Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Pitch Perfect 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 14, 2015

"If we don't win, the Bellas are over!" declares one of the girls when the group is faced with a do-or-die competition. Big franchise in manufactured danger alert! Can the girls of Barden University reclaim both their dignity following a very public wardrobe malfunction and their top spot as the nation's most adored a cappella group? With both the original and Pitch Perfect 2 raking in around 10x their budgets at the box office and a third movie in the works, the outcome doesn't really seem to be much in question, but with these sorts of movies, they rarely are. Pitch Perfect 2 follows the tried-and-true singing/dancing movie formula in which a group of performers faces some adversity that must be overcome against some sneering, highly talented, seemingly unstoppable powerhouse standing in their way of glory. Ho-hum. But Pitch Perfect 2 doesn't pretend that there's any real relevance here. Really, one of the performers accidentally mooning -- and then some -- the President of the United States sets the plot in motion, and it also sets the movie apart as a none-too-serious take on all of the similarly structured films to come before it. And it's that playful side that saves it. The film simply asks the audience to come along for the laughs, the tunes, and the characters, all but acknowledging the drama's manufactured nature and using it as a propellant for the things the movie otherwise does well on the way to the inevitable.

Punished.

The girls are back! But they're not going to be on stage anytime soon. While performing at a ritzy gala for President Obama, The Bellas -- The defending three-time national a cappella champions -- are embarrassed when Amy's (Rebel Wilson) high wire act goes awry, exposing her privates to the President and to the world. The result: their school has all but disbanded them. They've been disallowed the opportunity to defend their title, they cannot recruit any new girls, and they're yanked from their victory tour and replaced by a sensational German group called "Das Sound Machine." But the group's heart and soul, Beca (Anna Kendrick), makes a deal with administration: if they can win the world championship, they'll be reinstated. Beca is also secretly working at a recording studio internship on the side where a few good moves gets her in the good graces of her uptight and demanding boss (Keegan-Michael Key). The girls also skirt the "no recruiting" restriction and bring on a newcomer, a legacy named Emily Junk (Hailee Steinfeld). But they quickly realize that they'll have to step up their game -- big time -- if they're to have any chance against the seemingly unstoppable German group.

Though cliché and remaining strictly adherent to genre routine, Pitch Perfect 2 entertains. The film banks on its humor ahead of its core story details, with the former carrying the latter rather than the other way around. The air of levity helps to mask the movie's shortcomings and allows the audience to focus on character dynamics and interaction rather than another in a growing list of stories about a close-knit group overcoming the odds. While the other stuff isn't just background noise -- all of the cliché is central to the plot -- the filmmakers have wisely made the movie more about the journey and less about the destination, more about the ebbs and flows the humor provides and the characters engender and less the actual singing. In fact, it's the Germans who get the best moments of song, particularly in an "underground" competition where they're hosted by a wealthy fan who has them performing impromptu renditions of songs centering on a common theme; the Germans' thickly accented take on both This Is How We Do It and Insane In the Membrane are gut-busting hilarious. It's in making it all funny that keeps the movie afloat, and the many one-off gags -- like when the Bellas receive hate mail from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor -- prove the selling point more so than the bread-and-butter story details. The girls share a strongly believable chemistry, again defined by humor but finding a little heart in the madness, too, as they journey towards the inevitable with a wink and a nod and the beats spilling out of every fiber of their comically off-kilter beings.

Pitch Perfect 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Pitch Perfect 2's 1080p transfer dazzles. It's colorful and abundantly so, with clothes the true standout. Attire -- costumes, casual wear -- is consistently rich in color and precise in vibrancy. Colors leap off the screen both in dialogue segments as well as dance routines. Natural greens around campus are lively and cheery, with nice support accents in the way of baby blue skies and earthy campus buildings. Image clarity is tremendous. Details are naturally sharp and revealing, with faces and clothes in particular standing out, but background support accents enjoying just as much raw definition. Black levels are deep and accurate and flesh tones, save for a few mild pushes to pink, appear natural. Mild noise persists, but there's no evidence of banding, macroblocking, aliasing, or other maladies. This is a healthy, A-grade transfer from Universal.

