5/5 Blu-ray: For Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Fans, this Blu-ray comes with three discs, a lot of features and awesome picture quality
  by Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California)
Since 2006, "Hannah Montana" has not only been a popular television series for the Disney Channel but a series that has definitely made Miley Cyrus, daughter of country music star Billy Ray Cyrus, a bonafide star.

It was one thing to watch this young teenager who was 13-years old at the time, grow up and become a popular television star and music talent that would sell out many concert venues, has had her music on top of the Billboard charts and now has two Disney films under her belt.

The first film from Disney focused on a 3D version of her concert and television show personality but this time around, "Hannah Montana: The Movie" takes to the big screen and takes a more serious look at Miley Cyrus's character as her pop star identity has now affected her family and he friendship and has come to the point that the lifestyle of a popstar has gotten to her head.

The film is directed by Peter Chelsom ("Shall We Dance", "Serendipity" and "Town & Country"), a screenplay by Daniel Berendsen ("Sabrina, the Teenage Witch", "The Cheetah Girls: One World") , composer John Debney ("The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor", "Spider-Man 3" and "Sin City") and cinematographer David Hennings ("Strange Wilderness", "Blue Crush" and "Ice Princess").

For those not familiar with the television series, former music artist Robby Ray Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus) has moved his family (which include Miley, played by Miley Cyrus, and her older brother Jackson, played by Jason Earles) from Tennessee to Malibu in order to manage his daughter Miley's music career. But in order to keep sanity at their home and keep their family together, he and Miley has kept secret identities and Miley dons a blonde wig and goes by the name Hannah Montana. Along with her best friend Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment) and friend Oliver Oken (Mitchel Musso), who also take on disguises, help protect Miley's secret.

In "Hannah Montana: The Movie", the film picks up with Hannah Montana's career doing quite well and is now managed by Vita (Vanessa Williams). While Vita is successfully booking Hannah in various, major events, the fame has kept her busy to be with family (to celebrate Jackson's entrance to college) and Lilly's birthday party. To make things worse, a member of the paparazzi is trying to figure out Hannah Montana's secret.

After Hannah ends up getting into fight with Tyra Banks over some shoes and getting plastered on the newspapers and disrupting Lilly's birthday party by coming as Hannah Montana, Robby Ray feels that his daughter Miley can't balance her time as a family member and friend and is focusing too much of her life as Hannah Montana and thus tricks her to going to Tennessee (instead of an award ceremony in New York).

Hannah is not pleased that her father has tricked her and prevented her from attending the award show and is upset that he dragged her to the farmlife in Tennessee. But Robby Ray wants her to remember where she came from and that Tennessee was their home before California.

While in Tennessee, Miley tries to adjust to the slow-paced life and meets an old friend when she was younger named Travis Brody (Lucas Till) who she becomes closer too, while her father Robby Ray gets closer to Lorelai (Melora Hardin), but with both of them having to live secret lives, can Miley or Robby Ray ever be able to have a normal life?

"Hannah Montana: The Movie" comes with three discs. The first is the Blu-ray Disc, the second being the Digital Copy and the third is the DVD.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Hannah Montana: The Movie" is featured in 1080p High Definition with an aspect ration of 1:85:1. For the most part, the film is absolutely vibrant. There are many outdoor scenes that showcase the film's color. May it be the shot at Lilly's birthday party at Santa Monica Beach to the lush area of Tennessee. The film definitely showcases a broad spectrum of colors, all of which are sharp, clear and absolutely eye-popping. For the most part, David Hennings did a great job with utilizing the environment with this film and overall, picture quality is magnificent.

As for audio, this is probably the first time I have seen Disney sport an English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack (the film is also presented in French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital). The dialogue is crystal clear and as much as this film is dialogue driven, with it also being somewhat of a musical as well, music plays a big part of this film and sounds fantastic. Definitely good utilization of surrounds to pick up crowd ambiance or the animals at the farm but for the most part, this is a film where dialogue is king and music is also a big part of the film. Thus the soundtrack is quite crystal clear, the lossless audio definitely makes the music come alive.

