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A Sound Of Thunder [2005]


RRP: £17.99
Our Price: £4.60 (subject to change)

From Time Portals to Giant bugs to dinosaurs to mutant monsters!
Review date: 2008-10-31 Rating: 10 out of 10

From Time Portals to Giant bugs to dinosaurs to mutant monsters - A sound of thunder is a brilliant movie.
It is worth watching and you will not regret it.

It is worth EVERY penny, so:
Ignore all the negative reviews!
Buy it!
Watch it!
Enjoy it!

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Reviews


Underrated & unappreciated
Review date: 2008-02-17 Rating: 8 out of 10

The majority of reviews for this big-screen adaptation of Bradbury's "Sound Of Thunder" seem to singing the same old song: poor acting, poor special effects, illogical plot. This is no science fiction film made that cannot be tarred with these claims, and Sound Of Thunder seems to have largely fallen foul of a badly timed release and a nest of reviewers out for blood.

This film is a great example of what-could-have-been and had it not been for the bankruptcy of the financial backer, this really would have been a summer blockbuster. The special effects are the one and only place this film falls short & to make matters worse, it's only about a third of them in the film that suffer. The ones that were finished make the ones that weren't look all the more like temporary animatics. Steel yourself for that and there's plenty here to enjoy.

For a big-screen adaptation, Bradbury's fifty-year old short story gets a reasonable make-over considering this is an industry that thrives in destroying the stories it adapts. Peter Hyams directs with a steady hand and keeps the plot skipping along nicely and the surprisingly high production values are evident both in the sets & costumes and the inventive use of the gradually decaying cityscapes. Ed Burns, Jemima Rooper and Ben Kingsley pull in admirable performances, well deserving of a second look.

Don't take my word for it though. The DVD's as cheap as chips, so why not find out for yourself?

Excellent Movie
Review date: 2007-10-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

After reading some of the negative reviews, I had to check to see that we were discussing the same movie.
As a long time admirer of Ray Bradbury and the owner of most of his works, all I can say is that this is a great movie. It's not the book, it's just based on it.
Bradbury wrote "A Sound of Thunder" in 1952 (I read it around 1956). Things move on people! It would have been impossible to make a movie containing Bradbury's subtle ending. One could almost say that the movie starts where the book ends.
This is a great film with good effects (watch for the scene right at the end where Catherine McCormack changes into a reptilian biped)
I watched this film whilst really unwell and it made me forget about the illness for a couple of hours.
Buy it and enjoy.



Low expectations are such a great thing!
Review date: 2007-09-24 Rating: 6 out of 10

After reading all those reviews below, I finally decided to see this movie, out of sheer curiosity. And I must admit that this is a bad movie -if you have any alternatives (like a dentist visit) do not waste your time on it. However, if you are totally desperate, here is the list of points that may make you consider watching it:
1. The vision of future Chicago. Now, I happen to know well "The Windy City" and I like this place very much. And the way future Chicago is shown, is just great - all principal features of the downtown were integrated in a future Metropolis-like city and it is great fun to watch. Also, I almost died with laughter, when I saw what men will wear in Chicago, around AD2080....
2. Although most of the special effects are cheap and low quality, the "time waves" are quite impressive and the gradual changes in the aspect of life on Earth at every next "wave" were not so silly at all. The grizzly-sized and wolverine-tempered reptilian "baboons" are actually quite well made - and it could be a nice idea to make another movie in which they actually evolved further, to full intelligence. They could make great villains...
3. The moment when dr Sonia Rand was transformed by the last "time wave", was hilarious... I actually found that this unsufferable chick looked better as a reptile with whiskers...
4. And finally, this is the only movie in which you can see Ben Kingsley with hair.... and you will never believe the COLOUR!! Have a vacuum cleaner handy, because you will probably throw popcorn on your TV out of sheer joy at his first appearance!

All in all, if you approach this movie with low expectations and treat it a little as a curious joke, well, you can spend a surprisingly relaxing evening....


Disappointing and Shoddy
Review date: 2007-08-19 Rating: 2 out of 10

It is not often that I'll use such words for a movie, but this film fails in so many different ways that I can't think of anything else that would make it past the Amazon profanity filter! The basic plot is based on the seminal cause and effect time travel tale penned by the Sci-Fi master Ray Bradbury, but other than the use of Time Safari Inc and the hunting of dinosaurs, little of the original tale remains. The exquisite subtelty of Bradbury's story devolves into a phantasmagoric slash fest with unpassably poor special effects and a lack of attention to detail. I watched with disbelief at how bad the green screened shots of the actors were set against the Chicago traffic of the future. The aspects were wrong, the scales were wrong, and quite frankly "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was more realistic! Unbelievable dialogue, Ed Burns and Ben Kingsley didn't seem to engage with it, and on the whole a poor production. What the hell was the stag beetle scene about?

My advice to you, after wasting an hour and a half of my life, and after I was *so* looking forward to the arrival of the movie of one of my favourite tales, is don't bother with this film, especially if you're a fan of the original story. As I said in the title of this review, Disappointing and Shoddy. What was the studio thinking?

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Edward Burns
Catherine McCormack
Jemima Rooper
David Oyelowo
Ben Kingsley

Creators:
Catherine McCormack (Primary Contributor)
Edward Burns (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900314596
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, PAL,
Release date: 2006-09-04
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 97 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: English (Original Language)

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