Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Krypton: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Saving Superman.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 11, 2019

In filmed entertainment, audiences have been given brief to somewhat prolonged glimpses of Superman's home world, Krypton. 1978's Superman The Movie revealed essential story details of the infant Superman's launch into space as his world crumbled around him. Man of Steel opened with a spectacular sequence revealing civil war on a dying Krypton in a protracted experience that offered heretofore arguably the most complete vision of the alien world yet. SyFy's Krypton opens the world even farther, basing an entire television show on Superman's home world but set 200 years before his birth. The show follows his grandfather, here a young man fighting for his family's name and place on the planet while coming into knowledge of the role his grandson will play history, all the while the villainous Brainiac sets its sights on the would-be doomed world. The show offers a compelling foundational structure but doesn't quite make it as a full-fledged experience, operating through several interesting characters and components, few of which really gel in any meaningful, memorable way.

In Kandor City on the planet Krypton, noted scientist Val-El (Ian McElhinney) is tried for treason and executed for his beliefs that Kryptonians are not alone in the universe, that external threats exist and have placed Krypton in their sights. His surviving family is stripped of rank and forced to live amongst the planet's lower classes, known as the rankless. Several years pass. Val-El's grandson Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe) is given an opportunity to rise in the ranks when the man who oversaw his grandfather's execution -- Daron-Vex (Elliot Cowan) -- offers Seg his daughter Nyssa's (Wallis Day) hand in marriage. But Seg's world is redefined forever when he meets the mysterious Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos), a human from another world and another time, who provides him evidence that his grandson is to play a pivotal role in history. But more pressing is that a sinister alien threat is bearing down on Krypton with the intent of destroying the world before the legendary Superman is anything more than a memory in his distant past.

The writers and filmmakers have certainly built a compelling and involved foundational world for Krypton, and even if the show largely takes place in a small corner of one city there's a feel of a living, breathing, organic entity in play inside of which is a microcosm of the greater society around it. The show deals heavily in the culture, politics, and religion on Krypton as it was 200 years before Superman's birth and, as most any fan watching knows, the planet's death. The show not only puts the pieces of Superman's biological legacy into motion, it also puts the pieces of the doomed world's fate into play as well. One of the problems the show encounters, then, is that the overreaching plot that features Brainiac attempting to destroy the world is obviously doomed from the start. It's the Rogue One effect in play, where one knows the outcome thanks to deeply rooted and inescapable story tendrils that have already been revealed but in this time have yet to be written, so the show must truly bank on the social conflict, not the larger threat, to really make the show work.

To be sure, its in all of the "domestic" intrigue where the show mostly hits its stride, but there is a certain element of interest, if not even a little suspense, as the show builds the story of Brainiac's mission and how it, for example, brings Adam Strange, sporting unfamiliar clothes (the Detroit Tigers old English "D" ball cap is once mistaken for a house sigil), from Earth to Krypton, or in a key sequence in episode three when a secondary character becomes a host for one of the villain's probes. But Krypton is mostly at home while working at home on Krypton, exploring the world's sociopolitical and socioeconomic landscapes and how they directly impact the El family, its quick fall in the first couple of episodes, and Seg-El's work to rebuild the family name, and its future, as he becomes something of a survivalist and rebel. The core story's ebbs-and-flows are not as interesting as the world built around it, but there's enough meat on the bones around Krypton's inner workings and the characters' struggles inside of it to hold interest for the first season duration.

Production design isn't as visually arresting as anything from 1978's Superman or as grand in scale as anything from Man of Steel, but the filmmakers do spread the budget around to some well designed set pieces, including a bar in the "rankless" district and the Fortress of Solitude. Locations and visual effects are well done for a SyFy show, though obviously without the megabucks budget of a full-fledged DC film. Acting is a strength, too, with Cameron Cuffe finding a fairly convincing personality and character evolution as he learns more about his family's past, present, and future, and about his own place in Krypton society. Ian McElhinney is a highlight as Seg's grandfather, and Elliot Cowan delivers a well-rounded effort as Daron-Vex.

Krypton: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Krypton: The Complete First Season's 1080p transfer delivers a well rounded image, unremarkable perhaps in the grand scheme of things but a solid enough presentation, particularly given the show's proclivity towards darker and duller locations. The world the show builds does not lack character but it does lack visual dazzle. It's a utilitarian world, perhaps best described, and the transfer brings out its structural details with positive clarity and attention to detail, even if there's not a boundless world of visual delights to explore. Clothes are likewise complex in nature but lacking major distinctive characteristics. There are some exceptions, such as wear and material detail on Voice of Rao's mask, but expect even military uniforms, upper class garb, and more utilitarian clothes among the rankless to reveal good superficial textures but rarely showcase incredible layers of intimacy. Skin details are solid enough, again lacking eye-catching complexity but offering a solidly foundational delivery of core elements such as pores and minor blemishes. Colors generally favor dull shades of gray, blue, and black. There are exceptions -- good depth to the House of El red cape, Brainiac green -- but the peltate's overreaching character is its embrace of flat and bland shades that give the world a depressed, downtrodden look and feel. Black level depth is strong and flesh tones appear accurate. Some noise appears here and there and minor examples of banding are scattered throughout. On the whole, this is a good presentation that does what it can with the somewhat limited production design allowances.

Krypton: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Krypton: The Complete First Season features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track has its positives and negatives, resulting in a presentation that is, like the accompanying 1080p video, more than acceptable but not particularly noteworthy for any one quality. The track does offer some compelling use of surround, whether during immersive action, cold and blustery winds howling about through the entirety of the stage towards the end of episode two, or atmospheric din heard around Kem's bar in various scenes throughout the season. The downside is that there's an imbalance to dialogue and sometimes music, the former particularly sounding a little shallow and uneven, lacking stage command and prioritization during various exchanges. Nothing about the track could be described as sonically grand, but the track overall does offer enough stage saturation and basic clarity to carry it to satisfaction, but never dominance.

Krypton: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Krypton: The Complete First Season contains extras on both Blu-ray discs. A digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships in a slip box.

Disc One:

• 2017 Comic-Con Panel (1080i, 22:52): DC Comics' Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns hosts a panel featuring Actor Cameron Cuffe and Showrunners Cameron Welsh and Damian Kindler. Discussions include Cuffe's DC comic fandom, Brainiac's appearance in the show, the show's timelines, narrative and character details, production design, and more. The panel also answers a few audience questions. This is a panel from 2017, recorded several months before the show was completed. There are discussions of elements that never did materialize, including plans to feature Hawkwoman in the season.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 5:37): Several scenes presented together without any identifying markers.

Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 2:46): Another collection of scenes presented together without any identifying markers.
• Bringing the Home World to Life (1080p, 17:04): Cast and crew talk about designing the world and its locations, creating new places and constructing a society around them, sets and digital supports, props, visual effects, and more. The piece also includes tours of various sets, discusses influences and points of reference in the comics, geography, and the like.
• A Lost Kingdom: Life on Krypton (1080p, 22:38): A fascinating discussion of creating Kryptonian history and society, character definition and details, the role of sigils in Kryptonian society, religion and the Voice of Rao, romance in the show and Seg's relationship with Lyta, story themes, and more.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 3:22).

Krypton: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Krypton builds an interesting world populated by several characters worth knowing and a story that intermixes Superman's distant, unknown past with several elements from his present. It never quite meshes with captivating dramatic intensity, but there are some good notes and plenty of room for improvement in future seasons. Warner Brothers' Blu-ray release of Krypton: The Complete First Season delivers workmanlike video and decent audio. A few good extras are included. Worth a look.