Power Ballad [Blu-Ray]

Director: John Carney

Cast: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Peter McDonald

Release Date: August 25, 2026

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

When Rick (Paul Rudd), a past-his-prime wedding singer, meets fading boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas) during a gig, the two bond over music and a late-night jam session. But when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into the hit that reignites his career, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves — even if it means risking everything he cares about. From writer-director John Carney (Sing Street, Once), POWER BALLAD is a feel-good story about music, self-respect, friendship, and the price of ambition.

‘Power Ballad’ follows talented, yet past-his-prime musician Rick now leading a local wedding band in Ireland who crosses paths with once legendary boy-band member Danny who is desperately trying to kick-start a successful solo career but feeling pigeonholed into his past persona. After a night of drunken collaboration and playing together following the wedding, Rick finds himself thrown and angry when he discovers that Danny has stolen one of his song’s and turned it into a smash hit without offering any credit. Desperate to get what he’s due, Rick sets out on a quest to find a way to prove that he actually created the song amid a lack of proof.

Directed by John Carney (Sing Street, Once) from a screenplay written by Carney and Peter McDonald, Carney does a great job at the helm of ‘Power Ballad’ smoothly guiding along the music-enhanced fun and emotional journey. The film’s cast includes Paul Rudd (Friendship), Nick Jonas (Midway), Peter McDonald (The Batman), Marcella Plunkett (Sing Street), Havana Rose Liu (Her Private Hell), and Jack Reynor (Lee Cronin’s The Mummy), with nearly all offering fully capable and fitting performances in each of their roles.

‘Power Ballad’ is a beautiful, emotionally rich and musically driven tale of two musicians struggling to prove that they still have what it takes to succeed and the conflict that shakes up both of their lives following an innocent night of bonding and collaboration that takes a dark turn months after. It’s heartwarming at times, infuriating at others and frequently hilarious throughout; always managing to trigger emotions as the story plays out and keeping the viewer locked in at every turn. A thoroughly human story that highlights the good and bad that can accompany any career, while never letting the heart and humor get lost along the way.

Filmmaker John Carney knows how to make a touching and emotionally powerful film and ‘Power Ballad’ is certainly no exception. This marvelous tale of music, connection and fighting for what’s right may not be his finest offering but it’s pretty terrific nonetheless and Carney’s careful work behind the camera is repeatedly complemented by delightful performances by leads Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas who have some notable chemistry and both shine throughout, helping to make this one work so tremendously and capably elicit the emotions it consistently does, while the supporting cast is pretty wonderful in their own right.

Overall, ‘Power Ballad’ is another heartfelt, music-fueled and emotional ride from filmmaker John Carney that explores two musicians struggling to find their purpose and way after varying levels of success as a night of drunken music and collaboration leads to a stolen song and a fight for credit. Director John Carney does a great job guiding along the moving tale and notable performances by a solid cast led by Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas help it to become something memorable. ‘Power Ballad’ may not be for everyone but if you’re a fan of Carney’s films or of either of the key cast members then this one is highly recommended and very much worth giving a chance. It should easily prove worthy of a rental for those that are intrigued yet might be understandably hesitant to drop the money on a blind purchase.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Power Ballad’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks wonderful as a whole and offers a clean, sharp and well-detailed presentation throughout that’s absent of any noticeable issues or troubles to be uncovered along the way. Details shine on everything from characters to scenery and interiors, and it’s all further complemented by clean, bright and bold colors and capably rich and deep black levels. Overall, this is a very nice High Definition presentation that looks sharp and clean throughout and shouldn’t disappoint fans or first time viewers.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack serves up a clean, crisp and consistently immersive audio presentation that contributes to the fun. It regularly utilizes all seven available channels to send music overtaking the various speakers, along with crowd chatter, nature effects and more whenever appropriate, and never causing any dialogue or other audio elements to become distorted or negatively impacted along the way. Overall, this is a great Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that delivers nicely at every turn and should easily satisfy viewers.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Power Ballad’ features a few enjoyable extras in the way of Behind the Scenes Featurettes including ‘The Making of Power Ballad’ (running approximately 10 minutes in length), ‘The Music of Power Ballad’ (running approximately 7 minutes) and ‘The Power of Paul Rudd’ (approximately 7 minutes). ‘2 Theatrical Trailers’ for the film (approximately 3 minutes combined) are also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Power Ballad’ is Now Available to Own on Blu-ray + DVD Combo & Digital from Lionsgate

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You can purchase ‘Power Ballad’ on Blu-ray at Amazon HERE!

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