Clerks III appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a satisfying presentation.
Sharpness remained positive most of the time, as the flick offered good delineation. A few wider shots felt a smidgen soft, but most of the movie felt accurate.
No signs of jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws remained absent.
Colors leaned a smidgen teal at times, but the film generally went with a fairly natural palette. Though the hues didn’t dazzle, they became appropriately represented and reasonably full.
Blacks appeared deep and dark, while low-lights seemed smooth and clear. The image worked well.
If I thought hard, I might come up with a circa 2022 movie that less needed a Dolby Atmos soundtrack than Clerks III… but probably not. Downcoverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the mix lacked ambition.
The soundfield offered a limited affair. Music showed good stereo spread, though it barely blended across the rear speakers.
Effects became even less engaging, as they focused heavily on the front and bordered on monaural at times. Like the original Clerks, III offered a chatty experience, so the soundscape never opened up in a meaningful manner.
At least sound quality worked fine. Effects lacked much to do, but they seemed accurate and natural.
Music displayed reasonable range and clarity, while speech appeared concise and crisp. Though I couldn’t find anything memorable in this soundtrack, I also couldn’t claim it failed to match the story.
A small but stacked list of extras ensues, and the first appears before you even reach the disc’s menu, as we find a two-minute, 14-second Introduction from writer/actor/director Kevin Smith. He outlines what to expect from this release and thanks us for our devotion to physical media.
As one whose site depends on these shiny platters, I appreciate that sentiment. Smith offers a fun opening to the disc.
From there we go to an audio commentary from Smith and actors Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman and Austin Zajur. All five sit together for this running, screen-specific discussion of story/characters, the original unused screenplay, cast and performances, costumes, music, editing and related domains.
Though Smith's skills as a filmmaker have declined precipitously over the years, I hoped that his talents as a commentator would remain intact. Prior Smith chats almost always informed and delighted.
Alas, this seems to become another domain where Smith shows a steep dropoff, as least as demonstrated by this spotty discussion - and Smith deserves the blame, as he dominates.
The actors get in occasional remarks, but this remains the Kevin Smith Show most of the time. In the past, he proved blunt and hilarious, but here, he mostly praises himself, cast/crew and the film.
This turns into a real disappointment because Smith used to feel like the guy who didn't want to just gush praise all the time. Unfortunately, much of the commentary revolves around happy talk.
We do find some good nuggets, particularly as they relate to the unused Clerks III screenplay. Too bad so much of the track feels tedious and oriented toward self-plaudits.
The Clerks III Documentary spans one hour, 36 minutes, 12 seconds and includes notes from Smith, Ferhman, Anderson, Zajur, producers Liz Destro andJordan Monsanto, associate producer Ernie O’Donnell, health and safety inspector Stephan Masnyj, production designer Robert Holtzman, and actors Justin Long, Sal Vulcano, Kate Micucci, Michelle Buteau, Yassir Lester, Rosario Dawson, Marc Bernardin, Michael Zapcic, Ming Chen, Jen Schwalbach, Jason Mewes, Harley Quinn Smith, Amy Sedaris, Marilyn Ghigliotti, and Betsy Broussard.
We get comments from the aforementioned parties and some notes about the first two Clerks movies and the development of third as well as a few shoot specifics. However, most of “Documentary” acts as more of a production journal.
This means a lot of footage from the set, which sounds good. Unfortunately, like the commentary, the actual material proves less than terrific.
Once again, we find a lot of happy talk and praise. The actual behind the scenes shots tend to manifest as musical montages, so we get less of a vibe for the shoot than I’d like. While some interesting moments arise, “Documentary” lacks consistent substance.
Next comes 3 Decades of Clerks, a one-hour, 15-minute, 15-second program that involves Smith, O’Halloran, Anderson, Mewes, Dawson, Ghigliotti, Destro, Schwalbach, Monsanto, Clerks/Clerks II producer Scott Mosier, Clerks/Clerks II cinematographer Dave Kline, and independent film consultant Bob Hawk.
With “Decades”, we hear about the series over the decades. Though some of this covers well-trodden territory, “Decades” nonetheless offers a good overview and manages a surprising mix of new details along the way, even if it goes heavy on more self-praise toward the end.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we conclude with 30 Deleted/Alternate Scenes. These occupy a total of 29 minutes, 30 seconds.
With so many sequences across less than half an hour, should one expect anything major? Not really.
We get more of Dante moping/crying, but most of the sequences simply extend existing bits. Don’t expect anything memorable, as the deleted clips lack much added humor – other than a long riff of alternate lines from Michelle Buteau, which is probably funnier than the entire final film combined.
Nearly 30 years after the first film created such a buzz, Clerks III demonstrates that Kevin Smith seems out of ideas. A flawed mix of meta jokes and cheap sentiment, the movie fizzles. The Blu-ray comes with very good picture, mediocre audio and a mix of bonus features. Maybe someday Smith’s muse will return, but it doesn’t happen with Clerks III.