6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo "Shabba-Doo" Quinones and Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers combine talent and tenacity to save a community center from a greedy developer bent on building a shopping center in its place. The developer has city hall's approval, but the kids have heart and soul. And to raise money to keep the center alive, the crew pulls out all the stops, locks and pops in a dance show that will either make or break their cause!
Starring: Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo Quinones, Lela Rochon, Michael Chambers, Harry CaesarComedy | 100% |
Musical | 31% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Oh snap! It's the 1980s kids. Not the '80s of Transformers, He-Man and Rainbow Bright, or other Saturday morning fun for kids, mind you, but the '80s for adults: when soaring ballads and glam-rock anthems blared free, when flashy sunglasses and flashier pants were all the rage, and when slashers, dance offs, high-flying mavericks and unstoppable killing machines from the future dominated the box office. And what, oh what, could possibly be more 1980s than cult dance-flick classic Breakin' and, depending on who you ask, the best-slash-worst titled sequel of all time, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. (Not sure if it's the "electric" or the "boogaloo" that does it, but it's so gratifying to say out loud. Try it with me. Electric Boogaloo. Shivers.) I was too deep in the Transformers and He-Man camp to pay much attention to teen and young adult culture of the decade, but hoo boy, did my little grade-school mind miss out on a wild double feature. Breakin' is a solid bit of genre fun, packed with music, dancing and a give-it-all-or-get out bunch of young actors eager to leave their mark on the screen. Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo... well, it'll always have that title. Sandpiper is releasing both (or perhaps re-issuing each film separately, as they were first made available on Blu-ray from Shout Factory in a now out-of-print 2015 two-film edition), and there's no better time than the present to pony up and enjoy two slices of '80s cheese.
Still over here whispering the words "electric boogaloo" to myself. It's sad but I love it. Anywho, Sandpiper's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer looks great. Moreover, it appears to be the same presentation as that which was first made available by Shout Factory on the now out-of-print 2015 two-film edition release. (If it is a different transfer, screenshots suggest they are, at the very least, virtually indistinguishable from one another.) Colors are bold and convincingly lifelike, albeit a bit oversaturated at times (as was the case with Breakin'). Primaries pop and black levels are well represented, without interfering with delineation. Likewise, contrast and detail are quite remarkable, with somewhat crisp fine textures and precisely defined edges. It all looks quite natural, even with its noticeable grain field, and the image honors the original photography faithfully. There is some softness to several shots and sequences, particularly dance numbers as the camera swoops around the stage, but on the whole, there isn't anything significant to get worked up about. Add to that a lack of banding, compression artifacts and other lil' uglies and you have a presentation that delivers.
Like Breakin', Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo only includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix. But for one reason or another, it does sound slightly fuller than the track included with the first film. Dialogue is once again clear and intelligible, with good prioritization. The music sounds reasonably engaging, even without low-end support or rear speaker activity, and there isn't much in the way of overly aged traits. Electric Boogaloo still sounds like a forty-year-old flick, but not in any way that detracts from the nostalgia or the experience. Quite the opposite.
While the now out-of-print 2015 Shout Factory two-film release included an Electric Boogaloo commentary with director Sam Firstenberg, actor Adolfo "Shabba-Doo" Quinones and editor Marcus Manton, the 2023 Sandpiper edition only includes the sequel's theatrical trailer.
It may not be that good of a film, but that title alone -- not to mention its connections to the first Breakin' -- Electric Boogaloo is a distinctly dated but delightfully silly blast from the '80s past. Sandpiper's Blu-ray brings some of that same fun with it too, with a strong AV presentation that won't drum up complaints. Yeah, it would've been nice to see a new remaster and full supplemental retrospective but, and I can't remind you of these two words enough, Electric Boogaloo. I say go for it. It's not nearly as entertaining as the first film but why not grab both anyway and enjoy a crazy dance-forward twofer?
(Still not reliable for this title)
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