[Review] Hollywood Action – BOYNEXTDOOR

BOYNEXTDOOR is back with their 5th mini-album, The Action, led by the single Hollywood Action. It follows the release of their 4th Korean mini-album, No Genre (yet to review) and the single I Feel Good, as well as their Japanese single, Count To Love.

I have been a little busy the last couple of weeks, so I hadn’t checked out any teaser material for BOYNEXTDOOR’s newest album. So, going into Hollywood Action, I had no idea what to expect aside from what I knew of BOYNEXTDOOR. Well, I am genuinely surprised with how the final product turned out. The track features a retro-driven swing rhythm instrumental with catchy brass. Altogether, this lays the foundations for Hollywood Action‘s fun, addictive and groovy nature. I also liked the jazzy elements that the producers managed to incorporate into Hollywood Action, particularly via the outro where the members introduce the piano, drum bass and trumpet for some brief solo moments. I did enjoy BOYNEXTDOOR’s dynamic and chemistry in Hollywood Action, which made the song super engaging and worthwhile to listen to. Their delivery adds to the fun and gives off a witty impression, which works well with the lyrics. However, I think Hollywood Action needs something textural and be longer to take it to the next level in my book.

The music video is excellent! It definitely matches the fun and upbeat vibes of the song. We see the members crash the Hollywood production of a spy-slash-sci-fi movie that, if it were real, would be extremely cringy and cheesy. But isn’t that the nature of some classic spy and sci-fi movies from that era? I particularly liked how they are nonchalantly performing their choreography throughout the video, whilst on set and in the foreground of the movie production. I also liked the ending of the video, which saw the members (and the rest of the cast and crew) attend an award ceremony and receive an award for the film. This speaks well to those jazzy elements in the song and just gave a nice classy cap to the video. Love that the aliens were also there, as well.

The performance for this comeback, from the one reel and the snippets in the music video, promises synchronisation and the vibrant energy. This performance already looks like a standout to me. I enjoyed the Thriller reference and am intrigued by that crouching twist (where they touch the ground behind and in front of them) move, all of which form part of the chorus routine.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.3/10