Midnight Sun Blu-ray Review + Screen Caps

THE MOVIE — 2.0/5

Sappy romantic-dramas usually range for me from passable to just plain awful. Midnight Sun, a remake from a 2006 Japanese film, pretty much falls on the latter end of the spectrum. I’m still not entirely sure what’s to blame between the acting to dialogue, or perhaps both.

Note: This portion has some plot SPOILERS, so beware.

The plot surrounds teenager Katie Price (BELLA THORNE) who is inflicted with the rare disease Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a condition in which any exposure to light could affect her skin as well as cause swelling to the brain and even skin cancer, thus she lives her life at home being taken care of by her doting father (ROB RIGGLE), and only going out at night, where she performs her music at the train platform.

During the day, however, she spends her time looking out her window, looking forward to seeing the boy of her dreams, Charlie Reed (PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER), skating on by to and from school. Fate apparently pushes them together when one night, following graduation, Charlie ends up at the train station and is immediately taken aback by her singing… and that she’s totally hot and kind of normal despite minimal socialization, save for best friend Morgan (QUINN SHEPHARD).

So, after initially freaking out, Patrick and Katie do manage to get together and start hanging out, going to a party and eventually standard dates, only at night. Of course, Katie is self conscious and doesn’t want to tell him of her condition, leading to a dramatic moment when he’s forced to learn the truth where upon the rest of the film basically is the old living life to the fullest…

Midnight Sun really is not a good movie, but hard to place the blame. The acting is by no means great, especially on the part of a charmless Patrick Schwarzenegger while Bella Thorne was fine, but straddled with absolutely terrible dialogue, so clichéd and terrible that even Nicholas Sparks would cringe at them. I certainly did. Of course, doesn’t help matters that Thorne and Schwarzenegger didn’t have great chemistry.

You know going in where the movie was headed from minute one and it follows the same type of formula as The Fault in Our Stars or, going way back, A Walk to Remember. There’s really not much positive here outside of maybe the father-daughter relationship with Rob Riggle and Bella Thorne, but even there, there were a couple creepy moments.

The film was helmed by Scott Speer mostly known as a music video director for Ashley Tisdale but also directed Step Up Revolution; doubtful a more experience dramatic director would’ve made much of a difference considering the script written by Eric Kirsten, marking his (credited anyway) debut.

In the end, just skip Midnight Sun, as it has little to offer outside of maybe Bella Thorne who does have a few good scenes, but it lacks the absurdity of a Nicholas Sparks’ adaptation.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5

This release comes with a semi-glossy, title-embossed, slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Unfortunately, there is only Midnight Sun: An Inside Look (2:21; HD) which is an EPK featurette.

Previews – Honey: Rise Up and Dance, I Feel Pretty, Show Dogs, Thoroughbreds, Gemini

VIDEO – 4.25/5

AUDIO – 4.0/5

OVERALL – 2.0/5

Overall, Midnight Sun is just a misfire of a romantic-drama with a plot that’s been seen and done numerous times before in the past several years, though this one is equipped with an especially clichéd script and two leads that don’t quite click. The Blu-ray release has good video/audio transfers but is lacking in the features department.