Creed
II 4K (2018/MGM/Warner 4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Double
Dragon (1995/MVD
Blu-ray)/Krypton: The
Complete First Season
(2018*)/Once Upon A
Deadpool (2018/Marvel/Fox
Blu-ray)/Reign Of The
Supermen (2019
w/DVD/*both DC Comics/Warner Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A Picture: B+/B/B/B+ & B-/B+ & B-
Sound: A/B/B/B+ & B-/B+ & B- Extras: B/B/C+/D/B Main
Programs: B/C/C+/B/B
Here's
a big dosage of franchise releases...
To
everyone's surprise, the Rocky
spin-off Creed
did very well, so well that we now have a sequel. You can check out
our review of the previous Creed
film in 4K here...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14279/Creed+(2015+Rocky+spin-off/MGM/Warner)/In+Th
It
leads to even more thoughts on the film in a link to an older review.
Now,
the Rocky Balboa saga continues with Creed
II
(2018), which reunites stars Sylvester Stallone as Rocky and Michael
B. Jordan as heavyweight champion Adonis Creed. Also featuring Dolph
Lundgren and Tessa Thompson, the film is heavily reminiscent of
earlier installments of the Rocky
saga, and centers around Adonis Creed facing off against Viktor Drago
(son of Balboa's infamous foe Ivan Drago).
Directed
by Steven Caple Jr. (The
Land),
Creed
II
follows the Rocky
storytelling formula as one would expect: training montages, slow mo
sequences, etc. However, it's about more than just the fight inside
the ring, but how much pain and endurance one must face in order to
become a champion. While there aren't many surprises here, the film
is fine for the sports movie that it is, but don't expect it to
necessarily be anything too innovative.
After
his previous loss in the first film, Adonis Creed claims the title as
Heavyweight Champion, meanwhile changes are happening in this
personal life. Confessing his love to the woman he loves,
singer/songwriter Bianca (Thompson), Creed gets a shock when he is
called into the ring to fight Viktor Drago - whose father was
responsible for the death of his father, Apollo Creed. Despite his
vigorous training, Adonis discovers that not even Rocky Balboa
(Stallone) himself is willing to step back into the ring with a
Drago, and so he must go in himself to battle the beast. While he
goes through many ups and downs, there's a lot of interesting things
going on here in this well written film co-written by Stallone
himself.
Creed
II is
presented in 2160p HECV/H.265, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced
Ultra High Definition image with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1
and tracks in Dolby Atmos 11.1 lossless and DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless,
the presentation here is very impressive. Enhanced with what we now
con sider earlier HDR10 (vs. new HDR 10+), the beautifully
photographed film shines through during its intense boxing matches
and slow motion sequences in particular. Also included is a 1080p
high definition Blu-ray of the film with similar specs, but more
compression in the image.
Special
Features include...
From
Father to Son, Blood Runs Hot
featurette
Finding
the Authentic
featurette
The
Women of "Creed
II"
featurette
The
Rocky Legacy
featurette
and
Deleted Scenes
The
early '90s before digital effects were commonplace, was an
interesting time for Hollywood and saw many more martial arts based
films than we have now due to the success of the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles
and 3
Ninjas
movies. At this time, Hollywood was also experimenting with turning
video games into movies and had a few really bad eggs including the
infamously bad Super
Mario Brothers
movie (which still has yet to be updated to HD). Around the same
time, Double
Dragon
(1994) came out and remains to be one of the silliest, campiest, and
over the top video game inspired movies ever made.
Around
the time this film came out, I was just a young boy and I remember
seeing it in the theater with my Dad, and both of us scratched our
heads afterwards not sure of what we just saw. Seeing it again as an
adult, it reminds me a lot of the Canon Films made in the '80s that
are 'so bad they are good' (but more emphasis on the bad). There's
plenty of mutants, explosions, and karate chops to make this worth a
revisit even if it's cheesier than most sandwiches at a deli. It
rips off countless other movies including Blade
Runner
and Mad
Max,
but still manages to be its own thing.
Double
Dragon
stars Robert Patrick, Mark Dacascos, Scott Wolf, Kristina Wagner, and
Julia Nickson. The film is directed by James Yukich.
A
mystical dragon medallion holds unbelievable power in Double Dragon.
