Rating summary
| Movie |  | 4.0 |
| Video |  | 4.5 |
| Audio | | 4.0 |
| Extras |  | 1.5 |
| Overall | | 4.0 |
Mötley Crüe: The End - Live in Los Angeles Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 3, 2016
Forgive someone who has lived through supposed “goodbye” tours only to see bands or individuals turning around to say “hello” again once they
realized their coffers might need restuffing, but I’m not totally buying this “the end” part of what was ostensibly Mötley Crüe’s literal swan
song
as a touring entity, captured here in a New Year’s Eve 2015 concert in Los Angeles in the Staples Center. My personal skepticism aside, it’s obvious
from
an opening montage which contains statements from some of the band along with a lot of tears and overwrought emotions from the gathered
multitudes that this concert was seen as an historic event by the participants, both those onstage and those out in the audience. Graced (or
burdened,
depending on your point of view) with a completely hyperbolic production which includes everything from Nikki Sixx’s bass spitting fire scores of
feet to a
kind of cool “roller coaster” waggishly dubbed Tommy Lee’s Crüecify, this is a show that engages the eyes as well as the ears. The visuals are
outlandish
in a typically arena rock sort of way, but the sonics are often just as spectacular, though rather oddly presented at times (as discussed below in the
audio
section of the review).
The band's set list includes:
1. Girls, Girls, Girls
2. Wild Side
3. Primal Scream
4. Same Ol' Situation
5. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
6. Rock 'n' Roll Part II / Smokin' in the Boys Room
7. Looks That Kill
9. In the Beginning / Shout at the Devil
10. Louder than Hell
11. Drum Solo
12. Guitar Solo
13. Saints of Los Angeles
14. Live Wire
15. T.N.T. (Terror 'n Tinseltown) / Dr. Feelgood
16. Kickstart My Heart
17. Home Sweet Home
Mötley Crüe: The End - Live in Los Angeles Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Mötley Crüe: The End Live in Los Angeles is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and
Universal Music Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.90:1. This is by and large a great looking presentation, though it tips right up to the
edge of some issues with regards to huge lit displays behind the band, displays which, when combined with some strobe lighting effects, at least give
the
impression of leaning toward instability. Black levels are just a little milky at times, especially in some shots taken from out in the audience, but
otherwise detail levels are commendably high, especially in close-ups. There's some pretty bad banding during the Eagle Rock masthead, but the actual
concert never shows the same issue.
Mötley Crüe: The End - Live in Los Angeles Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
I'm just a little conflicted about Mötley Crüe: The End Live in Los Angeles' LPCM 2.0 and (especially) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks, since,
while fidelity is excellent and clarity also great, it seems that whoever mixed this wanted to give it more of a sense of how things sounded in
the
Staples Center, leading to a somewhat diffused and even phased ambience (especially in the surround track). There's a kind of peculiar "distance" that
includes what I consider to be an overly wet (i.e., reverb heavy) sound for Vince Neil's vocals, and the audience sounds are often pretty overwhelming
and
some might consider intrusive. Take a listen over the band's exit and closing credits for this concert, when a cheeky use of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" is
utilized. The phasing and distance are quite marked in the surround version, though it's notable that amplitude spikes noticeably once the Sinatra pre-
record starts up. I have to think this was done purposefully, and some may actually like the
"real" sounding ambience, but I found I had to crank my receiver up pretty high (much higher than I typically do) in order to fully enjoy the sonics on
display here. Others' mileage may of course vary.
Mötley Crüe: The End - Live in Los Angeles Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
- Interviews (1080p; 35:53)
- Nikki's Flamethrower Bass (1080p; 3:54)
- Tommy's Drum Rig (1080p; 5:32)
Additionally, the digipack comes with a bonus CD of the concert.
Mötley Crüe: The End - Live in Los Angeles Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
To kinda sorta paraphrase one Jim Morrison, this may or may not be "the end", but it finds Mötley Crüe in fine fettle, giving a huge and rapturous
audience both an eyeful and an earful. Video is excellent, but I personally had a few qualms with the audio on this release. Recommended.
