Blu Tuesday: Fist Fight and More

Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on social media with your friends.

“Fist Fight”

Comedy works best when it’s grounded in real situations, but nothing about “Fist Fight” feels even remotely realistic, starting with its titular premise. Most of the teachers in this film wouldn’t pass a background check, let alone display the competence to run a classroom, while Ice Cube’s hot-headed teacher would have been fired long before swinging an axe into a student’s desk. (Side note: If he was already feared among everyone in the school, what kid would think that provoking him was a good idea?) Unfortunately, co-writers Van Robichaux and Evan Susser have put so little thought into the screenplay that the movie is filled with these kinds of questions. That might have been excusable if “Fist Fight” was actually funny, but not even Charlie Day’s manic energy can save this film.

Extras include a brief featurette on location shooting in Georgia and some deleted scenes. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

“Collide”

Though it features some pretty big names, this generic action thriller from director Eran Creevy is just as disappointing as his last movie, “Welcome to the Punch.” Nicholas Hoult still hasn’t convinced me that he’s leading man material (and the screenplay doesn’t help his cause here), while Felicity Jones is wasted as the damsel in distress. Not even the high-speed car chases are very good, although in keeping with the title, Hoult’s character does crash into a shit ton of stuff, including a major set piece on the Autobahn where he does about 20 barrel rolls and walks away with barely a scratch. If there’s any entertainment value to be found in “Collide,” it’s watching screen veterans like Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley compete to see who can chew more scenery as the film’s cartoonish gangsters. Spoiler alert: Kingsley wins.

Sadly, no extras have been included on the Blu-ray release. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP