Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Battle of the Year Blu-ray Movie Review

A B-Ball coach schools B-Boys on how to B-Champions.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 12, 2013

Act like champions, be champions.

It seems like reviews for modern Dance movies are always the same. Pick any one, then pick any review (preferably here at Blu-ray.com) and find quotes similar to "intense, exciting, incredible dance mechanics," "terrific choreography," "hopelessly cliché story," and "an honest effort at finding a heart and soul amidst all of the plot unoriginality and repeat characters." Well, no surprise, and sigh, all of those apply to Battle of the Year, the latest film to follow in the footsteps of pictures like You Got Served: Beat the World and Stomp the Yard (and its lesser and even more cliché follow-up Homecoming) and to earn mediocre reviews praising its dance and knocking down most everything else. These movies are always meant to be more focused experiences rather than broad crowd-pleasers. Chances are a whole lot of movie-goers never even heard the term "B-boy" before this movie and, if they did, probably thought it was slang for some naughty sexual act or the nickname of a certain teen heartthrob. No worries, Battle of the Year catches its audience up on the B-boy and Hip-Hop culture in its opening act, making sure to pack all of the exposition with, yes, as much cliché as cinematically possible before piling on some more for the duration.

B-strong 2-gether.

Dante Graham (Laz Alonso) is a self-made man, an empire-builder whose lifelong joy, and business success, has come from B-boying. Things aren't look good for the future. While B-boying is popular overseas, it's losing popularity in the States. The U.S. has lost the "Battle of the Year" competition -- the annual Super Bowl of B-boying -- for fifteen straight years. For his business success, his pride, and for his love of B-boying, he sets out to save it from falling into obscurity. He hires former B-boy sensation and teammate Jason "WB" Blake (Josh Holloway), a widower and drunkard, to save the American B-boy scene and win the coveted battle. WB hires one of Dante's obscure employees, a B-boy fan named Franklyn (Josh Peck), to serve as his assistant coach. WB also ditches the current team -- it's plateaued, he believes -- in favor of building a B-boy "Dream Team" from the best the country has to offer. As the team prepares for competition, it must overcome a number of hurdles on the way to greatness.

Cinema connoisseurs, admirers of film-as-art, and those who crave at least a semblance of originality in their movies, turn away now. Battle of the Year offers next to nothing for anybody outside of its target audience, which consists of the "millions" of people who have watched Planet B-Boy on Netflix, if the movie's statistic is to be believed. This is a targeted film to be sure, though how much even diehard fans of the B-boy culture will love it remains up in the air, particularly considering its paltry box office returns. Sure, it dazzles with its display of breakdancing (a media-coined term, again if the film's facts are correct) but also seems to dumb down a lot of the periphery to more effortlessly welcome all of those people who think a B-boy is an athlete who plays on the second string of the basketball team or a student who earns a grade between "C" and "A." Certainly, fans and newcomers alike will at least find themselves nearly possessed as they watch superhuman dancers perform some of the most complex patterns and execute some of the most intense maneuvers ever captured for the movies. It's truly a sight to behold, and the film certainly earns that aforementioned "A" grade for its dance numbers and choreography (as the review drifts towards that dreaded Dance movie review cliché territory of its own). The film certainly gives its best elsewhere, but none of the drama comes close to matching the intensity of the moves.

To pile on the Dance movie review cliché, Battle of the Year shows glimpses of positives but never does overcome the challenge of turning its "been there, done that" structure into anything but just that. Josh Holloway does give the film his all as he makes the transition from mopey widower and drunkard to excited and confident coach. Though he only works through simplistic plot devices, he gives the character a believable air and engenders a bit of sympathy, enough to root him on through to the, mostly, predictable end. His character parallels the entire arc, really. He's a has-been that's lost his edge on the big stage. That describes America's B-boy team, too, a collection of talented folks who have no more room to rise in the ranks, requiring a discarding of the old and an embracing of the new. There are some genuinely nice moments in the film, a few that, even through the haze of unoriginality, show an honest-to-goodness beating heart and a soul that's at least in the right place and on the right track (more Dance movie review cliché). There's enough to tolerate in the filler to make the transition from one dance scene to the next a passable experience, but audiences -- whether longtime B-boy fans or newcomers -- shouldn't expect to see anything they haven't seen before.

Battle of the Year Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Battle of the Year is another top-end picture quality disc from Sony. The digital photography looks a touch smooth and flat, at times, but more often than not the imagery is dynamic, revealing bold, satisfying colors and crisp, well-defined details. The palette is particularly brilliant during the final dance numbers, even amidst some dark backdrops and considering a bit of dark clothing. International flags, LCD signs, and all variety of showy colors look fantastic. Black levels are rock-solid, and flesh tones appear accurate. Image detailing rates highly, too. Clothing lines and facial textures are terrific, as are concrete walls, the scuffed hardwood floors of the practice area, and the cleaner lines of Dante's high-class offices. The image suffers through some light yet distracting banding in a few places, but this is otherwise a near perfect image across the board.

Battle of the Year Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Battle of the Year blasts onto Blu-ray with a loud and invigorating DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Most of the track's biggest moments come from huge, blasting Hip Hop tunes that rock the house with authority. Spacing is wide, volume intense, bass deep, and clarity, through it all, still high. The stage explodes into B-boy battles every time, the dynamics and aggressive presence drawing the audience into the world nearly as well as the dance itself. Crowd noise is equally exciting and enveloping in the film's bookend moments; if the listeners don't feel like they are on the stage, they'll definitely feel like a part of the crowd. Most of the rest of the film consists of very light ambiance and dialogue. The spoken word comes through expertly from the center, with a good little bit of reverberation when necessary, such as in those scenes inside the practice gymnasium. All around, this is a dynamic track that fans of B-boying or the Hip Hop music will love.

Battle of the Year Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Battle of the Year contains four featurettes.

• Extended Dance Sequences (HD): Gym Battle (3:31), Inside/Outside (1:36), and USA vs. Russia Battle (4:48).
• This is Planet B-Boy: Inside the Culture (HD, 8:53): Cast and crew share the history of B-boying, its evolution, the dance style, their own history of participating, media portrayal of the culture, the thought processes and lifestyle of the typical B-boy, B-boy dedication to the art, natural versus made talent, and more.
• The Art of B-Boying: A Guide to Breaking (HD, 7:14): Cast and crew discuss specific B-boy moves and B-boy stage names.
• Preparing for Battle: Training and Rehearsals (HD, 9:33): An interesting examination of the preparation process, both for the cast's physical training needs and the project's acting requirements.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• UV Digital Copy.

Battle of the Year Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Most reviews for Battle of the Year, including this one, are filled with just as much Dance movie cliché as the movie itself. But considering there's nothing new here, there's really no other way for a reviewer to beat the proverbial dead horse. Battle of the Year fares a bit better than some of the others of its kind, and, for the most part, it's a forgettably enjoyable experience away from the big explosions and special effects or, on the other hand, the maudlin, meandering dramas that are so prevalent these days. There's absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt nothing new here, but the dance routines are hot and the emotional core satisfies in a very base sort of way. It's worth a watch, but don't expect the film to step up and beat the world. Sony's Blu-ray 2D release of Battle of the Year delivers a tight picture, happening sound, and a few extras. Recommended as a buy to Dance movie and B-boy fans, recommended as a rental for others.