Blue Crush 2

The sequel you've all been waiting for is finally here. It's been a long time since no-nonsense surfer girls first showed us that females could tame the waves as well as males. Now they're back! Well, not the same set of ladies. This is a completely different set of women hanging ten and taking names. You asked for it (didn't you?). And now you've got it. It's 'Blue Crush 2' everybody!

Crickets

Okay, so we didn't actually ask for a sequel to 'Blue Crush,' but now we've got it and there's nothing we can do about it. The 'Blue Crush' franchise (can we even use that word when describing these movies?), is one of those series where a sequel doesn't have to have anything to do with the original. The first one was about girls surfing, so this one is going to be about girls surfing. End of story. I wish that was the end of the story, but we've actually got almost two hours to go. Yeah, that's right. 'Blue Crush 2' clocks in at just under two hours. Get your pillow ready because you're going to get a good nap in.

'Blue Crush 2' uses a simple color-by-numbers structure: a few lines of dialogue – a montage of surfing set to pop songs – a few lines of dialogue – a montage of dancing set to pop songs. Wash, rinse and repeat. There you have it. That, in essence, is 'Blue Crush 2.'

Dana (Sasha Jackson) is a rich girl who likes to act like she hates being rich. Never mind that her wealthy lifestyle has made it possible for her to live in California and surf everyday, she still wants to get away from her domineering father. Using the benefits of the wealth she says she hates, she flies halfway around the world to South Africa to go on a surfing adventure. Her mother was a hardcore surfer dude-ette, and now Dana wants to follow in her mom's footsteps, retracing a (like totally) epic surfing journey around South Africa.

Dana meets up with a band of surf bums who hang out on the beaches and surf to their heart's content. They've constructed a shanty town on the beach and it's waves by day and raves by night. What a life.

In the group is a budding young female surfer named Pushy (Elizabeth Mathis) who is trying her hardest to get on the Roxy surfing team, but always seems to come up short. What do you think happens with her? Do you think she'll end up making the team? I'll give you three guesses, but with a script this generic I bet you'll only need one. Tara (Sharni Vinson) is the antagonist here. She's the alpha-female of the group. She keeps everyone in line and still finds time to travel the world and perform in surfing competitions since she's on the Roxy team.

I don't think I have to tell you that watching 'Blue Crush 2' is an absolute chore. Its characterization is pedestrian, and the surfing footage is marginally exciting at best. My suggestion is to let this direct-to-video monstrosity sink into the darkest depths of the ocean.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

Universal has seen fit to package 'Blue Crush 2' with a BD-50 Blu-ray Disc along with a DVD/Digital Copy in case you just have to watch it while you're out and about. Basic BD-Live functionality along with a Pocket Blu App are also available. Region coding isn't specified on the disc packaging. My Scenes and D-Box controls are also included on this disc.

Universal's golden, sun-drenched, 1080p transfer of 'Blue Crush 2' is mostly an eye-pleasing experience. That's assuming that you're watching the movie on mute and skipping ahead to the expansive shots of the ocean and not paying attention to the actual movie. If you've come to this title for some nice HD scenery then, for the most part, you're in luck.

Filmed in South Africa, 'Blue Crush 2' is given a golden hue as the sun beats down on the movie. Daytime scenes are near perfection with detail looking stunningly sharp and edges being clearly defined. There's quite a bit of bikini candy (along with some defined rippling abs for the ladies) for the eye, and the fine detail doesn't disappoint. The clarity in these scenes makes it extremely easy to see that the women surfing are curiously not the women acting in the movie. It's almost like they don't even try to hide the fact that they're using stunt/surfing doubles.

It's the nighttime shots that need quite a bit of help. Noise crops up when the scenes get darker. Edges become soft and fuzzy. Detail isn't nearly as sharp. Crushing is a persistent problem, and so is some minor banding. It really is a tale of two worlds with this transfer. When the lights are on, everything looks perfect, but when the sun goes down, there isn't much to look at, at all.

I was actually pretty impressed by Universal's wave-pounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix.

LFE is a constant friend here. It's always thumping and roaring, whether there's a bass-laden pop song playing or the waves are crashing the movie's bass really gives the movie some oomph.

Dialogue is hazy at times and tends to get lost in the commotion. The bass tends to drown out some of the conversations. Ambient sound, however, is believable and encompassing. Surrounds are alive with bubbling water as it surrounds the surfers. It bursts to life during generic beach parties as dozens of scantily clad youngsters bounce to the beat. Directionality works well, and pans are smooth as surfers zip from one end of the frame to the other. Overall, this is an impressive audio mix.

• Audio Commentary — Mike Elliot is joined by actors Sasha Jackson, Rodger Halston, Elizabeth Mathis, and Greg Holstein. Listening to Elliot drone on is quite a bore. He does talk with the actors and acts as a moderator during the commentary. He's just so dull to listen to that it's hard to continue on with the commentary. They offer anecdotes about the shoot, like how the LA scenes were actually filmed in South Africa and how it was actually really cold outside when they filmed the big party scene. Overall, this is a boring commentary to listen to as the actors pretty much follow Elliot's somber lead.
• Alternate Opening (HD, 4 min.) — An alternate opening filmed on 16mm is presented here. It shows more of the relationship between Dana and her surf-loving mother. Actually a much better opening than the one used in the film.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 35 min.) — There are a total of 10 deleted scenes if you want to watch them. Director Mike Elliot give a small introduction to the scenes before they play. Many of the scenes were cut because you can tell that they were completely extraneous, like when Dana goes around meeting the nefarious characters of the beach crew.
• Gag Reel (HD, 3 min.) — Actors and crew laughing for the cameras. There is one part of the gag reel, involving someone's butt crack, that I admit is pretty amusing.
• The Hunt for Waves (HD, 8 min.) — A musical montage of surfing.
• The Making of 'Blue Crush 2' (HD, 12 min.) — The actors talk about the movie's purpose and the character's motivations. This is a very EPK featurette.
• Surf Safari! Filming in South Africa (HD, 6 min.) — This could have easily been included in the making of featurette. The actors talk about how lucky they feel to be in South Africa. How it's totally not like work, but instead it's fun. You know, all the generic stuff you should say in a featurette like this.
• Ripping It! Shooting the Surf Scenes (HD, 7 min.) — Director Mike Elliot discuss how hard it is to film surfing and how, gasp, they used surf doubles.
• Roxy (HD, 2 min.) — Pretty much a music video/commercial for Roxy swimsuits and surfboards.

I guess if you were a big fan of 'Blue Crush' then 'Blue Crush 2' is right up your alley. For everyone else, this is a generic coming-of-age story that never gets off the ground or out of the water. It seems more interested in showing us neat-o surfing scenes rather than really exploring its characters. At an extremely bloated one hour and fifty-three minute runtime, 'Blue Crush 2' borders on agonizing. Even with the slightly above average video presentation and the nice audio you'll be better off just skipping over this one.