Blu-ray Review Comedy

'Fist Fight' Blu-ray Review: Straight outta 'Horrible Bosses'

May 31, 2017Ben MK



FEATURE: 
When you think of epic, big screen brawls, you probably think of Captain America versus Iron Man, or maybe even Batman versus Superman. What might not immediately spring to mind, however, is Charlie Day versus Ice Cube; although if you're a fan of either actor, Fist Fight makes the match-up just about tolerable.

Set on the last day of classes at Roosevelt High School — aka senior prank day — the story finds the entire faculty on-edge. Could it be because of the high-on-meth horse roaming through the hallway? Perhaps. But more likely it's the fact that the school board is on a budget-cutting rampage, and they're looking to lay off staff. It's amid this chaos that we find mild-mannered English teacher Andy Campbell (Day), who incurs the wrath of hot-headed History teacher Ronald Strickland (Cube), thereby ensuring his face a 3 o'clock appointment with his colleague's knuckles.

Directed by Richie Keen and scripted by first-time feature screenwriters Van Robichaux and Evan Susser, the movie pairs its leads with a knockout cast, including Tracy Morgan as the confused Coach Crawford, Jillian Bell as Holly, a guidance counselor with a penchant for student flesh, and Kumail Nanjiani as school security guard Mehar. On top of that, there's also room for Mad Men's Christina Hendricks as sociopathic French teacher Ms. Monet, Breaking Bad's Dean Norris as the long-suffering Principal Tyler, and 24's Dennis Haysbert as Superintendent Johnson.

Sadly, despite the caliber of the cast, the result fails to distinguish itself from the other middle-of-the-road, R-rated comedies in recent memory, a point that's exacerbated by the fact that many of the supporting actors end up wasted in thankless roles. That said, at least Day and Cube are hilarious, and their all-or-nothing showdown does manage to live up to the billing, which some might argue is more than what even Batman and Superman could accomplish.

AUDIO & VISUALS: 
Fist Fight's technical presentation isn't quite a TKO, but it's definitely solid, even if it gets the job done in the most workmanlike way possible. Cinematography is flat and uninspiring, but, nonetheless, the color palette proves vibrant and attractive, and image quality is always sharp as a tack, despite the fact that the visuals are relegated mostly to mundane locales in and around the school. Sound-wise, the disc is equipped with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, and, needless to say, it handles the primarily yell-driven sound design with ease, counterbalancing it with a rock and hip hop themed soundtrack, not to mention the pandemonium of fisticuffs and cheering crowds.

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

  • Georgia Film Commission (2:08) - Director Richie Keen and the filmmakers sing the praises of shooting in Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Deleted Scenes (15:23) - Ten scenes ("Meet Donald," "Campbell's Lesson extended," "Holly's Drug Run extended," "Holly Overhears Students in Hallway," "Students Share Strickland Stories," "extended Mehar w/Notepad and cafeteria worker," "Johnson Intro," "William on Roof," "Is Campbell a Cop?" and "Mehar in Strickland's Class extended"), plus some "Additional Funny Outtakes."

Fist Fight is available from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment as of May 30th, 2017. The Blu-ray features English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French, Spanish and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, and English Dolby Digital 5.1 Descriptive Audio tracks. The film is presented with English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The total runtime is 1 Hr. 31 Mins.






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