Broken in half, one half belongs to the Lee brothers (Dacascos and
Wolf) and the other half stolen by Koga Shuko (Patrick), who hopes to
use it for evil. The Brothers must set out to get it back and battle
plenty of formidable foes along the way. Set in 'New Angeles' after
'The Quake' which wiped out most of humanity, Double
Dragon
pulls all the punches!
The
film is presented in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect
ratio of 1.85:1 and a newly remastered mix in lossy Dolby Digital 5.1
and 2.0 Stereo. This is the first time this film has been released
in HD, and needless to say it looks better than ever. Colors are
vibrant and crisp and there's more detail than the also included
anamorphically enhanced, standard definition DVD, which has similar
specs. As with the other titles in the MVD Rewind library, a lot of
attention has been paid to make these all but forgotten films look
their best for today's market. So far they've done a bang up job!
Special
Features include...
"The
Making of Double Dragon"
(full length documentary featuring interviews with stars Scott Wolf
and Marc Dacascos, writers Peter Gould & Michael Davis and
producer Don Murphy)
"Don
Murphy: Portrait of a Producer"
featurette
Archival
''Making of'' featurette
Behind
the Scenes featurette
1993
Double
Dragon
Animated Series Pilot Episode #101: "The
Shadow Falls"
Storyboard
Gallery
Press
Photos, Marketing and Behind The Scenes Photo Galleries
TV
Spots
VHS
Home Video Trailer
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Collectible
Mini-Poster
and
Reversible Sleeve Featuring Alternate Artwork
Don't
expect your life to be changed after watching Double
Dragon
again, even though it has been nicely restored... but it does truly
takes me back to the VHS era, which makes it the perfect addition to
the MVD Rewind Collection.
Next
up is the latest pre-superhero prequel series following hits like
Smallville
and Gotham.
Krypton:
The Complete First Season
(2018) stretches back to when Superman's grandfather (Cameron Cuffe
as Seg-El) was a teenager. Think 40+ years ago plus whatever
Superman's age is lately, yet it plays like a recycle of the last few
years and everyone had a British/English/Irish accent for some
reason. David S. Goyer is behind the initial 10 episodes, but they
are a very mixed bag.
Those
hoping for a deep look at the planet's early past will be met with
cliches, bad melodrama, predictability, bad jokes and many moments of
people fighting and punching out each other. That may be hip and
commercial, but also condescending and wastes too much time. DC
universe twists include Brainiac (Blake Ritson) on his way for Kandor
and the worst iteration of Adam Strange (poor Shaun Sipos) one could
have ever expected. When not trying to be Star
Wars,
the Battlestar
Galactica
revival or Blade
Runner,
there are signs of how good this show could have really been, but it
is made for a younger audience and is too broad for its own good.
Krypton
the planet is the most filmed, brought to life and portrayed
fictional planet ever, but the new series disappoints. Too bad too
because the actors are not that bad.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image has some minor issues,
but looks good, even as the show's look is often derivative of
non-DC/Superman sources and lacks color, while the DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix sometimes has dialogue and
soundstage quirks, but is good enough.
Extras
include a brief paper episode guide and Digital HD Copy for PC, PC
portable and other cyber-capable devices, while the Blu-rays add
Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, 2019 Comic Con panel and two Making Of
featurettes: Bringing
The Home World to Life
and A
Lost Kingdom: Life On Krypton.
Deadpool
2 was
one of the biggest films of 2018 and earned its R-rating without
question. This somehow gave a studio exec (or maybe Ryan Reynolds
himself) the hair-brained idea of cutting the movie into PG-13,
shooting a wraparound story that's a parody of The
Princess Bride
with that film's (now adult) star Fred Savage, and releasing it in
theaters in the Holiday 2018 season. This new hybrid is Once
Upon a Deadpool
(2018). Originally a two week limited engagement in theaters, the
film is now available on Blu-ray from Fox.
As
a forgiving comic book film fan, I tend to treat this release as a
novelty as that's obviously what it is, and an interesting experiment
on behalf of Fox, however, I'm not sold that it was a fully
'successful' experiment. Unless you're a sheltered teenager who just
wants to see Deadpool
2 and
your mom won't let you... then maybe this would work.
