Footloose - Blu-ray Review

4.4 Stars (out of 5) - Rated

Synopsis

This musical remake of the infectious 1984 hit finds dance-lovin', big-city kid Ren MacCormack stuck in a small town where dancing is illegal. As he rebels against the town and its influential Rev. Moore, Ren falls for the pastor's lovely daughter. (Buy Now $21.99)

Listen to the Review

Starring:

Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, Ziah Colon, Ray McKinnon, Miles Teller, Ser'Darius William Blain, Patrick Flueger, Andie MacDowell, Maggie Jones

Director:

Craig Brewer

Blu-ray Release Date:

March 6, 2011

Subtitles:

English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 4.5 Stars (out of 5)http://www.kefdirect.com/

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison

• Subwoofer – 5.0 Stars
• Dialog – 5.0 Stars
• Surround Effects – 3.0 Stars
• Dynamic Range – 4.5 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1

Thinking it to just be a dance movie, I didn’t expect too much from the audio performance. However, Footloose has more to offer than just pumping out all styles of music to turn your living room into a dance floor. Of course the music does sound great. Drum heavy music vibrates the couch and fills the room with rhythmic energy. I didn’t expect to hear crushing car crashes, bass rumbling automobile engines, and heavy foot stomping dance sequences. Dialog has great clarity and flat sounding is the last thing you will think about this mix. However, I was disappointed in the surround effects. Every once in a while you’ll hear some crickets, and some car related action spilling into the rear channels, but expect Footloose to be a front heavy audio presentation that still gives an impressive performance.

Video 4.7 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison

• Color Accuracy  - 5.0 Stars
• Shadow detail – 4.0 Stars
• Clarity – 4.5 Stars
• Skin tones – 5.0 Stars
• Compression – 5.0 Stars

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1, Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Footloose has a warm and lush color pallet that draws your attention to rebellious bright red boots and striking blue eyes of a few of the stars in the film. Clarity is clean enough to bring out the details on aging chipped paint on buildings, grains of sand on country dirt roads, stitching on denim jeans, wrinkles on faces, and details on intricate patterns of ties. Film grain is light and natural looking, and no compression issues were noticed. Dark colors look great however, in dark scenes details are lost to the shadows.

Bonus Features 3.5 Stars (out of 5)

• Audio Commentary: Provided  by Director Craig Bower.
• Jump Back: Re-Imagining Footloose (1080p, 14:46): A decent short that gives insite on updating the 80’s favorite for a new generatioin.
• Everybody Cut: The Stars of Footloose (1080p, 12:59): Gives a closer look into casting the movie.
• Dancing with the Footloose Stars (1080p, 12:39): Dives into creating the dance moves for the film.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 6:54): Ariel and Rusty Drive, Ren's Gym Flip, Reverend Shaw's Speech, Willard's Bloody Nose, and Roger Argues with the Moores. Available with optional director commentary.
• Music Videos (1080p): "Footloose" by Blake Shelton (4:24), "Fake ID" by Big & Rich (3:32), and "Holding Out for a Hero" by Ella Mae Brown (4:22).
• Footloose Rap (1080p, 2:01): A Rap video remade for the new movie by Emily Whitcomb.
• UV Copy.
• DVD Copy.

Movie - 3.5 Stars (out of 5)

Review

In recent years it seems like lots of films reliving the 1980s have been made. Dance flicks have also found an audience, so it would make since to remake Footloose. I have to admit I wasn’t looking forward to watching this film. I expected it to be corny and unnatural but instead I found it to be fun, young spirited, with a few meaningful messages. A town that outlawed dancing sounds ridiculous, but this film put some effort to into making it seem probable. Dancing is important for this movie, but it’s not a movie about dancing. Footloose focuses on the rebellious nature of teenagers and the urge for parents to be too protective of their children.

This remake is paced like an action film. Every couple of scenes there’s a well choreographed dance sequence, an unexpected fight, or car crash. Most of the actors are unknowns, but they all pull off decent performances and help breathe life into the storyline. The script does have a few plot holes in it, but nothing big enough to derail the ride. I wouldn’t call this a family film, it’s a little too racy for that. I think it’s a great movie for teenagers who might find themselves identifying with a character or two. It might even become a favorite for many people just like the original was in the 1980’s.