Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44378 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-12-07
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Live, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 78 minutes

Amazon.com
Strictly for kids, this 1999 live-action feature version of the popular cartoon series seems long even at 80 minutes. As a video, it's easier to take and appreciate for what works best in the story: the special effects. Matthew Broderick plays the security guard who is physically transformed into a multi-use cyborg with a zillion attachments, from stilts to helicopter blades to skis. A crimefighter in raincoat and fedora, and equipped with a nifty Gadgetmobile, the hero investigates the death of a man linked to the villainous Sanford Scolex (Rupert Everett). Scolex, who blames Gadget for having to wear a prosthetic hand, develops an evil robot twin of the good inspector, causing much mischief and giving Broderick an opportunity to poke fun at his own performance of the virtuous Inspector. The action is shaky, the script plods along, and the effects soon take over; Everett has to go to the extremes of hamminess just to be seen above it. But children of a certain age will almost certainly engage with the more clever stuff and forgive the rest. --Tom Keogh

From The New Yorker
A short, meaningless blast of fun from Disney. The TV series is expanded, but not by much; the special effects have a cheerful, magic-toyshop feel to them, and the plot is equally low-tech. A humble security guard (Matthew Broderick) is blown up and then reconstituted; under his trademark raincoat (which makes him look like a dirty old man) lurk a thousand gizmos. Each of his fingertips, for instance, contains a different tool, and his head can fly upward on a spring. Thus accoutred, our man is ready to fight the force of evil, as incarnated in the unlikely person of Rupert Everett. A quandary: should Broderick and Everett be embarrassed to find themselves in this fluff, or should we be grateful that they agreed to lend it a little class? The quantity and intensity of product placement, including a last-minute plug for Disneyland, is a triumph of the publicist's art; it's a shame that the movie lags so far behind. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

An Adroit Live Action Master Work
Inspector Gadget offers more than you'd expect from a superhero blockbuster with dazzling special effects and a well-written script. The casting is the true strength of the film. Matthew Broderick has always won critical acclaim, due to his superb acting versatility in films including War Games, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Cable Guy, and Godzilla. In his finest performance, Broderick transforms the two dimensional cartoon character made famous by Don Adams, from a security guard into a compassionate, crimefighting cyborg, made up of equal parts of "MacGyver" and "Robocop" with tear-jerking results.

Inspector Gadget DVD Review: It's actually not that bad
I was expecting a bad film but you know what. I enjoyed it. I actually liked the movie. It's definitely not below average.

Matthew Broderick is actually a good Inspector Gadget. I think with the way movies are, many people tend to want to see a different Inspector Gadget, perhaps someone more violent. Well, if that's the case...there is the Criterion edition of Robocop with the added gory scenes that you can buy. This movie was made for kids as was the cartoon and I'm a kid at heart because I grew up with the show.

One of the things you'll notice is that it's a Disney DVD with extra's. Yes, it's a miracle isn't it. The majority of all Disney DVD's don't have squat in them. This one has a 30 minute featurette on "Go Inside Inspector Gadget". It also has a music video from Youngstown and the trailer. Not bad Disney...keep adding more! Also, the sound is well done with the 5.1. Good use of the rear channels!

One negative was the layer change. It was during a so-so important scene and that was not good to place it in that area of the movie. They could of put it somewhere else.

Otherwise a good movie for the young teens. As for little children, not sure...seeing Broderick with his head backwards or seeing him get blown up may frighten the little children.

Otherwise, this DVD is worth purchasing.

Inspector Gadget - a movie that your family will enjoy!
I know that the movie didn't do as well in the box office and that critics bashed it. The question is why I bought this DVD. I have a few reasons actually. #1) I was a big fan of the animated series as a child. #2) I like Disney films #3) It was on sale. Three major reasons and yet I even struggled to watch it because it was bashed on so much and it was only 78 minutes long.

So, I was expecting a bad film but you know what. I enjoyed it. I actually liked the movie. It's definitely not below average.

Matthew Broderick is actually a good Inspector Gadget. I think with the way movies are, many people tend to want to see a different Inspector Gadget, perhaps someone more violent. Well, if that's the case...there is the Criterion edition of Robocop with the added gory scenes that you can buy. This movie was made for kids as was the cartoon and I'm a kid at heart because I grew up with the show.

One of the things you'll notice is that it's a Disney DVD with extra's. Yes, it's a miracle isn't it. The majority of all Disney DVD's don't have squat in them. This one has a 30 minute featurette on "Go Inside Inspector Gadget". It also has a music video from Youngstown and the trailer. Not bad Disney...keep adding more! Also, the sound is well done with the 5.1. Good use of the rear channels!

One negative was the layer change. It was during a so-so important scene and that was not good to place it in that area of the movie. They could of put it somewhere else.

Otherwise a good movie for the young ones. Just a little warning for parents with younger children: Seeing Broderick with his head backwards or seeing him get blown up may frighten your child.

So, all in all an enjoyable movie for the family.