6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Proving once and for all that you can't keep a good Slayer down, Joss Whedon's BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: Season Eight Motion Comic picks up where the TV show left off! Based on the Dark Horse comic book series, these eye-popping motion comic adventures breathe new life into the Buffyverse for long-time fans and new "watchers" alike. The Hellmouth may have been destroyed, but the world still needs saving and Buffy Summers is back at her butt-kicking, demon-slaying best to do the job.
Starring: Kelly Albanese, Tauvia Dawn, Kristina Klebe, Natalie Lander, Ethan SawyerHorror | 100% |
Fantasy | 81% |
Supernatural | 53% |
Animation | 48% |
Comic book | 40% |
Drama | Insignificant |
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 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
BD-Live
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Let me make one thing clear: this is not a review of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8," creator Joss Whedon's forty-issue, Eisner Award-winning Dark Horse comicbook series. If it were, my score would be much higher. Packed with the same wry wit and stake-slinging action that made Buffy's seven season television show such a fan-driven success, Whedon's cleverly constructed continuation of the series ripped the roof off the story's scale and scope (with towering monstrosities, limitless mystical realms and an 1800-strong Slayer army to start), delivered a string of substantial character developments and mythos expansions, and unleashed a bevy of beasties, old and new, each one hellbent on the Scoobies' destruction. (Rejoice, Buffy junkies! A 25-issue "Season 9" run is already being prepped for launch.) But I digress. This isn't a review of Whedon's comicbook series; this is a review of Fox's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Motion Comic, and the two couldn't be more different.
Onward and upward...
Between source blemishes and encode issues, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 isn't the stunning AVC MPEG-4 spectacle many are hoping for. A quick comparison to the standard DVD release of the motion comic reveals a number of significant improvements, the least of which is a fairly pristine image free of unsightly macroblocking and heavy banding. Both crop up from time to time, but neither one delivers any fatal blows. That dishonor falls to atrocious aliasing, ungodly pixelation and even some noticeable ringing. Nary a scene goes by that isn't spoiled by jagged edges and rippling pixels, wide shots and splash pages seem to be some of the only shots that skirt by unscathed, and nearly every animated element is left at the mercy of the motion comic's hyperkinetic jostles, jerks and zooms. Moreover, a variety of other anomalies -- a spot of noise here, some faint artifacting there -- appear as well. All is not lost though. Dave Stewart and Michelle Madsen's colors, sunlit or steeped in shadow, are a sight to behold, Andy Owens's inks are pitch-perfect, and the smallest detail in Jeanty's art is crisp, refined and well-resolved (at least when it isn't in motion). All in all, I suspect the vast majority of Season 8's problems trace back to the original source but, inherent or no, the presentation simply fails to impress.
Fox's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track took me by genuine surprise. Far from the flat, two-dimensional bore I was expecting, Season 8's lossless beast enters the fray with style. LFE output is potent and earthy, lending legitimate weight to nearly every paper-thin monstrosity, crumbling building, hair-raising roar, stake plunge and battle scene the motion comic has to offer. The rear speakers are fairly aggressive as well, even if the nature of the production means a wholly convincing soundfield isn't in the cards. Shattered glass scatters, blood spatters, explosions expand, crowds murmur and hell-flames rage. All the while, directionality proves to be more than adequate (considering the task at hand), pans are rightfully sharp and swift, and separation is altogether satisfying. More importantly, dialogue is clean, clear and smartly centered, nestling in amongst the soundscape, even during the most chaotic sequences. Yes, the actors' voices tend to float above the madness, and yes, sound effects are a bit stagey, acoustics aren't exactly consistent and ambience is a tad thin. But come on... this is a motion comic, not a feature film. Let's keep things in perspective. As far as I'm concerned, Fox's DTS-HD MA track is the unequivocal highpoint of the release.
Not much, that's what. The Blu-ray release of Buffy: Season 8 shows its true colors yet again as Whedon and company are nowhere to be found. Fox's slim-bones supplemental package does cobble together some innocuous fan service, but not none of it makes up for such squandered potential. A pint-sized reprint of the comic series' first issue is tucked in the case though, so there's that.
I can sum up my overall impression of the Buffy: Season 8 motion comic with a single statement: buy the comics instead. This may be the same nineteen issues fanboys fell in love with in 2007 and 2008, but they're far better suited to the panel and page than the disc and screen. On a positive note, Fox's DTS-HD Master Audio surround track earns its lossless stripes and, by and large, delivers. On a not-so-positive string of notes, neither the motion comic nor its technical video presentation look that great, Fox's supplemental package is a total disappointment and, worst of all, this is only the first half of the eighth season. That's right: the remaining twenty-one issues of "Season 8" are still awaiting home video release. My advice? Again, buy the comics instead. Only rent this one if curiosity, devotion or illiteracy compels you.
Region A
2021
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