7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
From Philip Pullman's epic fantasy trilogy comes this series that follows young orphan Lyra on an incredible adventure into a parallel world where a human's soul exists outside one's body--in the form of a talking animal.
Starring: Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Clarke PetersFantasy | 100% |
Adventure | 50% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
One one level, His Dark Materials would seem to be a rather strange large scale multiple season production, in that at least some
of its arcane and frankly labyrinthine plot aspects were in some ways summarized in another gargantuan offering, the feature film
adaptation of The Golden Compass, the first installment of the
ever popular trilogy strategy that has kept both so-called "Young Adult" readers and then potential viewers of filmed adaptations entranced
throughout any number of franchises. As I mentioned in
the review of the first season of His Dark Materials (see below for a link), despite The Golden Compass raking in literally
hundreds of millions of dollars, it was considered a "failure", and so the rest of the novelistic trio was evidently never even seriously contemplated,
and, at least considering the popularity of the books, perhaps the idea to flesh things out and present a more complete and arguably coherent
version of Philip Pullman's wending tale(s) probably seemed like a great idea. Unfortunately, while the series started off very strongly with an
impressive first season (which basically recounted a lot of what had been depicted at least fitfully in The Golden Compass), there was a bit
of the infamous "sophomore slump" evident in the second season of the series, and then a little thing called a global pandemic intervened, meaning
that this third season took almost two years to the day from the end of that second season to debut itself. That lag in time may mean even
diehard fans may need to revisit at least the second season, and arguably both of the preceding seasons, to catch up with all the "previously. . ."
material, but the good news in all of this is that for whatever reason, and maybe due in part to the finishing line being within viewing distance, this
third season regains quite a bit of the energy of the first year and delivers both some well wrought visual effects and perhaps more importantly
some potent emotion, especially toward the end of the season when various plot threads are finally woven together.
For reviews of the previous two seasons of His Dark Materials, please click on the following links:
His Dark Materials: The
Complete First Season Blu-ray review
His Dark Materials: The
Complete Second Season Blu-ray review
His Dark Materials: The Complete Third Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of HBO and Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1 (continuing the wider aspect ratio first offered in the second season). As mentioned above in the main body of the review, the imposed interim between the second and third season may have benefited the production in terms of offering more planning and execution time for CGI in particular, and some of the work in this season is beautifully rendered. While some may find passing moments of the daemons may not be 100% believable, on the whole the renderings of these vastly different creatures is often impressive, including everything from textures of fur and the like to facial expressions. Several "non beast" CGI elements enter the fray as well, and some of the various worlds that are visited offer some nice establishing vistas. Like some of the second season in particular, there are some intentionally hazy sequences, especially some of the dream material, but in general detail levels are precise and problem free.
His Dark Materials: The Complete Third Season features another nicely wrought DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that features nice moments of immersion in each episode to varying degrees. There are some very noticeable panning effects in sequences like Asriel trying to control a wonky quasi- helicopter, and several of the outdoor scenes which make up so many of the episodes offer really good discrete channelization of any number of ambient environmental effects. An appealing score also is nicely ensconced in the side and rear channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and French subtitles are available, and some passing "alien" languages feature forced English subtitles.
Perhaps just a little surprisingly, this third season release does not sport any on disc supplemental features. The inside of the keepcase insert has a listing of episode titles and original airdates, and packaging features a slipcover.
Lovers of the original Philip Pullman novels will probably be overjoyed by the sum total of this series, even if occasional quibbles might be had with regard to certain adaptive choices. This third season builds upon the sumptuous visual allure of the two previous seasons, while also offering a more substantial emotional component courtesy largely of the relationship between Lyra and Will. Technical merits are solid, though rather curiously this final season is lacking any supplements on either of the two Blu-ray discs in this package. Nonetheless, His Dark Materials: The Complete Third Season comes Recommended.
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