As for subtitles, "Hannah Montana: The Movie is presented in English SDH, French and Spanish.

A DVD is included and sports a widescreen (1:85:1) - enhanced for 16×9 televisions and an audio soundtrack sporting a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound soundtrack.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Hannah Montana: The Movie" features the following special features with some in 1080p High Definition or 480i Standard Definition:

* Audio Commentary by Director Peter Chelsom - Peter Chelsom is the type of director who utilizes his commentary to thoroughly setup a scene and give credit to who came up with the ideas in pulling them off. From utilizing scenes from Miley Cyrus's first film and inserting scenes into the film to how animals were brought in to the film and managing over a thousand extras, this is a very thorough commentary.
* Deleted Scenes - (10:35) A total of four deleted scenes which features an introduction by director Peter Chelsom discussing why they were removed. But for the most part, Chelsom says the film is the final cut and mostly all footage was utilized in the film. But the four deleted scenes included are: "Jackson: I'm Pretending to Be at University...", "How Are We Going to Get Hannah Down to Crowley Corners?", "Oswald and the Hannah Wigs" and "Oswald, The Ostrich and the Alligator"
* Music Videos - (9:30) There are a total of seven music videos included. Music videos featured are: "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus (3:52), "Back to Tennessee" by Billy Ray Cyrus (4:22), "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" by Miley Cyrus (3:49), "Let's Get Crazy" by Miley Cyrus (2:59), "The Climb" (movie version) by Miley Cyrus (4:06), "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts (4:17) and "Crazier" by Taylor Swift (3:15).
* The Hoedown Throwdown Home Experience - A Blu-ray exclusive only. This featurette is learning the popular dance created for the film (featured during the fundraising event and the ending credits) and features the full featurette titled "Everybody Now" (14:39) featuring how all the cast members (and crew) learned the dance by choreographer Jamal Sims. While, for those who just want to watch "how to do the dance", they can watch the "Learn the Moves (9:47) featuring choreographer Jamal Sims with "Hannah Montana" talents Mitchel Musso and Moises Arias.
* Find Your Way Back Home - (15:05) A featurette with three segments. The first features Miley Cyrus and mother Trish showing us around Franklin, Tennessee and the various shops and eateries. The second is Billy Ray Cyrus showing us Tennessee and talking about how it's home for the Cyrus family. While the final segment features Emily Osment showing us Los Angeles and Hollywood and the key spots to visit.
* I Should Have Gone to Film School with Jason Earles - (15:18) Jason Earles takes us behind-the-scenes of the "Hannah Montana: The Movie" film and introduces us to the crew and what their responsibilities are. Especially for "Best Man", "Grip" and "Gaffer" and differences between a Assistant Director and a Director's Assistant.
* Fun with Hannah and the Gang - (3:53) The blooper reel from the film.
* B Disney Live - Fans can connect with family and friends through the innovative movie-watching experience! People will need a profile 2.0 Blu-ray player to take advantage of this capability.

JUDGMENT CALL:

When it comes to "Hannah Montana: The Movie", it's almost similar to what I had to say about "The Jonas Brothers: 3-D Concert Experience" in that these films are created for their fans.

"Hannah Montana" is a popular children's television show with a large following and I have watched many television shows with my son and although I'm not as familiar with her music, every decade there are shows that will appeal to their young fans and many of those who scratch their heads and just don't get why people find it so appealing. In the 80's we had "Kids Incorporated", in the 90's we had "Saved By the Bell" and although Saturday morning teen shows and afternoon teen shows on network television are a thing of the past, these shows have continued on the Disney Channel and "Hannah Montana" is simply a popular series with a lot of merchandising behind the series and its star Miley Cyrus.

And those who are not fans, they are going to criticize and those who never cared for Hannah Montana or Miley Cyrus, it's a given that they are not going to give a care for this film.

