‘Jingle All The Way’ Blu-ray Review

	Studio: FOX Rating: PG Runtime: 87 minutes Region: A Video: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4, 1.85:1 Audio:		Movie Content: 4.5/5 Video Quality: 4/5 Audio Quality: 4/5 Special Features: 3/5 Overall Rating: 4 (Purchase) List: $34.99 Amazon: $22.95

The Movie

Christmas time is around the corner and every year we have a set of holiday films that we enjoy viewing. One of those films is ‘Jingle All The Way’ which is fun for the whole family and all tries to teach a few lessons about honesty and the holiday spirit. This has to be one of my most anticipated catalog titles this fall and finally has arrived thanks to FOX. ‘Jingle All The Way’ was a box office smash hit with a worldwide total gross of $129 million dollars.

Howard Langson (Arnold Schwarzenager) is a very successful salesman working with retail cliental. He can’t get enough of work as he has devoted his whole life into his job. That means spending very long hours at the office away from his family. This allows his wife Liz (Rita Wilson) and son Jamie (Jake Lloyd) to spend more time with each other, but they don’t spend enough time with Howard.

With Howard not being home enough, whenever Liz asks him to do something, he always forgets as work is on his mind 24/7. When Howard finds out from his son that he wants Turboman action figure, he makes a promise that he will get it for him for Christmas. Turboman is based off of the live action fiction television show within the film that Jamie watches. Turboman is almost a cross between the ‘Tick’ and ‘Power Rangers’. With a day away from Christmas, Liza asks Howard if he has bought Turboman for Jamie. Forgetful Howard lies to his wife telling her that he did buy it for his son.

On Christmas Eve, Howard tells his wife that he forgot Turboman at his office and has to go pick the action figure up. This places Howard on a citywide search to find Turboman. This takes us from store to store as Howard searches for Turboman. This brings fond memories of materialistic items in the past such as the Nintendo Wii. Tickle Me Elmo, and Beanie Babies to name a few products that people have gone crazy for their kids. With Howard not being alone in this since there are many more crazed parents, he runs into postman Myron Larabee (Sinbad) who wants the toy for his son just as bad as Howard does.

Throughout the rest of the movie it becomes Howard vs. Myron as they battle against each other to find the toy. At this point the movie turns into a nice set of gags between the two. This turns into an enjoyable film for the whole entire family with an all-star cast. There is Phil Hartman as the next door neighbor, James Belushi as Santa Claus, and Chris Parnell as a store clerk to name just a few.
Movie Content: 4.5/5

Print/Audio Quality

The print is presented in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Having owned the previous two releases on DVD, the Blu-ray version is a nice improvement and upgrade. Colors are strong and carry a nice pop. Blacks are very deep. This helps with a nice detailed and sharp image. The film grain is throughout the entire print which is consistent and never hinders the presentation. This is what I expected with the print considering that the film is 12 years old.
Video Quality: 4/5

The audio is presented in DTS-HD MA lossless 5.1 mix. I was very surprised with the audio in this film as it is very bombastic all around. In some ways that is good and others it feels like it is a bit overwhelming since sometimes loud is not better. The soundfield is used throughout the entire film from sound effects, to the films soundtrack, and even the action scenes. Bass is deep and booming when in use. Dialogue is clean and clear providing a balanced mix.
Audio Quality: 4/5

Special Features

• The Making of a Hero (15:29)
• Super Kids (8:12)
• Turbo Man: Behind the Mask (8:17)
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (20:15) [HD]

All special features are presented in standard definition except for the Deleted & Extended Scenes which are in high definition. The special features are good here, except I wish that there were more.
Special Features: 3/5

Final Thoughts

‘Jingle All The Way’ is an enjoyable holiday family film that is so true in its premise of today’s society. It is a shame that Arnold has moved to politics as the tail end of his career produced some good films with this one being one of them. For those that own both or either DVD version, I highly recommend the upgrade to Blu-ray.
Overall Rating: 4 (Purchase)