Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

High Risk. High Octane. No Safety Nets Allowed.

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown November 12, 2012

On the difference between Jackass and Nitro Circus, Jackass frontman Johnny Knoxville muses "same mother, different daddies." Despite its more juvenille antics, though, Jackass is the older, wiser and decidedly more entertaining MTV offspring, and that's never been more obvious than in Nitro Circus: The Movie. The stunts are spectacular, no argument here. The near-death encounters are unnerving, no doubt. And there's real talent on display, talent that goes beyond attaching painful item A to sensitive appendage B and being launched across wince-inducing location C. So how is it that, on film, Nitro's stunts seem to fall so flat? Jackass and its feature films are fueled by personality, shamelessness and depraved audacity, a big screen trifecta for the rowdy young male set. It's been enormously successful too; hundreds of millions of dollars successful, which shouldn't be discounted or dismissed. The Jackass boys are maniacs, but they're shrewd maniacs; crowd pleasers who've built an audience of ravenous fans. The problem is that Nitro Circus: The Movie tries to make Travis Pastrana and his assembled personalities the stars of the show rather than their blood-drawing, bone-splitting, neck-snapping stunts, and the Nitro daredevils are much better at entertaining from afar.

Nitro Circus started very organically with a group of friends. It's a childhood dream manifesting itself in the present moment. People are so conditioned in watching movies that they all think it's fake. There's real life on the line in what Nitro does. To get to a live tour and actually pull it off. It is insanity, it is not possible. Nitro is about trying to find where it's not possible to go... and then going there.

Enormous effort is invested in hoisting up the Nitro Circus regulars and their craft, typically to all too tiresome ends. Johnny Knoxville, Jackass producer Jeff Tremaine, actor Channing Tatum, pro skateboarders, racers, extreme sports stars and even The Movie's own filmmakers pop up through the film to explain just how amazing the stunts, stuntmen and resulting movie are, which tends to make the 92-minute release feel like the longest theatrical trailer ever. Imagine Spielberg and Daniel Day Lewis appearing mid-Lincoln to tout the Oscar hopeful's historical accuracy. Or Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig interrupting Skyfall to make sure you know how much you should be enjoying yourself. No need to continue selling me the product gentlemen, I'm already halfway through. Factor in the tame, hit-or-miss humor, the wild shifts in tone, the lurching from juvenille hijinks to genuinely unsettling drama (a botched car flip almost brings Jim DeChamp's time on the planet to an end), and the fact that it all plays out like a TV series' greatest moments reel -- just with a bigger budget and a flashy 3D experience -- and there isn't a lot to go on. The stunts are bold, breathtaking and absolutely bonkers; the film is just strangely and surprisingly dull.

The go-nowhere buildup to Nitro Circus' climactic performance in Las Vegas is even worse. After teasing the team's upcoming live show for the better part of an hour-and-a-half, we get a whopping four-and-a-half minutes of event footage, and even that is intercut with more shots of elation and glory than the stunts. It's a shame too. A backstage documentary about the team's preparation for a large-scale live performance would have been infinitely more compelling and invigorating. Instead, we're treated to a neatly packaged hodgepodge of high intensity beats that never really come together or shed light on why the Nitro boys (and girl) would risk their lives and well being, day in and day out, for little more than a thrill and a slow-mo shot of someone narrowly escaping the Reaper. When we hear from Pastrana, DeChamp, Andy Bell, Jolene Van Vugt and the others, we don't get a sense of their relationships, just their innate comradery. We don't get a glimpse into their personal lives, just their horseplay. We don't learn what makes them tick, just how many feet away from certain death the last stunt brought them. Even more introspective, dramatic moments -- I can't help but go back to DeChamp's car flip gone awry -- are all too fleeting, despite delivering something truly different from Jackass and other extreme sports productions.

Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aside from a bit of minor noise, aliasing, flickering and ringing, none of which spoils the high octane proceedings, Nitro Circus: The Movie's 1080p/MVC and AVC-encoded 3D and 2D video transfers look terrific. Colors are bright and brilliant, primaries pack a wallop, black levels are deep, and contrast is vibrant and consistent throughout. Detail is quite good too, with crisp (albeit slightly enhanced) edges, a number of unexpectedly well-resolved fine textures, and only a handful of standard definition in-car, on-boat, bike-mounted camera shots that aren't up to standard. But every anomaly in these shots is inherited, and none of it appears to trace back to the encode itself. Macroblocking, banding and other issues aren't in play, and the aforementioned aliasing primarily pops up during the film's 3D presentation. Be that as it may, the 3D experience is a lot of fun and adds welcome value to an already impressive AV package. With a variety of scenes filmed in native 3D, Nitro Circus exhibits convincing depth and dimensionality, even though the 3D effect comes and goes to reasonable degrees. Fans whose 3D displays and glasses are prone to ghosting won't run into many issues either, leaving very little to complain about other than source quirks. I doubt this one could look much better.

Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Or sound much better for that matter. Nitro Circus: The Movie features an electrifying DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that pulls off a few thrilling stunts of its own. Low-end output hits hard and hits often, throwing the full weight of the LFE channel behind every crash, crunch, flip, roll and wreck. Rear speaker activity is involving too, even if the film's music dominates the soundfield. There's still plenty of ambient effects, exploding earth, splashing water, scattering stones, rending metal, directional shrapnel and immersive sonics to be had, though, and none of it fails to stick its landing. Dialogue is clear, nicely grounded and perfectly prioritized too. There's some air noise, of course, but it's in keeping with an extreme sports documentary and never sounds out of place or distracting. All told, Arc's lossless track tops off a strong AV presentation.

Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (HD, 7 minutes): More stunts, more death-defying enthusiasm, more Nitro.
• Behind the Scenes (HD, 5 minutes): Go behind the scenes of "Gregg's Car Roll" and "Roner's Pond Skim."
• Steve-O Interview (HD, 1 minute): Fellow maniac Steve-O praises Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D.
• Sponsors (HD, 1 minute): A brief "All Season Long" NBC Sports promo.
• Nitro Circus Trailer (HD, 2 minutes)

Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Nitro Circus: The Movie is everything you'd expect... and less. The stunts are spectacular, that much is sure. The film? Not so much. As dangerous as it all is, you'd think it would be more thrilling. Instead, the stunts soar while most everything else falls flat on its face. Thankfully, the same can't be said of Arc Entertainment's Blu-ray release. Its video presentation? Striking and proficient. Its 3D experience? Solid and satisfying. And its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track? Strong and steady. Only the disc's supplemental package disappoints. If the live Las Vegas show were included in its entirety, this would be a fuller, more worthwhile set. Fans of the film will be ecstatic nonetheless, though, and little else matters.