Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Justified: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

As the Crowes fly so goes "Justified."

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 22, 2014

Note: spoilers follow.

While Justified's fifth season is easily its finest since the series-defining (so far) second season, it will likely be remembered, at least by its hardcore fan base, as the season before which Author Elmore Leonard, whose original stories and characters inspired the show, passed away at the age of 87. It's fitting that season five so heavily features the Crowe clan, heretofore more of a secondary name beyond Givens and Crowder but in this thirteen-episode collection a focus that's expanded upon with a wider selection of newly introduced family members whose crime-riddled lives clash with the world's most popular U.S. Marshal. Season five delivers tight story dynamics that see the show evolve towards what is certain to be a terrific end-of-run season six, but at the same time it's comfortably familiar, playing with darkly violent actions but frequently darkly funny undertones. It's the embodiment of the modern Western, a sprawling, now safe to say epic tale not of good and evil but the clash of gray areas, of imperfect figures, of right and wrong defined but not always followed or even understood, for better or for worse. It's compelling television through-and-through and easily one of the medium's best current-running programs.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours. Oh, right, you don't got one.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), while distancing himself from his family, faces a new challenge in the form of an old acquaintance, the bumbling, tattooed Nazi sympathizer Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman), recent recipient of $300,000 from the good old U.S. taxpayer in the form of reparations for the continued abuse he receives from his longtime adversary. While living it up as the new proprietor of Audrey's, he receives a visit from Raylan, inquiring about his new assignment: dealing with the extended Crowe family back in his old stomping grounds of Florida. Dewey largely claims ignorance, only warning Raylan that they're not people to be messed with. Indeed, Raylan's Sunshine State excursion introduces him to a new, more dangerous branch of the Crowe clan, including Daryl (Michael Rapaport), Danny (A. J. Buckley), Wendy (Alicia Witt), and young Kendal (Jacob Lofland), Wendy's teenage son. Meanwhile, Raylan's arch-nemesis Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), still dealing with Ava's imprisonment, has teamed with Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns) in a scheme to collapse the fragile Detroit drug pipeline and emerge, by way of new connections from Canada, as Kentucky's most prominent dealers in illegal narcotics.

It realy shouldn't come as much of a surprise that season five is the best since season two. The two share a similar dynamic, with Raylan deeply entangled with another Southern family crime web. The series returns to the well, so to speak, and even considering the similar basic premise it feels freshly invigorating. The new characters and dynamics are predictably incredible. The series continues to be one of the best-written programs on television, and season five brings with it a slate of freshly new and more deeply developed and evolving returning characters, both blending seamlessly in with the old favorite staples who continue to grow and evolve at a startling rate. Season five sees Raylan's and boss Art Mullen's (Nick Searcy) relationship grow in an unexpected direction, while a couple of one-and-done guest stars in David Kochner and Eric Roberts serve as de facto reflections of the series' lead. Season five sees a steady flow of terrific new primaries. Michael Rapaport is the series' best new asset since Margo Martindale, while Alicia Witt dazzles and Mary Steenburgen appears poised to play a significant role in the series' final season. A few additional familiar faces appear in the form of Alan Tudyk, Amaury Nolasco, and Jean Baptiste, the latter of whom bows out too early and sees his part cut disappointingly short (learn more about his departure in the Blu-ray supplements).

Season five additionally solidifies the program as one of the best technically produced in the industry. It's a rare example of everything working in perfect harmony, from writing to cinematography, from acting to direction. The program is beautifully framed in every scene, naturally flowing and effortlessly lifelike. Shadow and perspective present the audience with a tangible, but at the same time naturally transparent, sense of place and person. The show feels intimate even as it sprawls in terms of location (at least when it takes the characters beyond their Kentucky confines) but also in terms of its characters. Even with so much evolution and so many dynamics, it's easy to follow but never afraid of diving as deeply as necessary into morally murky territory and turning as dark as required to best define a moment and evolve the story. There's equal bits of inward character evolution and outward progressing forces that influence one another and consistently alter the show's dynamics, presenting the viewer with a familiar but ever-changing landscape wherein anything can happen, and frequently does, but without ever coming across as forced or otherwise phony. It's a believably real world inhabited by imperfect characters who benefit from terrific actors in career-defining roles, whether Olyphant completely melting into Raylan even beyond the trademark attire, Goggins finding an uncanny ability to evolve as a villain, or here in season five Michael Rapaport stepping in out of nowhere to dominate the program through a tremendous full-season effort. Justified really does have it all, and it capitalizes on every top-notch component.

