7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Two skateboarding gangs battle each other for supremacy, and a member of one gang falls in love with the sister of his rival.
Starring: Josh Brolin, Robert Rusler, Pamela Gidley, Sherilyn Fenn, Chuck McCannSport | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Thrashin' is essentially an 80s West Side Story with skateboards. And unlike that classic Musical, there's absolutely no substance beyond the basics. Director David Winters' skateboarding film is flimsier than the boards on which the characters ride (despite seven-ply, practically indestructible boards! New tires that can withstand a nuclear holocaust!) and probably just as concussed as skaters who frequently tumble from their underfoot vehicles without the safety net of a cheesy looking helmet considering the total, absolute absence of story beyond "boy meets girl, girl is sister to a rival skateboarding leader, said rival skateboarding leader fights him off, boy persists, boy and rival skateboarding leader battle in a big event at the end." Everything else -- most of the film -- comes in the form of hokey romance, an out-of-place steamy sex scene, or skateboarding footage. The latter is the highlight, even if it's well short of the excellence found in stuff like Dogtown and Z-Boys but, hey, fact versus fiction, right? Or, better said, fact vs. friction, as in the friction this movie creates not only between wheels and pavement but also eyes and mind considering that the movie counts on the viewer having the former but not the latter.
"An aggressive style of skating."
Thrashin' looks quite good on Blu-ray. Though there are some softer shots and a random, and usually rare, sprinkling of wear and debris, the picture produces an oftentimes beautiful film-quality appearance that will please videophiles and absolutely thrill viewers who grew up with the film on lesser home video formats. Grain is largely consistent and fairly light. Details are crisp and pleasing in nearly every scene, with woods (ramps, boards), clothes, and skin producing some amazingly natural textures. Even some of the grittier city textures look terrific. Colors are bold and pop with regularity, particularly the rather loud, but here even and accurate, 80s clothing schemes. There's a fine natural balance and harmony to the palette that truly helps accentuate it while letting the viewer truly appreciate it. Skin tones and black levels raise no alarms. This is a handsome presentation all around.
Thrashin' features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack that's usually passable but sometimes awful. First, the worst. The opening music is a truly horrid listening experience, playing like it's hollow or underwater, lacking even basic definition. Fortunately, music mostly clears up for the remainder, enjoying good basic clarity and fair front-end placement, though it sometimes sounds like it's stuck in no-man's land, attempting to escape the very middle but unable to stretch very far to the sides. Little things like wheels grinding on pavement can be grating rather than pleasing, and dialogue once or twice goes noticeably scratchy, such as when Corey yells to his friends that's he's about to head out the door around the 17:40 mark. Otherwise, the track satisfies, but does so with little in terms of robustness or immersion. General ambient effects and skating action, when they're not shrill or messy, aren't bad. For the most part, dialogue enjoys good center imaging and fine basic clarity.
This Blu-ray release of Thrashin' contains no bonus content. The main menu only offers selections for "Play" and "Chapters."
Skateboarding fans might enjoy Thrashin' for some of the nifty shots of skaters zipping around the city but probably not much more other than, maybe, fond memories. Looking back now three-plus decades removed from its release there's a certain charm and nostalgia factor at play, a pleasant feeling that arises form the movie's simplicity, but looking at the movie purely on its merits, it's not very good. The story is razor-thin and the characters are painfully flat. Some of the skateboarding action is fun but otherwise Thrashin' has almost nothing to offer. The Christian Slater film Gleaming the Cube, which would release several years later, is a far superior 80s skateboarding flick (it really needs to come to Blu-ray, as does another Slater film from that era, Pump Up the Volume). Olive Films' Blu-ray release does offer mostly excellent video. Audio is shaky but bearable. No extras are included. Rent it or wait to buy on a deep sale.
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