One of my favourite BTS and K-pop songs of all time is the melodically rich soft rock balladry of Spring Day. It was a track that made perfect use of the groups diverse vocal tones and added a layer of sentimentality over one of the most gorgeous hooks of the past decade. And since the release and immense success of that track, the boys have leaned more heavily into this sound, sometimes more successfully than others. Especially within their Japanese discography. New single Film Out comes as the lead single for the groups upcoming best hits collection and continues this trend to another set of mixed results.
To be perfectly honest, Film Out is probably my favourite Japanese single from the boys in a long time. And while that may seem like I consider the track to be something special, it’s got more to do with my dislike of the groups other Japanese releases than my love for this track. At its best, Film Out is home to some truly resonant melodies. This is especially evident during some of its verses, which employ the kind of raw, unfiltered vocals that made so much of their past work so compelling and its great to see the boys stretch themselves in such a way. I think this could be attributed to the involvement of Back Number’s Iyori Shimizu, who’s talent for a stirring melody can be immediately seen here.
But that’s pretty much where Film Out stops becoming something truly of note. It’s a nice soft rock ballad but apart from the nice melody, it doesn’t really do much. It isn’t resonant enough to stand with the best of the groups tracks and much of the emotional impact that the track is aiming for is kind of lost with the rather hum drum central chorus. It really needed that extra “oomph”, whether it be vocally, melodically or production wise to really become a standout. And while potent, It just doesn’t get there.
Verses: 8
Chorus: 7
Production: 8
Performance: 8
Final Rating: 7.75 / 10
KBopped 
Agreed, It’s a fine song but needed an extra “oomph” to shoot it to the stars. I can think of songs such as CIX’s cinema, Lucy’s Hero, ATEEZ’s Inception and more which could have stood out with an extra element.
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