You
can check out my previous review of Deadpool
2 on
4K UHD disc unrated elsewhere on this site:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15243/Cinderella+Liberty+(1973/Fox*)/Deadpool+2+4K
Deadpool
2
stars, of course, Ryan Reynolds as Mr. Pool and co-stars Josh Brolin
as Cable, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Julian Dennison, and Zazie
Beetz.
Deadpool
(Reynolds) is back in action and this time he's reading a kidnapped
Fred Savage his abridged version of Deadpool
2,
which he proclaims is a 'family film'. After an epic attempt at
suicide, Deadpool's dream girl accidentally gets killed, he then goes
on a spiritual (sort of) journey to find his true calling with the
X-Men, forms his own super team, and crosses paths with Cable
(Brolin) who is on a time traveling mission to kill a young Mutant
boy before he turns into a sinister grown up and takes away his
family from him.
Now
imagine all of the gross out humor, naughty language, and nonstop
violence (all the things fans love about Deadpool movies) cut out of
Deadpool
2 and
you get a sense of what you're about to see in Once
Upon a Deadpool...
and, of course, the added ten minute or so wraparound story I
mentioned earlier. The result is... disjointed and weird.
Especially having seen the unrated second film several times before,
it's hard to get it out of your head when you're watching it here
much like watching Goodfellas
on cable censored. Still, if you're a big time Deadpool fan and want
to see the new bits then this is worth checking out... maybe just
fast forward through the re-cut Deadpool
2
parts.
Once
Upon a Deadpool
is only available in this Blu-ray/DVD combo and not (at least of this
writing) available on the 4K UHD format. The film is presented in
1080p on Blu-ray disc with a 2.39:1 widescreen aspect ratio and an
English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix, both of which are
of a high standard for the format. While not as impressive as the 4K
UHD obviously, there's plenty of detail in the image here and there
isn't anything hindering the presentation. Also included is an
anamorphically enhanced, standard definition DVD with an anamorphic
widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix.
Compression issues are way more evident on the DVD and it barely
looks better than the also included digital copy.
No
extras on this release surprisingly. Even the menu screen from the
previous release of Deadpool
2 is
the same.
Finally,
what's better than Superman? Multiple Supermen! The 34th DC
original animated movie Reign
of the Supermen
(2019), brings together different imaginings of the classic character
in combat with one another. While it sounds a little weird at first,
the animated film is pretty fun at a brisk 75 minute run time. The
animation and visual style is comparable to other titles in the DC
animated library as of late such as Justice
League: Throne of Atlantis
and Batman:
Gotham at Gaslight.
This one isn't as dark and violent as the previous Constantine
or Suicide
Squad
films (reviewed elsewhere on this site), and is a follow-up to The
Death of Superman.
While I don't think we will see a live action version of this
anytime soon, there's plenty of fun to be had here and adults are
likely to enjoy it even more than kids.
The
impressive voice cast includes Jerry O' Connell, Rebecca Romijn,
Rainn Wilson, Patrick Fabian, Charles Halford, and Cameron Monaghan.
Metropolis
mourns the death of the real Superman who was defeated by the
sinister Doomsday, now several "replacement" heroes step
forward to take over the title of Man of Steel. There's the
genetically altered 'Super Boy' whose on Lex Luthor's tight leash, a
robotic-like Superman with a heavy metal hammer named Steel, there's
The Eradicator whose quite powerful, and of course Cyborg Superman
whose not to be messed with. As these titans face off against one
another and encounter the Justice League in the process, some
shocking truths are revealed... and is the real Superman really dead?
While
there is a 4K UHD version on the market that we hope to catch soon,
we are covering the 1080p Blu-ray edition here. Comparable to other
DC animated films of recent, with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1
and a nice sounding track in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1
and tracks in French and Spanish. The animation is modern and clean
with a wide color palette that reminds me of the Batman
animated series from the '90s a bit. Also included is a standard
definition, anamorphically enhanced DVD version of the animated film
with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital
audio mix which is of the norm for the format.
Special
Features include...
Featurette:
Lex
Luthor - The Greatest Nemesis
A
Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie, Justice
League vs. The Fatal Five
From
the DC Vault: Superman:
The Animated Series,
"Heavy
Metal"
and
also From the DC Vault: Justice
League Unlimited,
"Panic
in the Sky"
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Krypton)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
