Blades of Glory
By David Vaughn   •   June, 2008 Rival figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) brawl on the medal podium and are banned from singles competition. Three years later, they learn that the ban does not prohibit them from couple's competition, so Jimmy and Chazz team up as the first man/man pairs team in history . Do they have what it takes to go for the gold?

Blades of Glory is your typical satirical film that provides a few laughs. The skating segments are particularly funny, especially Scott Hamilton's reaction to the moves performed by the couple. Will Farrell plays his usual one-dimensional role, so don't expect anything different.

The AVC encode delivers an excellent picture with well-saturated colors, a clean print, and stable contrast throughout. Occasional banding rears its head, especially in the blue backdrops behind skylines. Detail is above average, with some longer shots having a softer appearance, but close-ups reveal excellent textures in skin tones.

The HD DVD featured a lossy 1.5Mbps Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack when it was released last year. For the Blu-ray release, Paramount upped the ante with an uncompressed PCM 5.1-channel track that improves the audio presentation with greater depth and clarity. The soundstage is full and deep, with plenty of discrete effects from the full complement of speakers. Dialog is firmly rooted in the center speaker and is fluid and clear. The surround channels come alive during the skating competition with ambience from the sellout crowd.

Ample HD bonus features grace the disc, starting with six featurettes ranging from the usual EPK (electronic press kit) to some mock interviews meant to make you laugh. Also included are 10 minutes of deleted scenes, 10 minutes of outtakes, and publicity stills in a photo gallery. In standard definition are a "Moviefone Unscripted" interview, a music video, and some MTV promotional spots.

I would have quickly grown tired of Blades of Glory on DVD, but on Blu-ray, there is enough eye and ear candy to keep me interested. I'm not a big fan of Farrell, but his portrayal of a figure-skating legend did make me laugh.

Release Date: May 20, 2008

Film: 6 out of 10
Picture: 8 out of 10
Sound: 8 out of 10

Review System

Source
Panasonic DMP-BD50

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo TX-SR606
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector