DC's
Legends Of Tomorrow: The Complete Third Season
(2017 - 2018/Warner Blu-ray Set)/The
Punisher (2004/Thomas
Jane/Lionsgate 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B+/B- Sound: B+/B- Extras:
B/B- Main Programs: B/B-
Next
are two releases with underrated characters from the biggest sources
of the superhero genre...
Crossing
over with the DC Universe (now all on the CW Network) which includes
Arrow,
The
Flash,
and Supergirl, The
Legends of Tomorrow
is a fun assembly of small screen superheroes. The special effects
are surprisingly pretty good for being a TV series and there are a
lot of fun moments that comic fans will enjoy. This Complete
Third Season
(2017 -
2018) continues the show's success with a four episode crossover
event 'Crisis of Earth-X'.
You
can check out our review of the First
Season
here...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14363/DC's+Legends+of+Tomorrow:+The+Complete+Firs
This
Third
Season
of DC's
Legends of Tomorrow
stars Victor Garber (The
Flash),
Brandon Routh (Arrow,
Superman
Returns),
Caity Lotz (Arrow),
Franz Drameh (The
Flash),
Maisie Richardson-Sellers (The
Originals),
Tala Ashe (The
Carrie Diaries),
and Keiynan Lonsdale (The
Flash),
with Nick Zano (The
Final Destination),
and Dominic Purcell (The
Flash).
A
Time Master named Rip Hunter (Nick Zano) recruits a group of unlikely
meta humans who face off against various threats to ensue the safely
of mankind. Featuring characters from each of the Arrowverse shows,
the characters include Black Canary, The Atom, Heat Wave, Firestorm,
Vixen and many others.
Episodes
include Aruba-Con,
Freakshow, Zari, Phone Home, Return of the Mack, Helen Hunt, Welcome
to the Jungle, Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4, Beebo the God of War, Daddy
Darhkest, Here I Go Again, The Curse of the Earth Totem, No Country
for Old Dads, Amazing Grace, Necromancing the Stone, I, Ava, Guest
Starring John Noble,
and The
Good, The Bad and The Cuddly.
The
show is presented in sharp 1080p high definition with a 1.78:1
widescreen aspect ratio and a nice sounding DTS-HD MA (Master Audio)
5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit) lossless mix, both of which are a vast
improvement over the original television broadcast. Commercial and
watermark free, this clean presentation is the ideal way to watch and
enjoy the show as the filmmakers intended.
Special
Features...
The
Best of DC TV's Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2017
Inside
the Crossover: Crisis on Earth-X
Post
Production Theater
and
a Gag Reel
This
is defiantly one of the better comic book-based shows on air right
now and shows a lighter side of DC Universe that isn't all grim and
destruction.
Meanwhile
in the world of Marvel Comics, The Punisher is now on TV after three
feature films, the first of which wasted its leads (Dolph Lundgren,
Louis Gossett Jr.) and was afraid to use the skull logo and the third
& last for now of which was so horrendous, it could have killed
Ray Stevenson's career before it began. Between them is the nest of
the films, Jonathan Hensleigh's The
Punisher
(2004) with Thomas Jane as the (eventually) vengeful lead and John
Travolta as the villain.
This
time, the makers proudly use the skull logo, give us extended
exposition on the characters life and family, plus some of his
background and manages to transplant his Vietnam origins into a new
era. Jane (who soon would be in the hit HBO series Hung)
fits the role well, can also the family thing, the comedy (some of
which people will like, though it is in a different tone that the
current Marvel films) and definitely the action. The film want to
harken back to the grittier 1970s serious action films and that runs
from having Roy Scheider as his father to not using many digital
effects to cars used to even imitating a little of the Roger Moore
Bond films.
The
result is one of the better Marvel Comics movies and though a few
parts have aged more than expected, the rest holds up much better
than you would think and the film did break even, but that was not
enough for thew sequel or series the films deserved. Yet, like The
Shadow
with Alec Baldwin, was a better film than it got credit for at the
time and is easily the best film on the character to date. Jane also
did not become the star or action star he should have been, but did a
short later proving he could still play the character as much as even
now, Wesley Snipes could be Blade. You can see the marvel Universe
left behind some of its best actors and works.
Though
some people criticized John Travolta's villain, he is actually very
consistent as the head mobster and formidable nemesis who has the
heroes family killed out of revenge. Made before The
Sopranos
took on the whole gangster genre and changed it forever, the mob
parts here have aged better than the makers could have hoped for.
The action is solid too, as is the supporting cast that also includes
two other actors who are part of the X-Men
films of the time: Ben Foster and Rebecca Romjin, plus John Pinette,
Russell Durham Comegys, Mark St. John, Eddie Jemison, Samantha Mathis
and Will Patton. At this point, it could be argued the film is a
minor classic of the genre.
Lionsgate
has dug this gem out of their catalog to issue it as a 4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray while still including a copy of the old Blu-ray edition,
which has already made for some interesting comparisons with other
titles. The result here is that the
2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1 Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image may show some flaws or
other minor issues with the film, the film was shot in the Super 35
format and looks amazing often even to my surprise and memory of
seeing it brand new in 35mm at the time of its original theatrical
release.
Director
of Photography Conrad W. Hall (Panic
Room)
does some of his best work here still to date with more demo shots
throughout than you would expect. Light and color are atmospheric
and vivid without being overdone and the color range also impresses.
Hall has moved on to more commercial work that does not challenge his
talents as much as I wish it did, but his work here shows what he is
capable of and this disc proves it.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is
softer, has not aged well and has a lack of overall detail that makes
one wonder why Lionsgate did not jut redo the regular Blu-ray but the
4K version is so impressive that maybe they thought that was useless.
As
for sound, Dolby Atmos 11.1 lossless mix on the 4K version is an
impressive upgrade from the original 5.1 digital soundmaster that was
issued in all three formats at the time, capturing the dialogue,
music and sound effects with an even better soundfield, better detail
and even more warmth. Though it is not going to sound like the best
12-track film mixes of today, it could teach them a few things about
sound for narrative and how to make a solid recording to begin with.
The
DTS-HD 6.1 ES lossy mix on the regular Blu-ray was considered a step
ahead of it original theatrical 5.1 mix with its discrete back
surround channel (Dolby EX was always matrixed) before the sound that
now appears on Blu-rays and 4K Blu-rays was settled. Dolby TrueHD
and DTS-MA are the standard lossless soundtracks for the formats
before 11.1 arrived, but lesser lossy sound formats, plus
room-consuming PCM sound (including 5.1) were being used at first.
This is actually a rare ES track (a discreet back surround channel
vs. Dolby's matrixed EX version) on any Blu-ray, but the lossiness
and some slight compression are apparent. Having it here (that is if
your home theater system can still play this format) makes for an
interesting listen, especially for those not used to the brief-lived
format.
Extras
include different extras on each disc.
In a rare move, the 4K disc has its own extras including a feature
length audio commentary track with director Jonathan Hensleigh, two
Deleted Scene with optional director commentary (Introduction of
Saints and Sinners Club, Livia Saint Insults Mickey Duka) and two
featurettes: Keepin'
It Real: The Punisher Stunts
and Army
of One: The Punisher Origins.
The regular Blu-ray adds the War
Journal: On the Set of The Punisher
featurette, Music Video ''Step Up'' Performed by Drowning Pool and
Drawing
Blood: Bradstreet Style
featurette.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Punisher)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