Pitch Perfect 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pitch Perfect 2 belts out a high end DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation hits all the notes just about as perfectly as the film's title suggests, with pinpoint lyrical definition and all of the support elements creating a rich, dynamically immersive harmony. Sing-offs and performances are aggressively invigorating as the sound swirls around the stage, focused up front but easily enveloping the audience in songs. There's a nice bit of LFE support when the situation demands; a tangible low end weight supports the German band's musical introduction. Crowd applause nicely fills the stage but feels mildly restrained to give the track's most dominant elements priority. A few ambient support pieces gently help to define various environments. But the movie is mostly about singing and talking. Dialogue is presented richly and cleanly from the center with a few examples of microphone reverberation helping to more fully set a few scenes. This is an unsurprisingly strong track that suits the movie in every way.

Pitch Perfect 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Pitch Perfect 2 offers a packed supplementary package and contains a commentary; featurettes; deleted, extended, and alternate scenes; and much more. The package also includes a DVD copy of the film as well as a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy.

• Bonus Song Performed by The Treblemakers (1080p, 3:27): The song follows an introduction.
• Extended Musical Performances (1080p): Bellas (1:58), Das Sound Machine (1:23), and Bellas: Finale Clap-Along (0:44).
• Das Sound Machine Finale Breakdown (1080p, 2:06 each): The song available in various stages of completion. Included are All Vocals, Background Vocals Only, Beat Box Only, and Lead Vocals Only.
• Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes (1080p): Jesse Drops Off Beca At Work -- Extended (1:46), Treble Party -- Alternate (1:00), Bumper Arrives at Treble Party (1:18), Treble Party -- Extended (1:04), Car Show: "Farter" (0:56), Intro to Mansion -- Extended (1:35), Beat Box -- Extended (1:21), Setting Up Tents -- Deleted (1:50), and Amy and Bumper Make-Up -- Alternate (1:32).
• Gag Reel (1080p, 3:08).
• Line-Aca-Rama (1080p, 3:36): Humorous alternate takes from several scenes.
• Green Bay Rap (1080p, 0:52): A fun little side bit from some of the film's characters.
• Elizabeth Banks' Directorial Debut (1080p, 5:20): A short, fluffy look at the longtime actress working as a first-time director.
• The Bellas Are Back (1080p, 6:13): This piece features the cast discussing their reunion for the movie, including pre-filming workouts, dance choreography, and shooting in the Bella house.
• Aca-Camp (1080p, 5:04): A look at the place of, and making, the camp sequence.
• The Making of the Riff-Off (1080p, 6:02): A closer look at making one of the film's biggest scenes.
• The World Championships of A Cappella (1080p, 9:30): Making the finale in Baton Rouge, sitting in for Denmark.
• Snoop Is in the House (1080p, 2:53): Keegan-Michael Key introduces Snoop Dogg's appearance on set.
• Residual Heat Internship (1080p, 2:26): A look at Beca's internship scenes with Keegan-Michael Key.
• An Aca-Love Story: Bumper and Fat Amy (1080p, 5:26): This piece dives into the Adam DeVine-Rebel Wilson relationship in the film.
• Legacy: Hailee Steinfeld (1080p, 6:04): This piece focuses on the film's newcomer.
• Audio Commentary: Director/Producer Elizabeth Banks and Producers Paul Brooks and Max Handelman offer a track that's evenly spoken and a mix of deeper technical insight and fluffy anecdotes. They cover inspirations, set design, story details, characters, performances, deleted subplots, the film's core theme, costumes, and more.

Pitch Perfect 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pitch Perfect 2 doesn't take itself even the least bit serious. That's a necessary approach considering that, at its core, the film lacks even a smidgen of creativity. It gets by on its cast camaraderie and endless flow of humor, which helps mask the very much cliché story details through which the movie maneuvers. Fans of the original should enjoy this follow-up considering that it maintains a core approach from which it never deviates. Universal's Blu-ray release of Pitch Perfect 2 features top-end video and audio. Supplements are many in number but a bit superficial in quality. Recommended.