We're on a mission from God ! (The Blues Brothers (DVD))

Member Name: martyfarty69

Product:	The Blues Brothers (DVD)
Date:	16/08/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic soundtrack, great comic acting and who can forget the car chase

Disadvantages: Some shaky acting in parts

The Blues Brothers is a 1980 Musical Comedy directed by John Landis and based on the Blues Brothers musical sketch from Saturday Night Live, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, it also features performances from such artists as Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker and Ray Charles.
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The Plot :

"Joliet" Jake Blues ( John Belushi ) is released from Joliet prison after serving 3 years for Armed Robbery, Jake is picked up by his brother Elwood ( Dan Aykroyd ) in the "Bluesmobile" which is a battered former police car that at first irritates Jake as he has just been in prison, however after a demonstration of the vehicles capabilities Jake accepts the vehicle.

The Brothers visit their childhood home, a Catholic Orphanage, there they learn that the orphanage will be closed down unless they manage to raise $5,000 to pay property taxes, Jake mentions it won't be a problem getting the money but the Orphanage director refuses to accept dirty money, after Jake and Elwood visit an evangelical church ( where the minister is James Brown ) Jake is hit by a light and believes he is given a message from God telling them they can raise the money by reforming their band.

And so the Blues Brothers begin their quest to reform their band and alog the way manage to gain the attention of a group of Neo-Nazi's, the local police and a mystery woman who it seems is determined to kill the brothers.
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The Blues Brothers is arguably one of the most famous Musical movies in history, the Blues Brothers concept came about after a sketch on Saturday Night Live where Belushi and Aykroyd played, after that it was popular for SNL cast members and weekly hosts to attend a local blues bar owned by Aykroyd, it didn't take long for the Blues Brothers to evolve into a phenomenon and eventually the concept of a movie came about penned by Dan Aykroyd.

Arguably the biggest highlight of the movie is the many musical performances, including my own personal favourite performance by Ray Charles , who plays a music store owner called Ray, but there are many others that are equally as good, however the movie isn't just musically strong, there is a strong script and strong comic acting by Belushi and Aykroyd, along with some good performances by the supporting cast, and of course who can forget the famous car chase which is memorable for the sheer amount of vehicles that were destroyed during filming.

There is some shaky acting, mainly on behalf of the Blues Brothers backing band who clearly aren't professional actors, but thats ok as thats excusable as they're essential to the musical strength of the movie, if you're a fan of comedies, and a fan of music then this is a no-brainer, if you're a fan of only one of those genre's then this will still fulfill your needs, there really hasn't been a movie that has done what the Blues Brothers did so well since, this is essential viewing for any movie buff

Summary: One of the best in this genre...ever !