Leverage – The Second Season (2009/Paramount DVD Set)
Picture: C Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: C-
Somehow, Leverage has made it into it Second Season, but I was far from
impressed with its debut, as this link will show:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8762/Leverage+%E2%80%93+Season+One
That also
explains the show, which has crooks switching sides for the money. Timothy Hutton still leads the cast in what
is still a show wishing it was Hu$tle
and the titles of the episodes (every title ends in “Job” instead of “Affair”
like that other Robert Vaughn series, The
Man From U.N.C.L.E.), it has only saved itself by becoming formulaic and
that is no improvement here. If this is
what Paramount
has been avoiding by not making a sequel to their Italian Job remake, that will be one less bad feature film in the
world.
All 15
hour-long shows are here on 3 DVDs and I don’t think it will make much of a
difference if you start here or with the debut season, but the show is just
lame. Acting is fair, wit bad and comedy
dumb. Action is rare and effects are
weak too, making this TV done much better too many times before.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is softer than the shows on the first
season for whatever reason, possibly including a step backwards in HD shooting
and other sloppiness (like those digital visual effects), but there is no
excuse for this. Detail is also an
issue. The
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix on each episode is not as expansive as the first season
with less soundfield in each show. These
declines cannot be just something about budget cuts, but it is not good.
Extras include audio commentary on each episode,
a Gag Reel, Spoof Music Video, Creators Q&A, two making of featurettes and
John Rogers Set Tour.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
