Arthur is certainly a fun little romp, but ultimately, I feel a lot of people will dismiss it simply because it’s a remake and it stars Russell Brand. While maybe not a purchase, I’d say give it a rent. The Blu-ray itself doesn’t have much in the features department but the audio and video are both good.
Arthur (2011)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance
Warner Bros. | PG13 – 110 min. – $35.99 | July 15, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Jason Winer
Writer(s): Steve Gordon (story), Peter Baynham (screenplay)
Cast: Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Greta Gerwig, Jennifer Garner
Theatrical Release Date: April 6, 2011
DISC INFO:
Features: Featurette, Gag Reel, Deleted Scenes, DVD Copy, Digital Copy
Number of Discs: 2
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): Region Free
THE MOVIE – 3.5/5
When I think of drunk, I instantly think of Russell Brand. How can I not? His voice is mostly ‘swirly’ by nature, he walks around with a certain mesmerizing dance, and he’s tall. That’s the recipe, right?
Arthur is get another, in a long line, of remakes that studios are pushing out in hopes they will find a new, younger audience to fall in love with them. Much like the older generation loved Arthur – did they? I mean, great film, but hardly a cult classic –, I suppose Warner had hoped this version would do the same. Toss in Russell Brand, whose hot shit right now, and its smells like success. Well, not really. At least in terms of box office power (a paltry $33 million).
So what’s this bomb about? Arthur is rich. Yep, dirty, filthy rich. His mother runs the company business, while he sits at home, gets drunk, hooks up with chicks, and generally wastes his time doing nothing. It’s pretty much the same as Billy Madison (wait, did that copy from Arthur?!?). His nanny Hobson (Helen Mirren) has really been his surrogate mother for decades now, makes sure he is well fed and generally stays out of most trouble.
Well, one day, as Arthur is acting like an idiot, he runs into a sweet young girl named Naomi (Greta Gerwig). He instantly clicks with her and feels he might have found his soul mate. But there is a problem. His Mother is forcing Arthur into a loveless marriage with Susan (Jennifer Garner) so she could take over the family business and hopefully teaches Arthur how to act like an adult. Uh-oh. Hi jinks to ensue!
So the plot is pretty much a rehash of the Original (with some obvious changes, most glaring is Hobson is played by a female this time around), but for the most part, it’s still pretty enjoyable. I know lots of people slammed this film, but Russell Brand as this charm that is so hard to shake off. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about his supposed true love Greta, as the two share very little chemistry. Perhaps they should have cast Katy Perry instead. Helen Mirran’s role is wasted here (apparently took it as a favor to Russell) and don’t get me started on Jennifer… horrible performance.
But what’s left is still a fun, cute little movie that will no doubt delight many people. However, that cover made me think he’s a magician.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.5/5
This release includes a slip cover. All Special are Features Presented in HD.
Arthur Unsupervised (11 Minutes) – Back patting. “This [INSERT PERSON] was great. blah. Typically EPK. Skip.
Additional Footage (10 Minutes) – Scenes clipped from the film. Not missing much here, I promise.
Oh, and a super long Gag Reel (1 Minute).
For a Limited Time, this release will also include a DVD/Digital copy combo disc.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
Arthur is presented 1.78:1 in (MPEG4) on a 50GB Disc. While the movie looks incredibly sharp, it appears to be a bit too bright. Not sure why everyone has a permanent tan, but no matter what I did, the brightness never went away. There is what looks like edge enhancement has also been applied. While the picture is not horrible, it’s hardly up to par with other recent films.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
Warner has included an English 5.1 DTS MA Track for this release. Well, not much is really going on. Dialogue sounds nice and clear, but rears and hardly ever used. I suppose this is getting more and more typical with these types of flicks.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Arthur is certainly a fun little romp, but ultimately, I feel a lot of people will dismiss it simply because it’s a remake and it stars Russell Brand. While maybe not a purchase, I’d say give it a rent.
Brad Lowenberg
Published: 07/18/2011
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2.