Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Blu-ray Movie Review

You smile, I smile, because Justin Bieber is on Blu-ray!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 6, 2011

You haven't made it until you play New York and sell out the Garden.

It would be easy to follow the pack like a good little lemming and bash the living daylights out of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never because, of course, that's the cool thing to do. How many of the "1s" that currently make up the "1.2/10" cumulative score on the movie's IMDB page were given by people who didn't even see it and arbitrarily and numerically bashed it simply because of some anti-Bieber sentiment, doing their part to harm the movie on principles of overexposure and fatigue? Certainly there are probably a few legitimate "1s" in there and, yes, everyone is entitled to voice their opinions. The majority has spoken, that's for sure, but so too has the other majority, which is comprised of millions of screaming Bieber fans who oh-so-dearly want to open their hearts and their wallets for their idol, who continue to promote him and spur on his success. And guess what? Maybe there's more to Bieber and his success than a flick of the hair and good looks. Director Jon Chu's (Step Up 3D) Documentary film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never aims to show viewers the real Justin Bieber -- OK, OK, the Justin Bieber he and his agents want the world to see, but only the nuttiest of the conspiracy theory fruitcakes will claim there's not at least a semblance of truth here, if not more -- and unearth the soul inside the body. Surprise, there's actually some substance here, plenty of real musical talent, and a genuine boy who takes his stardom in stride, appreciates his God-given talents, and wants desperately to please his fans rather than himself. That doesn't sound so bad. And it's not.

2 die 4.

Justin Bieber is the first major celebrity born of the YouTube phenomenon. The Canadian native was gifted with a drum at an early age, and he mastered it immediately, moving on to bigger and better sets until his musical talents were honed and undeniable. A strong vocalist, too, Bieber put himself on the Internet for all to see and hear. That's exactly what Scooter Braun did; the music bigwig recognized the up-and-comer's talents and got the wheel turning on what would soon power a meteoric rise to success. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never reflects on the life of Justin Bieber while following him in the ten days leading up to a sellout concert at New York's famed Madison Square Garden, the sacred ground that's home to the Rangers and Knicks. While following Bieber, the film introduces viewers to those behind-the-scenes people who make it all happen: his mother, his maternal grandparents, his costumer, hairstylist, music director, security guard, manager, and vocal coach, not to mention his relationship with music acts such as Usher who embraced Bieber before the boom and encouraged his ascendancy to superstardom. As the MSG show grows near, Bieber is forced to make difficult choices and place his career -- both its future and in the here-and-now -- in perspective if he's to continue dazzling his fans as both a top musical act and a modern-day heartthrob the likes of which the world hasn't seen since, maybe, the King himself, Elvis Presley.

It's not easy being Bieber...or is it? It's all about the perspective, the value of the dream, making good use of God's blessings, and living with the ups and downs of the adoration and disdain that comes with the "Teen Sensation" territory. What's harder still is the raw amounts of energy the kid has to expend at every show, and does he ever use it all up. Bieber is like a kitten pouncing on a laser or chasing its littermate through the house for hours on end until it can't even walk back to its favorite sleeping spot. Bieber's life is one that's always on the move, his every action scrutinized, his voice pampered and guarded, and all he wants is to be a kid when he's not living his dream as a musician. He probably never imagined, back when he got his first drum or posted his first YouTube video, or when he placed second -- yes, second -- in a small-town talent show, that his stardom would explode to this level. It's difficult to fathom what lies behind the posters and the records and the videos and the tour dates, almost impossible to realize there's a human being back there, not some performer molded from grade-A pieces and carefully hand-crafted at some super-secret record company underground lair. Justin Bieber, at his core, is really just another one of the guys, a boy who still just wants to shoot hoops with his friends -- his real friends, not his showbiz industry "companions" -- and curl up in his own bed and get a good night's rest underneath his Toronto Maple Leafs blanket. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never is a genuinely moving and sometimes, even, compelling snapshot of the real Justin Bieber. Yes, the rumors of his superstardom are true and, yes, it more than anything impacts his every move in life, but it's refreshing to learn that there's a little something more to Justin Bieber than the media, the screaming fans, and the naysayers put out there for all to see and that have become the de facto "face" of Justin Bieber, replacing the humanity with something that's just not Justin.

Maybe the most remarkable thing that casual viewers might find fascinating about Justin Bieber is there's some honest-to-goodness musical talent in the kid; he's not just a pretty face and an expensive haircut. He demonstrated musical proficiency at a very young age, pure talent soon thereafter, and he's become an accomplished musician and a real, gifted singer, not just a product of digital sound engineering. Director Jon Chu's film is assembled from bits and pieces of Bieber's life, hitting all of the highlights while intermixing the star's ten-day journey to Madison Square Garden. The film is smartly-crafted in that it manages to tell two stories simultaneously, two stories that go hand-in-hand to be sure but that reinforce one another and paint a complete picture of the subject. Perhaps most refreshing is that Chu doesn't pull any punches; this isn't a glamorous documentary but instead a somewhat raw and always, it would seem, honest look at Bieber. The incredible amount of coddling he receives is jarring to be sure -- even for someone of his stature -- but so too is his dedication to his fans. Chu's best segment comes late in the film; Bieber is forced to cancel a show due to a sore throat and fatigue. He's disappointed, willing to throw his body into breakdown for the fans but is convinced to save his voice and, maybe, even, his career. Better to be a millionaire musician than some schmuck selling white walls to a guy on line two, supposedly. Aside from Bieber "the symbol" is Bieber "the music;" the film doesn't really put the music first, and probably rightfully so. It's made up of the kind of poppy beats that probably won't appeal to most people over the age of 16. Nevertheless, it's catchy in a fairly generic sense of the new wave of digital, pre-fabricated sort of music that's come to dominate the scene over the years. Chu smartly focuses almost exclusively on the person; the music is only a defining attribute, not the end-all, be-all of Justin Bieber. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never doesn't quite figure out whether it's the star or the music that's the real draw; a few on-the-street interviews with fans offer a mixture of answers but seem to favor the latter. Regardless, this is a quality film that, like the subject or not, deserves at least a modicum of respect for the insightfulness and honesty it provides, and it might even change one's opinion of both Justin Bieber and his true worth once the credits roll.

