6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.4 |
Christina Milián stars as sassy cheer captain Lina Cruz, whose world is turned upside-down when her family moves from the urban streets of East Los Angeles to the sunny beach town of Malibu. At her new school, Lina clashes with Avery, the ultra-competitive all-star cheer captain, while also falling for Avery’s super-cute brother, Evan. Lina’s always been able to rise to a challenge, but can she create a new all-star squad, beat Avery at the Spirit Championships, and still keep her romance with Evan? Hot music, fierce competition and high-flyin’ fun continue in this all-new movie!
Starring: Christina Milian, Vanessa Born, Gabrielle Dennis, Rachele Brooke Smith, Cody AnthonyComedy | 100% |
Romance | 70% |
Teen | 46% |
Sport | 14% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 1.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Economics students and Turgot disciples rejoice! If ever there was a film franchise that effectively demonstrated the law of diminishing returns, it's the Bring It On series. That's right, series. You may have assumed director Peyton Reed's surprisingly successful turn-of-the-century teen flick was a one-hit wonder, you may have even thanked the cinematic gods accordingly, but Bring It On was merely the beginning. Four direct-to-video sequels have followed in its wake -- the aptly titled Bring It On Again, Bring It On: All or Nothing (starring Heroes' own Hayden Panettiere), Bring It On: In It to Win It and, most recently, Bring It On: Fight to the Finish -- each one desperately gutting its predecessor for spare parts, shamefully casting bright-eyed hopefuls as increasingly unlikeable cheerleaders, and cutting further swaths of destruction through a genre bereft with plodding, predictable drivel. But will teenage girls, the series' target audience, enjoy Fight to the Finish? I truly, deeply, sincerely hope not.
Move along. Nothing to see here...
If there is a highpoint to Bring It On: Fight to the Finish, it's undoubtedly Universal's competent (albeit uneven) 1080p/VC-1 transfer. Colors are bold, black levels are rich and resolved, and skintones are warm and healthy. Contrast is less consistent, dipping at inopportune times and overheating at others, but still imbuing the image with commendable depth and dimensionality. Likewise, detail is hit or miss: textures are crisp and edges are clean one minute, soft and spongy the next. While impressive shots thankfully dominate the proceedings, cheer-veterans and videophiles will probably be disappointed by the dull, at-times underwhelming appearance of several key scenes (including the All Star Championship sequences). Still, the film's summery jaunts through Malibu, its sun-drenched... ahem, cinematography, and its vibrant palette will satisfy anyone who finds themselves enjoying everything else the flick has to offer. More importantly, artifacting, banding, and edge enhancement (which are present to a negligible degree) are kept to a minimum, while other notable digital nuisances are nowhere to be found. All things considered, the transfer injects a bit of value into what's arguably a worthless release.
Unfortunately, Fight to the Finish's thin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track doesn't fare as well, mismanaging everything but the film's bass-beat soundtrack, producing a front-heavy listening experience, and fumbling the most fundamental aspects of its mix. Dialogue ranges from pinched to sharp, sacrificing natural tones in favor of boosted clarity and obvious looping. While few lines get buried beneath the cheerleading chaos, it's accomplished by capping the remaining soundscape anytime an actor opens their mouth. Similarly, LFE output is strong but forgettable, rear speaker activity is present but far too passive, and pans are swift but stocky. It doesn't help that accuracy is a joke, and dynamics are lacking. I doubt ecstatic teenage fans will care, but their more discerning parents (at least those who've been conned into watching the film) will raise an eyebrow.
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish tumbles onto Blu-ray with the same deluded fluff that appears on the DVD version. The lone highpoint of such a painful supplemental package? The majority of the video content is presented in high definition. Sorry, cheer-fans, that's all the praise I can muster.
Universal declined to send screeners for Bring It On: Fight to the Finish, and I can definitely see why. A terrible film, an uneven video transfer, a shallow DTS-HD Master Audio track, and a lame collection of special features isn't likely to elicit much kudos from critics. If you have a teenage daughter and absolutely can't avoid this one, save as much money as possible and rent Fight to the Finish. Otherwise, stay far, far away from this direct-to-video abomination and skip the sort of migraine I've spent the last hour trying to shake off.
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