Blu-ray Movie Reviews

The successful sketch comedy duo of Key and Peele has made the transition from their Comedy Central series to motion pictures with their comic adventure Keanu. The Shakespearian plot unfolds thusly: Rell (Peele) is depressed and hasn’t left his couch or his bong in days because his girlfriend has just dumped him. His straight-laced cousin Clarence (Key) sympathizes but is of little consolation. A timely miracle shows up on Rell’s doorstep in the form of a lost kitten that meows plaintively and is adorable beyond all reason. Rell adopts the kitten and names him Keanu because it means “cool breeze” in Hawaiian. Peace and harmony is restored to the Southland once again. Unbeknownst to Rell and Clarence, Keanu’s real name is actually Eglesias, and his former owner was a ruthless Mexican drug lord recently killed by a rival gang, and little Keanu nearly lost one of his nine lives escaping the fray. Heaps of trouble follows the little feline to Rell’s doorstep, and Keanu is soon catnapped by another ruthless drug lord named Cheddar. Hell-bent on rescuing Keanu from his captors, Rell and Clarence must descend into a veritable Dante’s Inferno of the criminal underworld, face life-threatening violence at every turn, and grow two pairs of balls along the way. Much of the film’s humor rests on Rell and Clarence’s sad attempts at talking and acting tough as they try to infiltrate Cheddar’s ranks.

The HD picture sports a solid and consistent image overall with minimal digital strobing or blurring. Not surprisingly, the daylight exteriors feature the highest resolution and picture quality, while the darkened interiors offer some deep, rich blacks and saturated colors while maintaining a good amount of sharpness and clarity throughout.

The sound is rendered for 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and offers plenty of bang for your buck. The center-channel dialogue track is consistently strong and never gets overwhelmed by the whizzing gunshots, car chases, car crashes, and other all-out mayhem punctuated by the aggressively bass-thumping hip-hop musical interludes. Background ambience is also nicely peppered with scenes of falling rain, thunder, and George Michael singalongs. Yes, I said George Michael.

Extras include a short three-minute featurette entitled “Keanu: My First Movie,” deleted scenes, and a gag reel. Digital Copy included.

Keanu isn’t an out-of-the-park home run, but fans of Key and Peele’s sketch comedy series will undoubtedly get a kick out of this comic romp. I sure did.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Warner Bros., 2016
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Length: 100 mins.
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Peter Atencio
Starring: Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Tiffany Haddish