Fighting With My Family appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Overall, this was a positive image.
On a smidgen of softness ever cropped up here, mainly in some low-light shots. Otherwise, the movie showed nice clarity and delineation.
Jagged edges and moiré effects failed to appear, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also stayed away from this clean image.
In terms of palette, Fighting went with mix of teal and amber. Overall, the hues were fine for their visual choices.
Blacks showed good depth, while low-light shots boasted nice clarity. This was a solid “B+“ presentation.
As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it gave us competent sonics most of the time as well as a little pep on occasion. A character tale like this didn’t need to boast a rock-em, sock-em mix, so the audio seemed acceptable.
Usually, the soundfield didn’t have a lot to do, as it concentrated on good stereo music and general ambience. Every once in a while, though, the mix came to life – in a moderate manner, at least, and mainly during wrestling scenes. didn’t dazzle, but they gave the mix reasonable breadth.
Audio quality was fine. Speech seemed natural and concise, without edginess or other concerns. Music appeared full, with reasonable definition.
Effects remained clear and accurate, with some pretty solid low-end response during louder moments. This became a fairly satisfying track.
The disc comes with both the movie’s Theatrical Version (1:48:28) as well as an unrated Director’s Cut (1:48:25). As you can tell from those running times, you won’t find many differences between the two.
Indeed, only three changes occur, and all seem exceedingly minor. For the Director’s Cut, the family dinner offers a slightly more explicit expression.
When we meet the Rock, he repeats Saraya’s exclamation in the DC, whereas the theatrical leaves him silent and includes a pause. In addition, the sequence in which Paige gets heckled at her first NXT appearance comes with more explicit jeers from the audience.
There’s no reason not to watch the Director’s Cut, but it seems like a waste of space, as it makes nearly unnoticeable changes. You’ll find no actual substance among the tiny alterations.
We also get an audio commentary from writer/director/actor Stephen Merchant. He brings a running, screen-specific look at how he came to the project, research and factual domains, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, cut scenes and related domains.
Overall, Merchant creates a charming, enjoyable chat. He covers the film well and does so with wit and honesty. This ends up as an engaging and informative commentary.
Six Deleted/Extended Scenes fill a total of eight minutes, 53 seconds. Most of that running time comes from a couple of elongated sequences, and even those don’t offer much new content.
As for the other clips, they add some minor comedy. We don’t get anything especially notable, though.
A Gag Reel goes for two minutes, 42 seconds. Most of this focuses on goofs and giggles, and bits from the family dinner dominate. The “Reel” seems forgettable.
Two featurettes follow, and A Family’s Passion lasts eight minutes, 53 seconds and includes comments from Merchant, actor/producer Dwayne Johnson, real-life subjects Paige, Ricky Knight, Zak Knight and Julia Knight, and actors Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Nick Frost and Lena Headey.
“Passion” looks at the source material and research, the real family behind the film, cast and performances, and shooting the wrestling. This becomes a semi-fluffy but still reasonably informative reel.
Finally, Learning the Moves runs three minutes, 18 seconds and features Pugh, Paige, Merchant, Lowden, stunt double Tessa Blanchard, wrestling advisor Gareth Harris, wrestling performer James O’Hagan, and wrestler Andrew Marshall and Keith Cowhill.
This featurettes looks at the depiction of wrestling in the film. It comes with some good shots from the set but it fails to deliver much substance.
The disc opens with ads for The Hustle, The Upside, Operation Finale, Arctic, Serenity (2019) and Hotel Mumbai. No trailer for Fighting appears here.
A second disc presents a DVD copy of Fighting. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray, except it lacks the Director’s Cut.
An underdog story that leaves few clichés unturned, Fighting With My Family disappoints. It lacks coherence and consistency, so it becomes a forgettable tale. The Blu-ray brings solid picture and audio along with a few good bonus materials. Fighting wastes its talent on a stale story.