Year: 2001
Running Time: 104 minutes
Rated: R
SRP: $39.99 Single $89.99 Kevin Smith 3-Pack
Studio(s): Miramax
Release Date: November 17, 2009 (Kevin Smith 3-Pack) Original Released on Blu-Ray 2006

Film/Feature: C+
After making four unique films that stood on their own, Kevin Smith decided he had enough pull at Miramax to make the biggest inside film in American film history. To get the most out of Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back, one had to see Clerks, Marllrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma previously, as it was originally thought to be the closing chapter on the View Askewniverse (only to be thwarted by Clerks II). Strikes Back feels like a denouement, a hybrid of a Looney Tunes cartoon, a Wayans Brothers parody film, and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. It was as if Smith wanted to prove he could make another comedy in the vein of Mallrats, (which was picture-perfect) but let’s be honest, as rare as it was to have a film hit gold like Clerks, it was just as rare to have a film like Mallrats (eventually) find its audience as well.

I’m sure I wasn’t alone in hoping that fan-favorite View Askew characters like Banky, Brodie, Holden, Alyssa, Hooper X, Dante or Randall would get featured roles once again. Instead most of them were relegated to brief one-line cameo appearances and that alone stoked the flames of what would be an overall letdown for me.

In Dogma, Smith achieved the perfect heavy dose of the Jay and Silent Bob characters that didn’t affect the film negatively; instead they enhanced every scene they were in. In Strikes Back, however, that balance was tipped. Instead of being supporting characters Jay and Bob were THE characters, and Jason Mewes did prove he could carry an entire film; but a film anchored by Jay and Bob wasn’t nearly as interesting to me as Smith’s other characters. It took some of the bite out of the first four films that seemed to be so carefully laid out.

The flimsy premise rests on the doob-namic duo hitchhiking their way to Los Angeles to stop a Miramax-produced Bluntman and Chronic film from being made. The comic book characters based on their likeness (from Chasing Amy) has targeted them as sellouts and if they’re able to stop the film, they hope to restore their good name and squash the negativity spewed by anonymous online posters on a message board. Even that is an inside joke; a big screen sucker punch at the trolls on Smith’s own message board. Along the way, they bump into all of the View Askew alums, and then get into bizarre adventures with the Scooby Doo gang, diamond-stealing-catsuit-clad clichés (Ali Larter, Eliza Dushku, Jennifer Schwalbach, Shannon Elizabeth), a costumed villain named Cock-Knocker played by Mark Hamill, a moronic park ranger played by Will Ferrell, and a who’s who young Hollywood at the time. And I can’t forget about the monkey named Suzanne. There are no deep meanings, or some new geek-centric way of looking at life, just lots of inside dick and fart jokes.

I had always found a special place for all of Smith’s films up to that point but for the first time, I felt I was part of a small focus group who knew where most of the jokes came from. Not only had viewers need to see all four previous films, but they had to have enjoyed them as well. Strangely though, to a much younger crowd, it served as an easy entry point to Smith’s library. As long as you don’t take it too seriously, and you followed all of Smith’s works (including his comics), the film still works. Despite having too much Jay, and the wasted appearances by Joey Lauren Adams, Dwight Ewell, and Jason Lee, seeing it on blu-ray after all of these years reminded me of how funny I did find it, but I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say that I thought it could have been much better.

Video: B+
Strikes Back got the blu-ray treatment back in 2006 and it’s a solid 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in Clerks’ 2.35:1 original aspect ratio but I felt it could be more consistent through the entire film. In the beginning, blacks could have been deeper, contrast is not at a preferred level and as a result, it gives a slightly faded appearance. Eventually things look much better, especially in the Miramax studio finale, where colors have a good striking look. Sometimes the picture has a lot of detail and definition, while at other moments the picture takes on a softer and grainier texture. Will big Kevin Smith fans notice? They might, but it’s not going to incite some riot for higher definition either.

Audio: B+
Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back comes correct on a 5.1 Uncompressed English PCM track which is a solid track. This is a Kevin Smith film so reign in your expectations of an audio orgasm. Strikes back is still a talky film, but there are more musical cues and notes, lots of activity on the handful of actions scenes spread throughout the film. Dialogue is all very distinct and pleasingly vulgar to the ear. We’re not listening to reference material here, folks, but it does an adequate job and reproduces one of Smith’s more lively soundtracks with justice Subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras: D
For those that have the DVD, know that there is a lot more available that could have been ported over. If only they had waited until the box set to release Jay and Silent Bob Strikes back on blu-ray, then perhaps we could have seen the documentary, “Oh What a Lovely Tea Party” on this disc instead of the Clerks blu-ray. Which leaves us to the only extra on the disc…

Audio Commentary by Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, and Jason Mewes is mostly Smith and Mosier with a bored Mewes lurking in the background or sleeping. Smith and Mosier are as always an excellent joy to listen to. They’re two friends and co-workers full of stories, anecdotes, and honesty that’s better than the lovey-dovey smooch-fests that can really drag a commentary track down.

Overall Shock Value: C
I’ll cringe if they somehow release this film again later on another blu-ray with all of the DVD extras ported over. Why they didn’t do that with this release, I’ll never know, but the omission of those extras certainly didn’t help the grading of this blu-ray. While I don’t recommend anyone going out of their way to get this version of this film on blu-ray, I wouldn’t hold anyone back who finds a great online deal on the box set. Technically it is shines where it needs to, but the extras are just lacking too much from the 2-disc DVD release and there’s nothing new or exclusive to the blu-ray itself. So unless you have never seen the film or don’t have any version at home, I’d pass on buying this by itself, but if you’re looking for the Kevin Smith 3-Pack upgrade, then it will suffice. As I said, the film has this infectious type of silly comedy to it, but it is story-wise an inferior film when compared to the rest of Smith’s body of work.