Drew Hardin

Video: 4
Audio: 5
Extras: 3
Director John Moore had a lot going for him when he helmed this 2004 remake of the 1965 original. He used CGI and other effects barely dreamed of 40 years ago to create the harrowing plane crash that sets the plot in motion. Can the survivors escape the desert that threatens to kill them? Moore also effectively filmed his African location using aerial photography and wide-angle lenses to portray its vastness, eliminating much of the original film's stage-play feel. What Moore didn't have, though, were actors like Jimmy Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, and the rest of the original cast. The new players are good (Giovanni Ribisi is a stand-out), but they tend to lean on the special effects to create the suspense and drama that the original actors could muster alone.