It's the world of Kevin Hart these days. It seems that everywhere you look, Kevin Hart is somewhere, performing and making us laugh. He stars in films with Will Ferrell, Ice Cube, and The Rock to name a few, as his brand of humor doesn't seem to be letting up anytime in the near future. Before coming a big comedic star in films, Hart was and still is a stand-up comedian. Since he's on top of the world right now, he decided to make a stand-up comedy film based off his 2015 routine with an added "action-comedy" narrative to it, which is quite fun and full of cameos. A lot of the time in stand-up, we see the comedian walking around backstage or up to the venue itself, come out from behind the curtain, and begin their performance.
This is Kevin Hart we're talking about here. Things are done on a much bigger level, which is quite fun. The first few minutes of 'Kevin Hart: What Now?' has the actor/comedian doubling as a secret agent for MI6. He's dressed to the nines and enters a high stakes poker tournament, which all seems very familiar to the James Bond crowd. His main squeeze is Halle Berry and cohort is Don Cheadle. The bartender is Ed Helms with a familiar bad guy from films as Hart takes a cue from the Denzel Washington film 'The Equalizer' to become an action star here.
Things go haywire and Hart must perform his comedic routine, which sets us in the big auditorium with an audience. From here, it's business as usual, until the other half of the bookend, where Hart puts on the secret agent face again with helicopters and explosions. They are quite the fun and dare I say "explosive" bookends to his comedy routine. During his stand-up, Kevin is energetic and laugh out loud funny as he covers topics ranging from raising his son, getting along with women, sex toys, Starbucks, and 'The Conjuring'. Hart has an excellent way of making each joke and bit transition into the next, while keeping his facial expressions over-the-top and his delivery of each joke flawless.
Hart's performance on stage is nothing you really haven't seen before or heard in some other fashion, but his brand of humor certainly makes an impression. That and the hilarious and action packed $10 million narrative before and after the routine are quite fun.
The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats
‘Kevin Hart: What Now?’ comes with a 50GB Blur-ray Disc, a DVD Copy, and a Digital Download that is Region A Locked from Universal Pictures. The only insert is that of the digital copy. The discs are housed in a hard, blue plastic case with a cardboard sleeve.
'Kevin Hart: What Now' comes with a 1080p HD transfer and is presented in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. This is a fine looking digital presentation that isn't overly impressive, but gets the job done. Detail is sharp and vivid for the most part that showcases all of the beads of sweat on Kevin Hart's face on stage. The wrinkles and individual hairs show up nicely too as he contorts his face to give whacky expressions. The action sequences show the wardrobe nicely, whether he's wearing a leather jacket or a finely stitched tuxedo.
The colors are well saturated, but don't pop off screen too much, with the exception of the gold jewelry he wears along with his gold tipped sneakers. The background on stage showcases a nice shade of blue and red at times, which are the best primary colors you'll see here. Black levels are deep and inky and the skin tones are natural throughout. There is some minor aliasing and banding, but it's nothing to write home about, leaving this video presentation with solid marks.
'Kevin Hart: What Now?' comes with a lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. The opening and ending narrative pieces provide the best sound experiences with gun blasts and helicopters flying over head, but it creates a big impact. Sound effects are mostly full and the rear speakers add to the ambient noises in the poker room and exterior shots. The music also has a decent low end with some good bass that never crosses into the rocky territory.
During the stand up performance, Hart's dialogue is crisp, clear and easy to follow, and free of any pops, cracks, hiss, and shrills. The audience laughter comes through mostly on the front speakers and barely through the rear, which kills any depth this track would have. Still, for a stand up comedy film, this gets the job done.
On Tour With Kevin Hart (HD, 18 Mins.) - Here are 8 different segments, all lasting around two minutes each where Kevin Hart is in different cities, showcasing a plethora of different actions, which includes introducing his crew, eating chicken wings, taking his kids on tour, celebrating the New Year on the road, and more. Some funny stuff here.
Making of a Spy Intro (HD, 7 Mins.) - Director Tim Story, Kevin Hart, Halle Berry, and Don Cheadle talk about the narrative piece of the film and how much fun they had.
Deleted/Alternate Scenes (HD, 3 Mins.) - There are five scenes here, all of which are worth your time.
Alternate Opening (HD, 3 Mins.) - Chris Rock shows up here.
Gag Reel (HD, 3 Mins.) - Flubbed lines, missed cues, and laughter from the actors are seen here.
'Kevin Hart: What Now?' is a high-energy and downright funny comedy special. Pushing the envelope, Kevin Hart bookends his stand-up routine with a big budget action-comedy film with tons of big name cameos. It's no doubt that Kevin Hart's material is laugh out loud funny throughout, as he has perfect timing, delivery, and a wide variety of great topics. From this special, it's easy to see why he's so likable and on top of the world right now. The video and audio presentations are both decent, and there are some fun extras to boot. Recommended!
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