Marcus Graham (Murphy) may be a success in his industry, but he’s also an insatiable womanizer who’s completely unprepared for his new boss, Jacqueline (Robin Givens), a female version of Marcus in terms of all things romantic.

For thoughts on Boomerang, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/BxgZJ–nfPI?t=3731]

Video Quality

Boomerang comes to Blu-Ray from Paramount Home Entertainment with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1 that features an older master that is in need of a refresh. The presentation is agreeable, but one has to wonder why Paramount did not opt to include this in their Paramount Presents line which would have afforded it a new 4K scan like The Golden Child, Trading Place, and many other Murphy titles. Throughout most of the runtime, image stability and delineation are generally passable with a small amount of detail in the production design. Instances of outright print damage are few and far between, but overall clarity and detail could be greatly improved with a fresh master.

The film thankfully does not present with much in the way of unnatural digital tinkering. This transfer has some natural film grain, but you have to contend with it being unstable and a bit clumpy in instances. The picture can run a bit soft in numerous shots, but colors are natural even if they are lacking extreme depth. Black levels could stand to be much deeper as fine detail is often lost in shadow. These are also the moments where noise and banding becomes a bit of an issue against harsher gradients. This presentation is watchable, but a new scan would likely do wonders for the film.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray provides a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix that provides a stronger experience than the video side of things. The activity focuses heavily on the front channels with some of the fantastic tunes from the soundtrack radiating out and filling the room appropriately. Music is used skillfully throughout the presentation, but it never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. The low-end support is most expressive in this regard with the bass pumping. The classic dialogue comes through clearly and never falls victim to any digital anomalies. Rear speakers get some occasional activity with ambient sounds, but it is not a standout in that regard. The track accomplishes what it needs to do, and that is about all you can ask from it.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Reginald Hudlin a really thoughtful and informative commentary track in which he breaks down the production of the film including his work with Eddie Murphy, trying to spotlight the talents Murphy had not been able to show previously, the work of some of the ensemble cast members, the artistic decisions behind the costumes, friends that are featured in bit parts, some of the real locations that were able to shoot and much more that fans should enjoy.

Extended and Deleted Scenes: Five scenes totaling five minutes of unused material are provided here featuring a setup for Thanksgiving, an interaction between Grace Jones and Eartha Kitt, an unused Chris Rock bit and more. These scenes are presented with optional audio commentary from Director Reginald Hudlin.

Final Thoughts

Boomerang is a hilarious and intriguing addition to the Eddie Murphy catalog even if we acknowledge that there are some problematic elements at play within this one. Murphy is as quick-witted as ever opposite a strong ensemble of women who keep him on his toes. We know Murphy can deliver laughs, but one must also commend the strong dramatic moments he has within this one. Murphy is far from infallible, but Boomerang is one of the films that has proven to be the biggest surprises in terms of sheer enjoyability. It is easy to see why so many people are passionate about this one. Paramount Home Entertainment delivers a decent enough Blu-Ray that could use an A/V upgrade, but at least fans have an HD transfer with a couple of entertaining special features. Those who have been waiting to finally own this film in HD might be slightly disappointed that there was not a new master, but it is still the best it has ever looked on physical media. Recommended

Boomerang is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.