But how did I feel about the film? As a guy who tends to write a lot about teen or young entertainment worldwide, may it be their music or television careers, I enjoyed the film. Of course, it all comes from my knowledge of the series and knowing how quarky the television series is but also knowing the difficult the character of Miley Stewart has in juggling both worlds of a normal teenager and a pop star.

But what I found more interesting is seeing Robby Ray stepping down and knocking Miley off her high horse. He notices that the fame is getting to her head and that if he doesn't change things now, he's going to lose that daughter who was always caring for her family and her friends.

So, when it comes to the dramatic scenes, I enjoyed watching that part. As for the music, this is more geared for her fans. Obviously, with her single "The Climb" and the soundtrack of this film doing so well on the Billboard Charts, it's quite evident that she has a strong fandom of fans that are passionate for her music. The film is not "High School Musical" and every scene is full of music and a little on drama, it's quite the opposite where there are more acting scenes and music plays a more important part towards the second half of the film. Also, you get music from Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts and both offer an incentive to check out the film as well.

There was a superhero-esque (or more like "Spider-Man 2") type of storyline near the end which I won't get into but overall, I suppose that those who have watched her television show will find out if Miley Stewart or Hannah Montana will be the last persona standing.

For the most part, I found the film to be enjoyable, fun and it was good to see Miley Cyrus take on an emotional scene. I thought that the ending scene with the talent and film crew doing "The Hoedown Throwdown Dance" was hilarious and fun and for the most part, I'm quite confident that fans of Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana are going to have a great time with this release.

As for the Blu-ray release, you get a ton of special features and as typical of Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment releases, its one company where you know that their releases are going to be given absolute awesome picture and audio quality. And I can definitely tell you that this 3-Disc release will definitely be well worth it for the Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana fans.

Overall, presentation and audio wise and the content included on this release is magnificent but as for the film, it all comes down to whether or not you are a fan of Miley Cyrus or her television show. Otherwise, if you had no care in the world for her music or the show, then you know this release is not for you. But for those who are passionate about her music and her series, then I can tell you that this Blu-ray release is highly recommended!

4/5 Light-hearted family film that will keep younger audiences laughing but may disappoint some adults
  by Caitlin D. Neely (USA)
I must admit that I watch Hannah Montana. I recently entered into adulthood and I still enjoy this show and others on the Disney channel. They're the perfect cure for a bad mood; where you want to escape back into adolescence and relive simpler days. Hannah Montana: The Movie (directed by Peter Chelsom) carries the same formula.

Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) is a teenager with a big secret. She is living in two contrasting worlds. One where she is a normal high-schooler who deals with boys and catty girls. The other where she is the famous pop singer Hannah Montana. When she ruins her best friend Lily's (Emily Osment) sweet sixteen and begins to spend more time with her publicist (Vanessa Williams) than her own family, her father Robby Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus) gives Miley a dose of reality. He whisks her back to Tennessee and presents her with an ultimatum. She must spend two weeks in her home state and decide whether or not she wants to continue to be Hannah Montana.

This movie is for children and young adults. If you're an adult you have to come in very open. These people aren't the best actors and they're not going to win an Oscar for their performances. But the movie is light-hearted and optimistic. It's a movie about growing up and deciding what's best not only for the people in your life but yourself also.

I believe that's why the younger audiences flock to this movie. Not only because it's Hannah Montana but because they don't strong opinions about what good acting or writing is.

Miley Cyrus has improved her acting skills. They're not top notch but they're better than they were when she first got started at Disney. Emily Osment is an enjoyment to watch as always. She's very real when she acts and is better than Cyrus.

The songs complement the movie and match the tone of the scene they're playing in. I must admit that Hannah/Miley's songs are addicting. Not matter how much a person might dislike her they can't deny that she has a good voice. Her `live' voice is seasoned for a young performer. She may have a career ahead of her in that area after the sensation of Hannah Montana fades away. Her recent hit "The Climb", featured in the movie, proves that Miley has no trouble making it onto the radio. She doesn't need Hannah to be popular.

