Herbie Rides Again Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Herbie Rides Again Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 5, 2017

Good old #53 is back! The lovable Love Bug that starred in the lovably affable 1968 film appropriately titled The Love Bug returns in the first follow-up that sees the car with a mind of its own play a key role in a burgeoning romance and interfering with a land developer who wants to kick Herbie's current owner out of her home. Comic mischief will certainly follow as the car and the characters find themselves driven towards destiny in the readily identifiable compact car that has a penchant for keeping people in line and saving the day with its own brand of antics. The sequel is a fun little diversion of a movie, not as memorable as the first but a quality follow-up that more furthers the adventures rather than continue directly with the story from the previous outing.

Herbie: Jouster.

Alonzo Hawk (Keenan Wynn) is a ruthless developer who is demolishing buildings left and right to make way for his new and improved visions for commerce and the future. He's all set to unveil and begin construction on his latest property, a mammoth H-shaped structure in the heart of San Francisco. All that's standing in his way is a single old firehouse that the demure and widowed grandmother Mrs. Steinmetz (Helen Hayes) calls home. And she's not going to budge, not for all the money Hawk can throw her way. When Hawk's eager nephew Willoughby Whitfield (Ken Berry) comes knocking and looking for an opportunity to work for his uncle, Hawk puts him on the Steinmetz case. While Grandma Steinmetz doesn't clue into his intentions right off the bat, her granddaughter Nicole (Stefanie Powers) and self-aware car Herbie most certainly do. Willoughby disses Herbie, much to Nicole's delight; the car takes him for a tried-and-true Herbie ride through San Francisco like only it can. Willoughby comes to understand Herbie and falls for Nicole, but Hawk will certainly stop at nothing to get his way and get that land.

As expected from the Herbie series, Rides Again is light, lovable fare, a simple film with modest goals and near threadbare narrative and dramatic qualities. But even as the film doesn't exactly innovate in terms of the nuts-and-bolts storyline -- romance developing out of a bad situation, an evil land developer working to force out an elderly holdout -- it satisfies with its purity of spirit and its elegantly simple approachability. The film maneuvers through basic dramatic ebbs and flows but tickles the funny bone every chance it gets as Herbie toys with passengers who put him down, participates in an automotive jousting tournament, and at one point even drives along the outer ledges ringing a high rise building. Audiences will get their time and money's worth. The movie makes no bones about being anything but basic entertainment, a vessel for a few unique laughs and an enjoyably developed romance facilitated by a car that's teeming with personality even if, beyond its ever-present and tell-tale #53 sticker, could be any old Bug off the street.

Herbie Rides Again Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Herbie Rides Again zooms onto Blu-ray with a proficient and enjoyable 1080p transfer. Details are crisp and well defined, generally, with only a handful of smoother, less intensively dynamic and complex examples, usually on skin textures. Generally, though, facial details are strong, clothing details sharp, and environments clear and very well defined. Colors are robust and accurate, whether bright red attire or more grounded, grayer city elements. Black levels are impressively deep and flesh tones appear accurate. The image is pleasantly filmic, and only the occasional speckle intrudes onto an otherwise satisfying image.

Herbie Rides Again Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Herbie Rides Again putters onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, but one wouldn't know it by listening alone. This is an unsubstantial track. Collapsing buildings at the beginning barely register even underneath the timid, front-heavy music that doesn't exactly stretch the stage or offer lifelike reproduction. Clarity is acceptable, but there's absolutely no sense of power or vitality; even at reference level there's no serious push. Even the most intensive elements, like crashing car fenders, fail to offer more than cursory crunch. Dialogue is shallow but sufficiently clear and positioned in the front-center. Be prepared to yank up that volume.

Herbie Rides Again Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Disney Movie Club Blu-ray release of Herbie Rides Again contains no supplemental content.

Herbie Rides Again Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Herbie Rides Again hardly qualifies as meaningful cinema, but it's a spirited, enjoyable film in its own right, a light, agreeable romp that questionably plays with unimaginative narrative content but finds the frivolity and joy in it all, anyway. The car is teeming with personality, the characters are likable, and the antics earn more than a few laughs. It's a good, relaxing little movie that hits every note. Disney's Blu-ray, currently exclusive to the company's online movie club, features solid video. Audio is passable. Supplements are nonexistent. Recommend on the quality of the film and the strength of the 1080p transfer.