THE PLOT THUS FAR
City kid Ren MacCormack moves to a small town where rock ‘n’ roll and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace.
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WHAT WE THOUGHT
After a horrific accident takes the lives of five high school seniors, the town of Bomont, Tennessee outlaws a number of activities for the teenage populace including dancing. Enter Ren McCormack, a city kid and distinct outsider to the close knit Bomont townspeople. He is confused by the bans, and after making a few new friends, sets out to get them abolished.
Ren’s first brush with the strictures of the town is getting fined for cranking the music in his yellow VW bug too loudly, and let’s just say that his reputation with the adult townsfolk just goes downhill from there. Those familiar with the original will start noticing the similarities between Brewer’s update and its source- the yellow VW for one, and also the Rev Moore’s rebellious daughter Ariel who is not quite the same after her brother’s death.
Exchanging tractors in the original for racecars, the modern-day Ariel still lives on the edge by dating a local racing lout Chuck, but is immediately drawn to Ren following a clandestine dance session at an outdoor movie theatre. Ren and Ariel’s mutual attraction fuels the tension at the heart of the story, first between Ren and Chuck as romantic rivals who duke it out in a dirt-track race using modified school buses, and then later between Ren and the Rev. Moore who sees Ariel’s errant ways as a result of Ren’s bad influence.
There are some nice attempts at enriching the plot, but these remains just attempts as a number of scenes just fly by for the sake of, such as the drug incident at the library and the aftermath with the school principal, or the very fleeting non-discussion between separation of church and state, which will work as timely reminders for the religious over-zealous folks around us, that it’s almost always counter-productive if one gets pushy in wanting everyone to adopt one’s moral compass.
The Blu-Ray comes with a DVD and Digital Copy to complete your mobile next-generation viewing experience. The special features ranges from a commentary, music videos, featurettes and deleted scenes. The A/V Quality sports a near reference quality DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track and a crisp 1080p transfer. I’m not still not a big fan of the Ultraviolet Digital Copies, but the sheer quality of having every special feature in 1080p is amazing. In the end, I’d only recommend a purchase to fans of the original or pre-teen kids. Everyone else will just have to wait for Black Snake Moan 2: The Secret of Ricci’s Chain.
RELEASE DATE: 03/06/2012