Hannah Montana: The Movie will capture the hearts of young audiences. It may surprise an adult or two who remember that this isn't the intellectual comedy of the year. It's simply a sweet children's film.

3/5 Better than the Jonas Brothers but still somewhat flat
  by Alexander M. Walker (Chicago, IL USA)
Following little more than a month on the heels of the Jonas Brothers movie, Hannah Montana: The Movie easily overshadows its predecessor while still doing little more than highlighting one of Disney's rising stars. Hannah Montana: The Movie benefits from a decent plot which continues the television show's story while still providing a simple plot that functions autonomously from the pre-existing Hannah Montana timeline - which was important for this reviewer. It takes its place in the long line of fish out of water films and, for what it is, delivers a watchable film for the kiddies and the parents who bought it for them.

Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) lives a double life; in everyday life she's a normal teenage girl going to high school and working through all the drama that brings, but with her publicist by her side she hops a limo to crowded concert halls where she performs as the pop sensation Hannah Montana. It's an act she's been keeping up for a few years now, and while it may not be the first time, Miley has lost sight of what's important. After a public feud with Tyra Banks and a late arrival at her best friend's birthday party (where she steals the show as her popular alter ego), Miley is kidnapped by her father Robby (Billy Ray Cyrus) and brother Jackson (Jason Earles) back to Crowley Corners, Tennessee to help her get back in touch with her roots. Her family members, like grandma Ruby (Margo Martindale), give her a heaping dose of country living as skuzzy tabloid reporter Oswald Granger (Peter Gunn) sneaks about in the background trying to discover the secret of Miley's double life. But what would this movie be without a love interest for Miley? So tossed in to the mix is a rustic ranch hand Travis (Lucas Till), who teaches Miley how to love the countryside once again. The whole situation comes to a "climax" when Miley agrees to "ask" Hannah Montana to come to their sleepy little town to put on a benefit concert to save the local downtown from becoming a modern strip mall, a change advocated by Mr. Bradley (Barry Bostwick) - a storyline which just peters out with no real resolution after the big musical ending.

It's easily a few steps above the Jonas Brothers Concert Experience, but what is that really saying? The music of Hannah Montana is nothing special and she would have been overshadowed by Taylor Swift's guest appearance, like the Jonas Brothers were in their own movie, had it not been for an above par square dance number somewhere in the film's midsection. While obviously not the focus of the film, the veteran actors give the film a badly needed respectability that the younger cast really can't bring themselves. Miley Cyrus may be a Disney-drone sweetheart, but beyond an inherited singing voice she doesn't really have much going for her in the acting department.

Yes, there are plot holes abound and young actors struggling to leave a good impression in the shadow of better character actors, but the kids will enjoy it and the parents won't be numbed to the core.

The Blu-ray factor does little to kick up the film's quality as few moments really take advantage of the high resolution capabilities of the format. A concert in the film's opening moments and a few sweeping country scenes look great, but otherwise you'd enjoy it just as well in standard definition - which is coincidentally included twice in the form of a supplementary DVD and digital copy. The audio does sound fantastic though, and the musical numbers do have a nice oomph. Yes, an oomph. A crisp, well balanced oomph.

Blu-ray Extra Features:

Once you're done learning the dance number from the film's hoedown scene, as taught in one of the better featurettes (because it'll keep your kids busy), you can watch the cast learn the number in the featurette following it. Then you have the typical extras like deleted scenes, a gag reel, an audio commentary from Director Peter Chelsom and a behind the scenes piece led by co-star Jason Earles. Finally, and this is easily the more interesting for the adults, "Find Your Way Back Home" takes the stars back to their hometowns where they give the at-home audience a tour of where they grew up. Riveting? No. But it's something.

