Holy crap, has it really been 20 years since Pearl Jam formed? I might need a moment. I remember picking up their debut album (the now commonplace "Ten") on cassette tape and playing it, though I was not as enamored with "Alive" as many others were. They broke into mainstream success like similar grunge bands did, though Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready and then-drummer Dave Abbruzzese would reject the spotlight as quickly as it gravitated to them after the success "Ten" enjoyed. This and other subjects are covered in a 90-minute examination of the band's life and notoriety (titled Under Review).

Dubbed "An Independent Critical Analysis" because presumably the band didn't want to be involved in the production, rock journalists, historians and engineers on some of the band's music are interviewed to share their recollections about the individual musicians and the collective group, along with its place in music both then and now. The piece takes it time in covering the individual members' origins, such as Vedder in San Diego before coming up to Seattle. Ament and Gossard's time spent with Mother Love Bone is shown, and the death of their singer Andrew Wood is recalled along with the personal impact felt by the pair. Some of the other notable moments in the band's history are recounted as well, including the Roskilde tragedy in 2000 when several fans were trampled to death. Other undertakings like the band's war with TicketMaster over excessive ticket fees are touched upon in varying degrees.

Lesser topics of discussion are also brought up, such as the band's long aversion to filming music videos since the criticism they received when the video for "Jeremy" (shot by a then-little known Mark Pellington) was done. Some of those who have come and gone through the band's circle of friends through the years are recalled also, such as Neil Young and the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The albums released through the years are discussed, examined and praised (or criticized) as need be as well.

The producers of Under Review try to do what they can with peripheral figures (and old footage) to try and develop this analysis of the band's works, but the interview subjects don't really do anything more than provide additional context for an album or event. From there, the so-called "analysis" is left for the narrator to do, and he only seems to do it in glancing moments of voiceover. The whole thing is less about critical thinking and more about an unauthorized biography, and it only makes the creators look silly for wanting to do something like this in the first place.

Ultimately Under Review is little more than a 90-minute session about Pearl Jam that without any real insight, turns out to be nothing more than a time waster. One could learn as much (if not more) by spending the same amount of time on the band's Wikipedia page where there's a helluva more detail and even some independent analysis in rapid citation form. Or just do what I did and play the band's albums over two decades and enjoy the ride while bypassing this one.

Presented in full-frame, Under Review appears to be juggling video from several different sources, be it old music videos, vintage interview footage from band members, and anything else they can find from the public domain to use in this feature. The interviews look decent and there has been no edge enhancement or noticeable haloing (that was not already in a source) in the image, everything looks good.

Two-channel stereo listening. Ready to hear someone play slightly altered instrumental versions of Pearl Jam songs? You're in luck! In between that and some old videos the sound is listenable, albeit barely. The interviews are on the weak side throughout, and there's no engagement from the rear channels or subwoofer. You're stuck listening to a subpar soundtrack.

The only extra is of Vedder and current drummer Matt Cameron on an audio interview recorded in 2009 (17:51). The two talk about the new album and some of the various touch points of the band's career. There are biographies of the interview subjects from the feature here as well.

Upon further review, Under Review doesn't bring anything new to the table and seems to want to live its life feasting on the scraps that bands leave behind. The feature is boring and technically/supplementally there's nothing to blow smoke up your skirt, so I'd recommend putting this in your rearviewmirror.