Film Review - Blur: To The End (2024)

I’m not going to hide it: I’ll be half a century old next year, which means Blur would have been on my radar in my teens. Blur: To The End documents the band’s latest reunion and is more about getting older together than the music they create.

That statement does make me feel old and realize how quickly life es you by. Blur drummer Dave Rowntree quotes in the film, “The less we do, the bigger we seem to get.” It’s a statement many bands from days gone by or in similar predicaments could agree on. In the crowd scenes of the film, many of the fans would have been too young to attend shows or not even born when Blur were in their prime.

Britpop was the rage in my teens, and next to Oasis, Colchester’s finest were seen as part of that movement. To call the band Britpop is debatable, as many have argued that as the band’s sound matured, they moved far beyond that movement. The early days were very poppy, but later they incorporated more American alt-rock influences like Pavement, and even David Bowie. Record labels often compared them one-on-one with Manchester’s finest. While they may have matched Oasis in records, when it came to shows, Oasis played Knebworth-sized shows regularly, whereas Blur did not.

Blur: To The End, directed by Toby L (known for Liam Gallagher: Knebworth 22), could be called a documentary, but it’s possibly more of a fly-on-the-wall insight into Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree reuniting for the umpteenth time. The main focus is on the 2023 reunion, which led to the band’s ninth studio album, The Ballad of Darren, their first album since the 2015 release of The Magic Whip. We see the guys in the studio rehearsing for a tour to promote the album, following them to warm-up shows, all leading up to the two-night Wembley Stadium shows in London—the huge shows the band dreamed of.

Personally, I was never a fan of Blur (nor Oasis). However, I did appreciate what they contributed to music. From the pop-tastic songs of “Parklife” and “The Universal” to the rock-tastic “Song 2,” they had one foot in pop and the other in rock. In the 1990s, I was more interested in the likes of Fishbone, Bad Brains, Slayer, and even David Bowie. Like many people, my musical tastes have changed as I’ve gotten older.

Blur: To The End feels more about four middle-aged friends (or “c***s,” as Albarn calls them) showcasing that they still have it despite all being in their mid to late 50s , older, wiser, and more vulnerable. The film, however, does not provide anything revelatory.

It’s obvious Damon Albarn is still a big child, young at heart and darkly humorous. We see this in the opening scene when he nearly crashes his car. He loves his chickens, and writing new songs seems to be the tonic for him after a bad breakup and the loneliness brought on by Covid. Alex James openly its he is a recovering alcoholic and now makes cheese. Graham Coxon, who has few friends and suffered from substance abuse, had his own solo band. Finally, there’s Dave Rowntree, who once lived in a very big house in the country and was a Labour councillor and lawyer. Now, like many adults of similar age, he suffers from intolerances and injures his knee but soldiers on for the sake of the tour.

A lot of doors were opened in Blur: To The End, but very few avenues were explored in depth. This will leave some viewers disappointed, especially considering that the band has split many times before, each time dealing with their own demons. No conflicts were raised during the film, which will surprise many; everything just feels a tad too cosy. In the end, Blur: To The End feels more like a concert film for the hardcore fan base. They will enjoy hearing the band play those classics, but if you are expecting more, look elsewhere.