More of a compilation of past concert performances (albeit in stunning audiovisual quality) than a documentary of new insight and depth, this will please and frustrate fans in equal measure.

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Strictly for Blinks only, Blackpink: The Movie celebrates the iconic K-pop group’s 5th anniversary with a documentary that will please and frustrate fans in equal measure.

Made up of mostly performances from The Show, their online concert delivered digitally earlier this year, and scintillating footage from their 2018-2019 world tour, The Movie generally intercuts full song performances with a few interviews with each of the four members.

Each member—Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa—also has a mini-‘film’ designed to reflect her personality and interests. As a die-hard Blink myself, I mostly enjoyed it, especially the opportunity to re-experience their performances on the big screen in stunning audiovisual quality. But this begs the question: Is this a concert film or a documentary?

“I think we shine the most when the four of us get together.”

As a documentary, it doesn’t provide any new insights and depth to the group and its members, nor does it even try to contextualise the milestone, say, through narration or other techniques—Netflix’s Blackpink: Light Up the Sky (2020) does this so much better.

As a concert film, The Movie does its job (even seamlessly intercutting between footage from different concerts of the same songs), though it may disappoint fans hoping for more than just a compilation of highlights, even if they had been edited well.

Feels more like a supplement than the main content, The Movie should in time to come become an indispensable part of the Blackpink legacy. But for now, I appreciate the intent even if I wished the film had been more incisive and clearer about what it hoped to do.

Grade: B-

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