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never debuts on Blu-ray with a 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer that's a mixed bag of quality derived from a mixed bag of sources. The film features plenty of raw low-definition video that is sometimes so pixelated that the image practically dissolves into blocks of nothing, but this low-grade Internet footage, as well as lesser-quality materials sourced from home video cameras shooting at standard definition, don't factor into the final score; the quality is inherent to the source, and nothing's going to make them look better. As to the newer, HD video footage, it's a major step up from the rest of the material. Static interview shots could stand a bit more clarity and detail; they look quite flat, noisy, maybe a touch overly sharp, and play with a fair amount of background banding. Still, the film's primary elements consist of concert and backstage footage. The latter is of a mixed quality, but the former looks spectacular. Colors are splendidly vibrant; Bieber's purple garb practically leaps off the screen. Blacks are deep and true as the light dissipates into the recesses of the crowd. Detail is excellent, too; the textures of a microphone and Bieber's clothing are nicely revealed, and yes, every lock of hair is meticulously captured, particularly in a shot where his trademark hair flip is captured in super slow motion. The film's best-looking scenes move so fast that it's often hard to appreciate the quality of the transfer, but Paramount's 1080p Blu-ray image seems fairly representative of the natural state of the source. Note that Paramount has neither included nor released a Blu-ray 3D version of this film similar to what was shown in theaters.

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never features a blaring but concentrated and technically wondrous DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Still, there's not much body to anything outside the concert footage; it's all talk, talk, talk, which is to be expected, and the track may be forgiven for doing little more than to allow the spoken word to flow from the center speaker through most of the film, albeit with plenty of life and clarity. Once the music gets going, however, things kick into overdrive and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never transforms into a reference-quality listening experience. Never mind the actual quality of the music; it's the presentation of the music that is of concern here, and chances are good that this is about the best Justin Bieber has ever sounded for home consumption. The track pounds out note after note with first-rate power and clarity to match. Highs -- and there are a lot of pre-pubescent highs -- are wonderfully crisp and satisfying, from a purely technical perspective, of course. The midrange is solid, and the low end is strong but never crunchy or overwhelming. The surrounds carry music and screaming fans that penetrate deeply into the listening area and create a convincing reproduction of a Justin Bieber concert experience. Fans fortunate enough to live in a home with a quality home theater are liable to play this one over and over and over and over again.

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never features only a short allotment of extras that are little more than extensions of what may be seen in the film, save, primarily, for the "haircut" supplement. DVD and digital copies are also included.

• Concert Dance Off (1080p, 2:55): Some of Justin's dancers show off their moves during a concert.
• Favorite Girl (1080p, 2:00): Justin Bieber acoustically performs the song from high atop the crowd in a heart-shaped contraption. The scene is an extension of one seen in the film.
• R.I.P. Hair Flip (1080p, 2:55): On February 21, 2001, from an undisclosed location, the superstar got a haircut.
• Giving Back (1080p, 7:50): An extended look at Bieber's staff handing out free tickets to his shows.
• DVD Copy.
• Digital Copy: Sampled on an iPhone 4, this digital copy features energized, crisp music. Dialogue is a little crunchy, but the music is excellent. The video quality is strong, too, yielding crisp details and vibrant colors. Compression issues are kept to a tolerable minimum. This is sure to be a big hit on family trips for years to come.

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never isn't going to make the artist many new fans. Most will either like his music or not or fall in love with the image or not, and more still have already chosen sides before seeing the movie. Never Say Never is not going to change that. What it may very well, and frankly should, change is the perception of Justin Bieber. He seems like a likable enough kid who still enjoys going back to his modest suburban Canadian home, sleeping in his own bed, hanging with his friends, and seeing his fans's dreams come true. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never is an enlightening, occasionally entertaining, and sometimes touching -- how cool is it to see the honest exuberance and euphoria when fans are given free tickets or the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come up on stage with the star -- Documentary that exposes the boy behind the hair, and yes, there's an actual human being back there who gets sick, misses home, and even wears his heart on his sleeve, both literally and figuratively. Go ahead and bash the movie, but at least see it first, and consider this: love his music and his image or despise them both, think of all the genuine joy he brings to his fans. If Justin Bieber can for a moment or for a lifetime heal a hurt, ease a soul, alleviate a pain, or make someone's world a better place, then Justin Bieber is a good person to have around, particularly in these tough times. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never features good video and reference-quality audio, but fans might be disappointed with the relatively skimpy assortment of extras. Recommended to fans.