7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Following the arrival of The Monitor, Oliver Queen left his home, his family, & his team behind to take on his most challenging battle yet, knowing the cost may be his life. But this time it's not just his city he's seeking to protect - it's the entire multiverse. Oliver's quest will send him on a journey where he is forced to confront the ultimate question: what is the true cost of being a hero?
Starring: Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey (I), Willa Holland, Susanna ThompsonAction | 100% |
Comic book | 99% |
Adventure | 77% |
Sci-Fi | 74% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
Digital copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Perhaps because Arrow has featured a conceit whereby Oliver Queen’s past on a mysterious island has been doled out interstitially in
various vignettes over the course of the several years of the series, I started thinking about Lost: The Complete Sixth Season as I watched this eighth and final season of this particular
series, especially in terms of the general zeitgeist
surrounding Lost's final year as compared to this final season of Arrow. Even if you weren’t a huge Lost fan back in
the
day,
chances are you still couldn’t escape the growing hubbub over “what has it all meant” as the final few episodes of that show were broadcast. If you
were a fan of the show, chances are probably equally as good that you waited with bated breath for a denouement which you may well have
found at least a bit underwhelming once it was more or less disclosed (I still meet fans of the show who have no clear idea of what the
finale added up to, other than general consternation). That said, while Arrow may have exploited a certain Lost-like ambience
with its island
content, it obviously has not penetrated the general public consciousness in the same way Lost did, which may actually end up
redounding
to the benefit of this show’s final year. When expectations are either low or in fact largely nonexistent, it’s easier to surprise people, or at least
keep
them marginally entertained.
Our reviews of the previous seasons of the series can be accessed by clicking on the following links:
Arrow: The Complete First Season Blu-
ray
review
Arrow: The Complete Second Season
Blu-
ray review
Arrow: The Complete Third Season Blu-
ray
review
Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season
Blu-ray review
Arrow: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-
ray review
Arrow: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-
ray review
Arrow: The Complete Seventh
Season Blu-ray review
Arrow: The Eighth and Final Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. I've kind of ping ponged back and forth between the years, sometimes offering a 4.0 and at others a 4.5, though variances are not always gigantic between the seasons. This is another generally very sharp and well detailed looking presentation, one that like some previous seasons tends to pop best in some of the brightly lit outdoor material. Some of the island material is graded toward greens and yellows, and the misty environments can add to the feeling of softness. Several pretty dimly lit scenes, including but not limited to interiors, can be a bit murky with less than optimal shadow detail. I have to say one of the surprises to me this season was some kind of iffy looking effects work. There's been recurrent softness to some of the CGI in this series, but there were some kind of clunky looking composites going on, like one of the first shots of the island, where it looked like a giant landmass image had been plopped down into another element featuring water. The "dissolving" effect that shows up this season (you'll know it when you see it, I'm attempting not to post outright spoilers) is quite effective, though.
Arrow: The Eighth and Final Season continues this series' excellent tradition of rather boisterous DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks. There are both a wealth of outdoor scenes here which provide good opportunities for ambient environmental effects, as well as several hand to hand combat scenes that feature some well rendered effects that frequently zing across the soundstage, and some of the action elements, as well as some of the more science fiction tinged moments, provide moments of forceful LFE. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.
Disc One
If you've been a fan of Oliver Queen through all of the crazy and frankly at times slightly ludicrous events that Arrow has trotted out over its previous seasons, my hunch you'll actually be moved by the way this series wraps up. The play for heartstring pulling is pretty overt, so more jaded types may be doing a bit of eye rolling, but this season manages to tie up some loose ends while providing an obvious on ramp for a new sequel series. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplements are very enjoyable. For Arrow and/or Arrowverse fans if for no one else, this release comes Recommended.
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