Justified: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Justified: The Complete Fifth Season follows series standards and presents viewers with a handsome and only occasionally slightly flawed 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Image clarity is consistently outstanding. The HD video source is beautifully revealing of complex skin details -- freckles, wrinkles, stubble -- and clothing lines, including Raylan's denim jacket and trademark hat. Backgrounds, both interior and exterior, and regardless of lighting conditions, reveal intricate surfaces and odds and ends with ease, particularly evident in more run-down and densely packed locations. Colors are bold and satisfying, with brighter scenes bringing out the most Blu-ray and the digital sourcing allow. Lower light shots tend to favor a warmer, more intimate appearance, which are reflected in skin tone accuracy. Black levels are generally solid with only a hint of crush in spots or, on the other end of the spectrum, light paleness in others. A sprinkling of noise and a touch of banding are evident throughout the season, but neither, particularly the latter, appear at an alarming rate or to any sort of noticeable excess. Overall, this is another solid TV on Blu-ray effort from Sony.

Justified: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Justified: The Complete Fifth Season arrives on Blu-ray with a high quality DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's balanced in all areas. Musical delivery, whether the upbeat, bass-happy opening title notes or any other music in the season, is immensely satisfying, yielding wide, natural spacing and top-flight clarity throughout. The track produces a good bit of natural environmental atmospherics, whether little things like light dialogue reverberation and object-shuffling echoing in the courtroom scene that opens the season or small little ambient touches in Florida's swamplands, Detroit's shady neighborhood, or Harlan's natural nighttime insect song. Gunfire is potent and aggressive, ringing out with strong, bass-accompanied authority and perfectly placed stage presence. Dialogue is naturally clear and center-channel focused. This track handles all that's required of it with expert precision.

Justified: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Justified: The Complete Fifth Season contains supplements across all three discs, including featurettes, deleted scenes, and audio commentaries for select episodes. Episodes are also featured with optional recaps. A UV digital copy code is included in the case.

Disc One:

• The Big House: Prison Set Tour (1080p, 8:52): Production Designer Dave Blass guides viewers through a closed California prison that serves as one of the main set pieces in the season.
• The Onion Eulogizes Elmore Leonard (1080p, 2:59): Patton Oswalt reads The Onion's eulogy.
• Getting the Shot (1080p, 7:00): In praise of Francis Kenny's cinematography with a good bit of technical detail included.
• Audio Commentaries: "A Murder of Crowes" with Actor Damon Herriman, Creator Graham Yost, Writer Fred Golan, and Director Michael Dinner.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Art Makes an Inquiry (1:07) for "Good Intentions," Dewey Breaks Down (2:02) for "Over the Mountain," and Raylan Transports Kendal (2:05), Not Going to Miami (1:30), and We're Going to Tell You A Few Things (2:19) for "Shot All to Hell."

Disc Two:

• The Coolest Guy in the Room (1080i, 36:12): A piece that looks back on the life and career of late Author Elmore Leonard, whose work inspired Justified. Show cast and crew also sing his praises and read selections of his work.
• Season of the Crowe: Making Season Five (1080p, 21:42): A look at the greater role for Dewey Crowe in the season and Damon Herriman's performance, new cast and characters, recurring character evolutions and dynamics, the season's violence and character deaths, and the set-up for the coming final season six.
• King Lear (1080p, 4:11): Shooting a crowded and critical nine-man sequence.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): What About Raylan? (1:59), Nutriloaf (2:06), and You Could Have Trusted Us (0:47) for "Kill the Messenger" and Expendable (0:33) for "Whistle Past the Graveyard"

Disc Three:

• Raylan Givens: Two Roads Diverge (1080p, 3:14): A look at how David Koechner's and Eric Roberts' characters reflect Raylan's possible life paths.
• Writer's Diary: A Week of Starvation (1080p, 22:06): Writer Chris Provenzano guides viewers through the making of the fifth season's twelfth episode. The piece contains a fascinating collection of raw on-set footage.
• The Wall of Death: Season Five Body Count (1080p, 2:42): A short look at the season's large death toll and how it's sorted out in the production offices.
• Audio Commentary: Actresses Joelle Carter and Alicia Witt and Co-Writers/Executive Producers Fred Golan and Dave Andron for "Restitution."
• Deleted Scenes: I'll Call You (1:38) and Turning Around (0:28). for "Restitution."

Justified: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is as good as Justified gets. It's welcomingly dark and violent, more dynamic than ever before and benefitting from tremendous character evolution and precise, absorbing performances. The penultimate season sees the beginnings of its soon-to-be full circle closure through wonderful plot dynamics that bring it back around to the final stretch. It's perfectly paced and just the right length at 13 episodes, never once feeling like a grind but instead a beautifully diverse palette of love and hate, violence and personal confusion, character evolution and landscape alteration that keeps the audience eagerly coming back for more. Justified: The Complete Fifth Season's Blu-ray release enjoys strong video and audio to go along with a high quality assortment of extra content. Highly recommended, but do watch the first four seasons first.