Be Kind Rewind
Reviewer: Lee Griffiths
Issue 106 August 2008
(1 votes, average: 7 out of 10)
click on the stars to submit your rating
Loading …
DVD killed the video star.
The Lowdown: When Jerry becomes magnetised after infiltrating the local power plant, he unwittingly destroys all of the videotapes in his local video store, which is being temporarily run by his pal, Mike. To appease the angry customers, Jerry and Mike decide to make their own versions of the movies in their store.
Review: We may never see Michel Gondry reach the same heights of brilliance again after the masterpiece that was Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004), but one thing’s for sure, Gondry remains a reliable source for creative and inventive filmmaking and he always brings something new to the table.
While Be Kind Rewind sees Gondry at his creative best (when the makeshift homemade movies are on display), it also sees him at his worst, and away from the inspired ‘remakes’ of Robocop, Rush Hour 2 etc, the film offers little in terms of laughs, emotional impact or ingenuity. As the running time plods on, you begin to wonder if there’s actually a script or if Gondry’s just winging it.
The movie opens with a grainy flashback so the visuals are difficult gage at first, but sure enough, when the Passaic, New Jersey cityscape makes an appearance, the sharp picture quality impresses, though considering the best bits of Be Kind Rewind often employ crude video camera style footage, the HD picture doesn’t add a whole lot to the experience. The audio is clear and clean, though even a DTS HD track can’t decipher Mos Def’s infuriating mumbling.
The special features include plenty of HD add-ons, including an entertaining 30-odd minute ‘Making Of…’ featurette and the full version of the ‘Fats Waller’ movie featured in the main film. The lack of any “sweded” movies from the main feature seems like a missed opportunity though.
PICTURE: 8
AUDIO: 7
FILM: 7
EXTRAS: 7
DVD Info:
Certificate: 12
Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover
Directed By: Michel Gondry
Distributor: Pathe
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS HD 5.1
Visuals: 16:9 Widescreen
Running Time: 101 mins
Price: £24.99
Film supplied by:
Premier PR
Special Features:
‘The Making Of Be Kind Rewind’ Featurette
‘Passaic/Mosaic’
‘Booker T & Michel Gondry’ Featurette
‘Jack & Mos Improvise Songs’ Featurette
‘Fats Was Born Here’
Scene Selection
August 31st, 2008 at 10:56 am
This film is a slow starter. After the first 10-15 minutes, I was bored witless and still didn’t have the faintest clue where this film was heading. Luckily, the film picked up after this, and I felt that this was mostly a highly enjoyable movie.
Jack Black is (as usual) fantastic in his role, although I somehow felt that his lines didn’t allow him to be shine quite as much as he usually does. Jack Black is who really makes this film, maybe because I could not understand what Mos Def was saying half the time!
Despite these little niggles, though, this film is tremendous fun. It has plenty of laughs, and seeing all the popular films being remade by Jerry and Mike was great. The ending was also very strong, if a little predictable.
In all, this film is very enjoyable, although if you look beneath the surface you will probably feel that there isn’t really any driving force behind this story…but then this is the case with many comedies.
7 out of 10