Blu-ray Review Comedy

'Entourage: The Movie' Blu-ray Review: The gang's all here, but should we still care?

October 15, 2015Ben MK



FEATURE: 
For eight seasons, Entourage gave HBO viewers a taste of what it might be like to not only make it big in Hollywood, but also to bring your friends along for the ride. Now actor Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), his best friend and manager, Eric "E" Murphy (Kevin Connolly), their other friend and driver, Sal "Turtle" Assante (Jerry Ferrara), Vince's half-brother, Johnny "Drama" Chase (Kevin Dillon), and Vince's former agent, the insufferable Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), are back. And though it's been four years since we last saw the whole gang together, it's almost like they never left.

Feeling very much like the longer, bigger-budget episode of the television series that it is, Entourage: The Movie's storyline centers on a familiar refrain, as Vince faces challenges in getting his latest film — which also happens to be his directorial debut — made. This time, he has to contend with a pair of disgruntled financiers, Texas businessman Larsen McCredle (Billy Bob Thornton) and his son, Travis (Haley Joel Osment), who refuse to bend to Vince's demands for more money until they see a first cut of his movie. Meanwhile, Ari is trying hard to ignore requests from his former assistant, Lloyd (Rex Lee), to give him away at his wedding; E is attempting to navigate the dating scene while his ex-girlfriend, Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui), is pregnant with his child; Turtle is trying his best to woo MMA fighter Ronda Rousey; and Drama is, of course, still hoping to achieve recognition in his long (but not-so-illustrious) acting career.

In other words, it's basically business as usual for series creator and writer/director Doug Ellin, who doesn't miss a beat when it comes to dropping viewers back into the fold, a world full of scantily-clad women, high-end sports cars and an endless supply of cameos by celebrities and athletes. But while it's definitely entertaining to see Liam Neeson flip Ari the bird at a traffic light, or to see a psychotic Armie Hammer threaten Vince with bodily harm, the movie otherwise struggles with finding anything of substance to entice viewers unfamiliar with the show's rote formula. Sure, longtime fans will no doubt enjoy the reunion. For everyone else, however, Entourage: The Movie is all about its glossy, outward appeal; but on the inside, it's just about as vapid as its own depiction of the Hollywood lifestyle.

AUDIO & VISUALS: 
Film quality aside, Entourage: The Movie receives nothing less than the five-star technical treatment on Blu-ray, bolstered by vibrant colors to bring to life the movie's array of brightly-hued bikinis and ultra-expensive cars, and topped off with razor-sharp image quality to bring out all the fine detail in the frequent shots of L.A. and the surrounding areas. As for the movie's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, the film's soundstage may not have much to offer over and above your average episode of the show, but dialogue nonetheless resonates loudly and clearly, while music is always appropriately full-sounding.

EXTRAS: 
Warner's two-disc Blu-ray combo pack includes a DVD and an UltraViolet digital copy, along with the following Blu-ray extras:

  • The Gang - Still Rockin' It! (14:18) - A round table discussion with Doug Ellin and the cast as they talk about their experiences making the show, its success and continuing appeal, and their characters.
  • Hollywood, Baby! (8:28) - A piece about bringing the show to the big screen, namely about filming on a yacht for the movie's opening sequence, the inclusion of GM's latest concept car, the Cadillac Ciel, and the many big-name cameos.
  • The Making of Hyde (4:34) - A faux behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the futuristic underground rave scenes for Vince's directorial debut, "Hyde."
  • Deleted Scenes (18:39) - Six deleted and extended scenes.
  • Gag Reel (2:46) - Flubs and goofing around from the set.
  • Meet the Newest Member of Entourage (2:16) - An older featurette (likely from one of the series' previous DVD releases) about Jonah Ellin, son of Doug Ellin, who plays Ari's son on the show.
  • Lucas Ellin is Jonah Gold (1:59) - A newly-produced featurette about the younger Ellin, who reprises his role as Ari's son in the movie.

Entourage: The Movie is available from Warner Bros Home Entertainment as of September 29th, 2015. The Blu-ray features English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish, French and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, and English Dolby Digital 5.1 Descriptive Audio tracks. Subtitles are presented in English SDH, Spanish, French and Portuguese. The total runtime is 1 Hr. 44 Mins.





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