts ogling him from the dining room.
Yeah, it doesn't make for a super long review because it's not much substance. Diesel was good, Britanny Snow was decent, and the scene where the little kid calls Wolfe Daddy is pretty darn cute. It was worth seeing. Nuff said. |
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