Vince, “E”(Eric), Turtle, Drama, and Ari are back. Tomorrow, June 3rd 2015, Entourage will pick up where it yodeft off in 2011, and it picks up in quite a large way. The incredibly successful HBO series is making its way to the big screen. The hype is big and when the film was announced, it was met with major anticipation and happiness. And now, the time has come, eager viewers have been pre-ordering tickets and gearing up for the release. I can tell you, the film was worth the wait and does leave you walking out of the theater asking for more; Let’s dive into our full review of Entourage, keep in mind there will be some spoilers.
The movie picks up right were the series ended back in 2011, through the opening sequence we realize that Doug Ellin still has phenomenal taste in music and is very skilled in cinematography. Many unanswered questions get resolved, and we learn that big changes can happen in quite quick amounts of time. We learn that Vincent Chase did indeed go off to Paris to marry Sophia, but it did not last that long and they ended up separating. After the credits of the series finale, we learned that Ari got the offer of a life time, for him to be the king of Hollywood and he did indeed accept the offer, we also get reimbursed in Ari Gold’s comedic genius early on in the film. The gang gets back together as, Vince is having quite the party on a yacht in Ibiza and “E”, Turtle, and Drama take a ride over to see him. Surprisingly and with a warm welcome, we launch into the opening credits after Vince drops the bombshell that the next role he takes, he also wants to direct.
It was great to see the opening credits from the show were adopted for the big screen, they got an update. The score for the opening is still the classic “Superhero” by Jane’s Addiction. After that we jump into the film and flash forward to around eight months later, the film follows a score of time in the beginning and it very much feels like a longer episode.
Doug Ellin and the cast do a great job of moving the plot along, simply put this is the big chance for the entire Entourage. Vince is starring and directing in Air Gold’s first movie as studio head, Hyde. You get the feeling that the movie is too big to fail, but problems do arise as Vince and “E” continue to go over budget with the film.
It becomes a wild ride trying to get the extra money, in fact it sends Ari on an interesting trip to Texas to meet with the financier of the film. Or rather the co-financiers as it turns out Larsen McCredle, the man with the money, wants his son Travis to gain some experience. In fact Travis gets sent back with Ari, to see the film and to see if it is worth pumping more money into, something that Ari Gold is trying to make happen with all of his might. A key conflict of the film, arises when Travis has several areas of the film that he doesn’t agree with. To be more specific, he doesn’t feel the same way for Vince as the rest of the world, specifically because of a girl. Without saying too much, when a girl comes between a set of guys, it can very easily lead to trouble. This idea will stay until the end of the film.
The film has plenty of laughs as well, plus we get an updated version of the 1966 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors, this comes courtesy of a new Cadillac. In fact Vince gets one after Ari finally gets to see his work with Hyde, he also gives a small pink motor bike to Eric. This is just one scene, that pushes the connection of the group and the overall movie further.
Turtle gets to see Ronda Rousey and they seem to form a real connection, after spending some time at a private and intimate five hundred plus private screening of Hyde, which Ari and Travis come to, even though they weren’t necessarily invited. Vince puts it out there, that he wants to show Ari perfection, but in order to get more funding they want to see the film.
Little did they all know, even if someone shows that they are nervous, the movie might just turn out to be a hit. As Ari ends up being blown away by Hyde, but he ends up having some difficulty to get the McCredle’s to give them more funding. It ends up being a show down between Ari, John Ellis, Dana Gordon, and the rest of the studio heads. This leads to a big change in Ari’s character he realizes something in the end, and that is the size of his ego as the result of this showdown changes the dynamic. But even if a change in the dynamic occurs, the larger the risk usually means the higher the reward, especially with Ari.
Characters as a whole develop and grow, as well as the fact that friendships grow stronger in the film. We see growth with the entirety of the gang, for instance with Turtle we see him develop into more than just a driver. He ends up getting a girl and it turns out he is much better with saving money, after all the tequila company made him quite rich. With Eric we see him move through several girls, but he eventually comes back with Sloan and they have a baby girl named Ryan Murphy. Vince’s marriage didn’t last, but after all, Hollywood stars can get still get the Hollywood girls. Drama comes to the realization that Vince is more important in the universe, but Vince along with Turtle and Eric make him go back on this, after all Drama is in four pivotal scenes of Hyde. Ari grows a lot throughout the film, he deals with a lot from Ms. Ari Gold to even Llyod’s requests. But his unique personality is still there and it provides great additions to the plot and many great one liners.
Overall, Entourage is phenomenal and for those who have watched the series, you will be incredibly pleased and will leave wanting more. Entourage delivers with a great plot that keeps the audience very entertained and it truly feels like a classic episode of the show. The characters are back with there classic quirks and personalities, and if anything they get stronger in the film as we spend a longer amount of time with them. Entourage is easily the movie of the summer, if not the movie of the year and in classic Entourage fashion the film closes some ends and leaves some open. Be sure to stay after the credits, and like Hyde, I am incredibly confident that Entourage will do well and hopefully we will have a sequel in the future.
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