Starring: Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, Ray Liotta
Directed by: Walt Becker
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Video: 2.35:1 enhanced for 16:9 widescreen, 1080p HD
Audio: English 5.1 Uncompressed; English, French & Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Supplements: Audio commentary with director Walt Becker and writer Brad Copeland; two featurettes (“Bikes, Brawls and Burning Bars: The Making of Wild Hogs” and “How to Get Your Wife to Let You Buy a Motorcycle”); two deleted scenes; alternate ending; outtakes; movie showcase
Length: 100 minutes
Movie Rating: *** AV Quality Rating
“Wild Hogs” is the story of four middle-aged friends who set out on a road trip to shake up their stagnant suburban lives. Doug (Tim Allen), Woody (John Travolta), Bobby (Martin Lawrence) and Dudley (William H. Macy) are friends who get together to recreationally ride their motorcycles. They have named their four-man motorcycle gang the ‘Wild Hogs’. With each of the Wild Hogs suffering from his own version of a mid-life crisis, the guys decide that a road trip out West would be therapeutic. The trip however turns out to be anything but relaxing when the Wild Hogs cross paths with a real-life biker gang known as the ‘Del Fuegos’. Woody accidentally burns down the Del Fuegos’ bar and the Del Fuegos will not rest until they extract their revenge upon the Wild Hogs. This film did huge numbers at the box-office numbers in no small part due to its star-studded cast. I thought the film was pleasant and amusing, but not hilarious. The plot was very predictable and there wasn’t much witty dialogue between the characters to speak of. Nonetheless, there were some funny bits of physical comedy and the cast had good on-screen chemistry. If you are looking for a light, non-offensive comedy, hitting the road with the “Wild Hogs” isn’t a bad way to go.
In terms of HD video quality, this Blu-ray DVD is excellent. Images are crisp with razor sharp detail. Black levels are uniformly deep throughout the film. Colors are vibrant and rich with nicely saturated hues. Picture defect mastering is perfect with no major flaws or compression problems. The audio quality was very good with the Dolby Digital 5.1 track. As is the case with most comedy films, the soundtrack of “Wild Hogs” is dialogue-driven and primarily focused towards the forward soundstage. Dialogue is natural sounding and properly positioned in the center channel. The surround channels are moderately active and utilized for both the sound effects and the music score. The low frequency effects channel is tight and punchy.
— Calvin Harding Jr.
