Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Rumble Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 7, 2022

Lllllllet's get ready to....see the same story we've seen a hundred times! Paramount's Rumble is a paint-by-numbers, fill-in-the-blank sort that faultlessly and faithfully follows in the footsteps of dozens, if not hundreds, of films about either the athlete training to win the big event or the move to save a cherished place from takeover or falling apart. Rumble combines both to near net zero effect. The film itself is entertaining enough, plays well in a vacuum, and will entertain children and audiences who haven't been exposed to this cinema staple, but for veteran movie watchers the similarities will be obvious and come quickly. Every scene follows preestablished protocol, leaving the viewer dumbfounded at the lack of core story originality on display.

In this world, humans and monsters co-exist, but monsters tower over humans; they're as big as buildings, and the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And fall they often do in the world of the World Monster Wrestling, the biggest show in the world. Monsters and their human coaches are the backbone of the entertainment landscape, and the sport is still mourning the loss of its biggest stars, the monster Rayburn and its coach, Jimbo. When the town of Stoker loses its champion wrestler, Tentacular (voiced by Terry Crews), Jimbo's daughter Winnie (voiced by Geraldine Viswanathan) sets out to save the town by finding it a new monster champion. She eventually locates Steve (voiced by Will Arnett), a raw wrestler with pure wrestling bloodlines and a love for Salsa music.

The draw here, of course, is not the story, which is just a regurgitation, but rather the monsters in the starring roles as the wrestlers, monsters who are literally larger than life, who tower over humans. One can only imagine the logistics of both building the arenas in which they fight and ensuring the structure's stability. How many humans can these mammoth arenas sit? Hopefully a lot, because in this world, World Monster Wrestling is as big a deal as it is in this world (the WWE is exploding in popularity right now; hopefully that will mean more WWE Blu-ray releases in the future...probably not, though). Sadly, such straying thoughts hold more interest than the movie proper, which slogs through conventional cadences and characteristics, from the core plot driver to the specifics of how the film reaches the inevitable showdown and the inevitable end result from the inevitable showdown. Beyond replacing humans with huge monsters, there's zero creativity at work here. The movie plays well enough in isolation, but it's a tough sell beyond the novelty at work in the exterior facade.

Fortunately, that exterior facade looks great. The animation is truly top-notch here, though monster design is not quite as creative as it could have been. There's a certain Monsters, Inc. vibe at work, and granted the character designers had to follow similar parameters of making monsters that are powerful and believably menacing but at the same time cuddly and friendly to satisfy younger audiences (the filmmakers are rightly not going after something resembling this atrocity). The animators do find that sweet spot, and they run with it, taking full advantage of the monsters' design characteristics in the ring. The storytellers also have fun with basic wrestling concepts (promos, chairs, maneuvers) and building the monsters' personas for maximum effect in the ring and out of it. But away from the monsters this is unquestionably a very stale movie with little going for it.

Rumble Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 1080p Blu-ray presentation of Rumble looks wonderful on Blu-ray. The picture is a delight, bringing out just about all the detail the original animation can muster, pushing the format hard and presenting animal characteristics, human clothes, and environments for all they're worth. Overall clarity is very impressive, and the picture holds sharp even far back into the wrestling crowds where individual faces are plainly visible and their expressions clear. Color output is wonderful. Monster colors are vivid and punchy with excellent saturation and tonal stability. The film is abundantly colorful considering monsters and other elements, ranging from environmental niceties to explosive elements as the wrestlers enter the arena. Black level depth is excellent, too. The image does struggle with some banding issues at times but is otherwise free of unsightly source and encode flaws. This one, unsurprisingly, looks great.

Rumble Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Paramount brings Rumble to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. As the film opens, listeners will note that bass is flat. One might think that the monsters slamming and crashing on the mat would push the subwoofer to its limits, but this is a tame exercise in audio engineering not living up to its potential. Fortunately, this is the worst part of the mix. Things improve thereafter and there are many moments of far greater aggression to be enjoyed, such as train cars rumbling past in the 19-minute mark and moments later when Winnie heads into an underground wrestling club where the slams and hits offer that extension they rightly deserve. Why the bass is so timid in that opening sequence is anyone's guess, but things pick up thereafter. On ethe whole, musical engagement and spread are impressive with wide spacing and pleasing surround integration. Ambience is wonderful, too, with crowd din the most obviously immersive and aggressive element, though to be sure more subtle effects also work their way into the experience. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized from its natural front-center position.

Rumble Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Paramount brings Rumble to Blu-ray with several kid-friendly featurettes and deleted scenes. A digital copy code is included with purchase. A DVD copy is not. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• The Super-Secret Playbook (1080p, 4:00): A look at some of the secrets of success in the ring: recipes, key moves, and a few additional tips.
• The Mon-Stars of Wrestling (1080p, 4:40): Pre-season profiles of World Monster Wrestling superstars.
• Salsa with Rayburn, Jr. (1080p, 2:21): Why and how Salsa dancing will better your life.
• Massive Monsters, Wrestling Moves, and Dazzling Dances (1080p, 5:14): Character design and characteristics in the ring and out of it.
• Four Rounds in the Animation Ring (1080p, 1:52): Looking at animation progression from storyboards to final product.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 4:42 total runtime): Included are Siggy's Apartment, Hitching a Ride, 3AM Rayburn, Fro Yoing, and Tentaculade.

Rumble Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rumble is something of a fizzle once the novelty of the monsters-as-wrestlers wears off. The story is paper thin, unoriginal, and fully predictable. Never does it even look off course as it happily trudges through cinema staples. Still, there's enough fun here for kids and very forgiving adults to enjoy, particularly those who live and breathe the world of professional wrestling, but anyone looking for serious story with their animated monsters should turn over to Pixar. Paramount's Blu-ray does offer delightful video and audio as well as a handful of extras. Worth a look.