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It seems every time you look for a new movie in the theaters, one of them is a remake from a TV show. Just recently, we had the release of Get Smart. We have also had The Brady Bunch, Mission Impossible and numerous others. Some of them worked, while others just fell flat. One of the latest Blu-ray imports I watched just so happened to be a TV show previously, and that being Starsky and Hutch. This, thankfully, worked out very well and is an entertaining watch.
Ben Stiller (Starsky) and Owen Wilson (Hutch) are two undercover cops who are reluctantly partnered together. They are on the hunt for the person, or persons who killed a man they found in the bay. Helping them in their investigation, they acquire the assistance of Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg), a local snitch who receives kickbacks from the police.
The bad guy they are after is Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn.) Feldman is a big time drug dealer looking to supply Bay City with a new and inventive type of cocaine. However, Feldman is a respected man among the community and the police captain refuses to believe anything Starsky and Hutch have to say in regards to Feldman’s dealings.
This leaves Starsky and Hutch to take matters into their own hands to bring down this drug dealing murderer and the men who are going to distribute the cocaine throughout Bay City.
The cast of Starky & Hutch, from Ben Stiller to Will Ferrell is a group that has worked together many times in many different variations before and each time it seems to just work out great. From Zoolander to Anchorman to Wedding Crashers and so on, all of these guys just seem to know each other so well and they bring out the best in each other.
Video
The 2.40:1 high definition, 1080P transfer, is quite a joy to view. I never noticed any edge enhancement or softness to the picture. I will say at times the picture does appear a little bit too bright. Not bright to the point of blooming, but just like a little too much light was used.
Very briefly during the beginning moments of the film, there is some shimmering. Again, I felt this had to do with the lighting as it was just way too bright.
Grain is not an issue here at all which is nice to see. Sometimes in a lot of movies you’ll see some grain in the sky or during some dark scenes, but this disc is really, really clean. Not dirt or film specs to me noticed at all.
The 70s fashion and décor really comes across nicely here.
Colors are also nice and vibrant, skin tones look very natural and not glossy in any way.
Audio
This Blu-ray disc offers you three choices for audio. You have the option of choosing English PCM 5.1, English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 French and Spanish.
The audio is actually very good. Surrounds come into play pretty often with the 70s soundtrack as well as plenty of gunfire and action scenes. The bass does kick in at times as well. However, it isn’t really all that powerful. Overall, a nice sounding track.
To start the disc, you have the choice between English, Dansk, Nederlanders, Suomi, French, Islenska, Norsk, Spanish and Svenska languages. That is a lot of subtitle languages to choose from.
Special Features
All of the special features are in standard definition. These are the same extras from the DVD which were ported over for this Blu-ray release.
Commentary with Director Todd Phillips
Fashion Fa Shizzle with Huggy Bear
- Is this a short featurette with Snoop Dogg where he discusses the clothes he had to wear for the film. This is easily a skipable extra.
Last Look Special
- This is a funny take on the making of the film from the actors, directors and producers. Basically, this shows how no one got along and how they were just in for the payday, except for the director who thinks everything went great. Good stuff.
Gag Reel
- Of course, this is the typical gag reel of bloopers and mistakes. It is actually one of the better gag reels I watched. This is actually funny, except for the Chris Penn stuff.
Deleted Scenes
- Again, pretty typical of a Blu Ray release to include the deleted scenes. You can view six scenes that were not shown in the movie.
Vince’s Bit for The Kids
- A really short extra with Vince Vaughn and a security guard.
Final Thoughts
As a kid, I did not watch Starsky & Hutch. Of course, I was aware as to who they were and whatnot but it wasn’t my type of show at my young age when it was on TV. That being said, having never seen one episode of Starsky & Hutch, the movie is just flat out funny. It has a great mix of action and comedy that it all fits nicely. For me, this is by far the best of the TV shows made into a movie. Of course that says a lot compared to the films that were once TV shows.
That being said, this is an import Blu Ray that is obviously much more expensive than the US Blu-ray discs. However, check out Amazon UK and you may be able to pick this up, as it is a Region All disc, in a sale there with other discs to make it worthwhile.
