5.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A werewolf virus is unleashed upon New York and in the meantime Major Hoffman looks for a cure while Lt. General Monning wants to establish a new canine army.
Starring: Bill Duke, Wes Studi, Dennis Haysbert, Ernie Hudson, Ariana RichardsHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 6% |
Action | 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
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Battledogs is The Asylum's effort at going big, at trying to approach mainstream success with a movie that's surprisingly large (for the studio) in scale and packed with recognizable names and faces. The special effects are still well below par, and the story is so linear and dragged out to repetition that it really grinds to a halt in places, but the movie is really quite fun at a very fundamental level. It goes to show that even the studio that's put out unmitigated trash like Alien Origin and Age of the Hobbits can create something that's at least entertaining and approaching bigger studio commercial success while still on a relatively tiny budget. Sure, it lags terribly behind the sort of Michael Bay Summer blockbusters it strives to emulate, but the effort is there, the cast is there, and it meshes a couple of popular elements -- werewolves and disaster -- to watchable effect. Longtime Asylum fans will appreciate the added effort, and newcomers won't be too put off by the lower production values, though most of the effects do stand out as rather poor by today's most modest standards.
"This electrical tape is working great!"
Give The Asylum credit: the studio's consistent. While Battledogs may be an exception to the quality of films normally produced, the transfer is right on par with the rest of the recent Blu-ray releases. The HD video photography looks quite splendid, most of the time. Detail often proves most exceptional. Close-ups of military uniforms reveal intricate stitching and crisp seams. Faces appear naturally complex, and general background details remain ever-sharp and well defined even at a distance. There are actually a few overhead New York City shots -- skyscrapers, Central Park -- that look downright gorgeous and surprisingly stable even at some distance. Colors, too, are bold and even. The palette takes on a very natural, pleasing appearance, from bright city park greens to more drab military fatigues. Black levels and flesh tones present no significant areas of concern. The image does sometimes look rather flat and even a touch washed out in a few spots, and not just across problematic skies, which are often trouble areas for Asylum titles. Aside from a slight bit of banding and some shimmering across some of the visual effects, this transfer proves itself to be of high quality throughout.
Battledogs features the now-tried-and-true Asylum DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This one can be fairly robust, though it comes up lacking right at the very peak of audio perfection. General mayhem is chaotic and well presented into the stage, but there's not that robustness, that fullness, that feel of total immersion in, say, the werewolf airport slaughter at the beginning of the film or a shootout later. Sure, there's hefty bass and sound elements scattered all over the stage, but not quite to the level of total realism that might be found in a better engineered track (and the beneficiary of a bigger budget at that). Helicopters do buzz around the stage to strong, pure directional effect. Gunfire pops with some authority but, again, not with that perfect lifelike reproduction. A few explosions do pack a significant wallop and challenge for entrance into the top-tier of such effects. Music smoothly envelops the stage with solid clarity and dependable presence. Dialogue plays naturally and evenly from the center. For a low budget film, the track does't cut too many corners. A job well done by The Asylum.
Battledogs contains the typical assortment of short Asylum extras.
Battledogs probably isn't a big step forward for The Asylum. Though superior to pretty much anything else the studio has released, it's almost a sure thing it'll be but a blip on the radar rather than a signal of a new direction. After all, Sharknado is right around the corner. What are the chances that film will match or top this one? Yeah, the answer is "zero." And that's not saying Battledogs is anything special. It's not, unless one is comparing it only against other Asylum titles. But even for the casual movie fan, this one might prove just good enough to provide a decent enough watch. It is a little gorier than normal, so get ready for some added blood and, ultimately, a good, relaxed time at the bad movies. The Asylum's Blu-ray release of Battledogs features the usual Asylum presentation: solid video and audio and a couple of throwaway supplements. Recommended.
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