HOURS DVD Review
Hours is ninety minutes of sensation. In one of his final performances, Paul Walker delivers audiences a story of survival against the odds as his character struggles to keep his newborn daughter alive under circumstances that if you described them as less than ideal, you’d be sugar coating matters.
Set in New Orleans in the midst of Hurricane Katrina, Nolan Hayes (Walker) suffers the loss of his wife while she gives birth to their daughter – five weeks premature. The situation is further complicated by the raging storm that forces the evacuation of the hospital.
In a failed effort to safe guard all patients, Hayes and his daughter are trapped in the hospital by her need for a ventilator, unable to breathe on her own and unable to be moved. A combination of inadequate planning and lack of resources puts Hayes on the clock.
When the electricity fails and the back-up generator loses power, Hayes discovers that the battery meant to extend the life support unit is inadequate. Forced to stay awake for 48 hours straight, Hayes encounters challenges that range from being unprepared to change diapers to armed looters threatening their lives.
As Hayes holds out for help that may never come, engaged in a one-sided conversation, he learns that despite his initial instincts, he will do whatever it takes to protect his infant daughter, Abigail.
In essentially a one-man pity party turned heroes tale, Hayes spends an excruciating two days torn between memories of his recently deceased wife (played by Genesis Rodriguez) and succumbing to his exhaustion before eventually being rescued thanks to an unlikely friend.
The DVD version of Hours is severely lacking in bonus features. Lionsgate fails to capitalize on an incredibly powerful film. The extras are limited to a music video and trailers for other films from the studio. If you were looking for any insight from behind the scenes, you won’t find it on this disc (although this could be partially a result of Walker’s untimely and tragic death prior to the release of the film).
Other than this oversight, Hours looks and sound great on DVD. Coupled with an inspirational story, Hours is worth watching more than once. This film is slightly different than the action-based narrative that you are probably used to seeing Walker in, but his performance will quickly distract you from the lack of fast moving vehicles absent from the screen.
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