5/5 This Movie Rocks!!!
  by Bradley G. Carter (louisville,Ky)
Hey I am A Eighteen year old male. I Went to see this movie in theaters and it was such an amazing movie Mostly Because Miley Cyrus And Billy Ray Cyrus was Great Actors. This Movie was very good for all ages. Ive been waiting for this To come out on blu-ray and everyone should definetely buy this movie you will love it!Hannah Montana: The Movie [Blu-ray]

1/5 To All The Films I've Insulted Before...
  by D. Reed (Elkton, MD USA)
Oh my gosh this is the worst movie I've ever seen in my life! I feel ashamed for ridiculing Twilight, Across the Universe, Jaws II, Superman III, Batman & Robin (but that does not excuse them for being bad films). But none of them had a main character as shallow as this! Even that "prententious" and "torturted" teen from Twilight had her parents interests in mind when she ran away with the "vampires" to escape the evil blood suckers (though I'm still in shock that I'm defending that film!). There aren't enough words for me to describe how bad this was. Nineteen minutes in felt like the length of the film. I can't even call this a film, it was a giant plug for Miley Cyrus and her father. Half the cast of the television series isn't even in it except for Emily Osment and I would much rather hear her sing than this human abomination. Basically all we get is an extended episode filled with more songs by this "sensation". I cringed as every song was played and the only other person besides Miley and the cameo people who got to sing was her father (the ONLY reason she got this role anyways) and he's a bad singer to boot. Worst of all (if its not that already), not one song is performed live. Everything is lip-synched. Not a very confident performer are you? Meryl Streep and the rest of the Mamma Mia! cast aren't professional singers (then again, neither is Cyrus or her father) and they sang all of their songs live! All the comedic moments were unfunny (even when she hurts herself), I can't remember a movie where I didn't even smile. Even the crappy movie version of Bewitched got ONE laugh out of me! The editing was sloppy and the slow motion effects made the ones used in Twilight look credible. But a few things I did learn from this picture:
1. Hannah Montana is the ONLY celebrity that anyone can like (That's what they give off in the film. There's not a single person who doesn't like her).
2. Hannah Montana can outsell the Beatles
3. If you lie to someone, you can solve everything by building a chicken coop
Seriously, everyone she hurts in this film (her best friend, her brother, her dad, her dad's love interest and her own love interest) forgives her despite the fact that she made her friend feel left out at her own birthday, didn't see her brother off to college, ruining the dinner party her dad's girlfriend set up, stands up AND lies to the guy who likes her (heck, she even manages to rip off Mrs. Doubtfire as well. But I can't understand why anybody in their right mind would like her anyway) and doesn't even remotely feel grateful for being with her family. But don't worry, build a chicken coop and all is forgiven. Then she reveals her identity, sings a song and everyone in town promises to keep her "secret" safe (Clark Kent had a more convincing disguise) Yeah I'd run out and sell her out for money! All in all, a badly put together film filled with bad songs, bad actors and a person whose fame I can't wait to get over! If people want family entertainment, I suggest they look elsewhere, Disney would be ashamed at what his company has become! Mediocre films, mediocre television shows and horrible actors have blackened what used to be a very good animation/film company. I mean, have you people who've given this a good review actually seen the shows on Disney Channel? None of which are half as funny as the "live studio audience" make it appear. The "cleverness" of the Hannah Montana writers (if thats what you want to call them) to take song titles from famous groups like The Beatles and ABBA to make episode titles like Promma Mia (I roll my eyes every time I see that one and makes me sick that she auditioned with that song). A flashback: Back when she released her first album outside the Hannah Montana name, my sister and I heard this conversation between a child and her parent.
Child: Look mom, Miley Cyrus!
Parent: (in a "I just don't give a sh- tone) That's nice.
Child picks up CD
Child: She sings Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!
Parent: Yeah hon, she's real original.
*by the way, her cover version is a piece of garbage.
To think that this is the same company that gave us ACTUAL family films like the Witch Mountain films, The Parent Trap (the original of course, not that remake with the trashy Lindsay Lohan), Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Swiss Family Robinson and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea! And even though I've never heard of him until his recent claim to fame, I congratulate that Justin Beiber kid (however you spell his last name) for not selling out (yet) to Disney, the current evil Empire of the United States!