Blu-ray Review: Pitch Perfect 2

Pitch Perfect 2
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow
Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Retail: $34.98
ASIN: B00NYC3SG4
Running Time: 115 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday September 22, 2015 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is this summer's blockbuster hit Pitch Perfect 2. Directed by Elizabeth Blanks (who also co-stars), the film stars Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Katey Sagal, Anna Camp and John Michael Higgins.

Blu-ray Excluives include Never-Before-Seen Treblemaker Performance, DAs Sound Machine Finale Breakdown, Line-Aca-Rama, Green Bay Rap, Snoop Dog in the House, An Aca-Love Story: Bumper and Fat Amy, Elizabeth Banks’ Directorial Debut, Legacy: Hailee Steinfeld, Aca-Camp and Residual Heat Internship. Additional Features include Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes, Gag Reel, Extended Musical Performance, Feature Commentary with Filmmakers and The Bellas Are Back.

Set three years after the events first film, the Barden Bellas, led by Beca Mitchell (played Anna Kendrick), are performing for the President Obama's birthday. While the performance starts out great, it ends in disaster when Fat Amy's (played by Rebel Wilson) pants rip on stage. The incident ends up with the Bellas being banned from all cappella events. However, they make a deal to be reinstated if they win the Worlds a cappella tournament, which no United States team has ever won.

While the Bellas accepts a Freshman legacy, Emily Junk (played by Hailee Steinfeld), into the group, Beca begins an internship at a recording studio without telling anyone except for her boyfriend Jesse Swanson (played by Skylar Astin).

As the Bellas prepare for the Worlds, they come across their revivals, the German powerhouse Das Sound Machine (DSM), which whom they lose to in a riff off. Feeling out of tune, the group seeks the help from their former leader Aubrey Posen (played by Anna Camp), who now runs a retreat, in the attempt to find regain their harmony.

At first glance I had thought the first movie was a ripoff of Glee, but after watching it several times on HBO, I found the movie to be original and hilarious. I missed out seeing Pitch Perfect 2 in the theaters, so I was looking forward to watching it on Blu-ray. Almost all the Bellas are back (minus one actress), but everyone gets shoved into the background except for Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld and Brittany Snow. While all the songs in the first film were catchy, the ones featured in the sequel aren't as good, well, besides from Jessie J's Flashlight song. There were a few scenes that made me laugh, many of the jokes were just bland and seemed a little forced. Overall, Pitch Perfect 2 is an unneeded sequel that doesn't quite par up with the original. The good news is that the Blu-ray is loaded with extras, which is the reason why I'm giving it a four out of five, instead of three out of five.