7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Set two generations before the destruction of the legendary Man of Steel’s home planet, Krypton follows Superman’s grandfather — whose House of El was ostracized and shamed — as he fights to redeem his family’s honor and save his beloved world from chaos.
Starring: Cameron Cuffe, Georgina Campbell, Shaun Sipos, Elliot Cowan, Ann OgbomoComic book | 100% |
Action | 58% |
Drama | 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
English SDH, French
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
SyFy's Krypton didn't last too long. Two seasons and 20 episodes is not at all impressive in the Superhero saturated marketplace, but it's also not at all surprising that the show didn't enjoy prolonged success, nor would it surprise for any of its peers to fall flat. It's not that the first season didn't do well enough in terms of narrative, production, or ratings to warrant a second season. In fact, the first season ended with enough gusto and shifting expectations to generate some excitement, but for whatever reason -- and there are plenty of reasons worthy of speculation -- ratings steadily dropped through season one and fell sharply through season two, hitting bottom at just 290,000 viewers for the series' penultimate episode and gaining, comparatively, just a few more for its last outing. That's with strong critical ratings and a vocal following in its back pocket, not to mention its ties to one of comic's most prolific characters. So, what went wrong? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps nothing Krypton did or did not do, specifically; it just appears to have become lost in the flood of Superhero content, still dominated by Marvel but also competing with several other popular DC outings on the air (Arrow , The Flash, Gotham). That, and asking audiences to care about a Superman universe show without Superman.
Krypton: The Complete Second & Final Season's 1080p transfer plays well within the show's somewhat visually challenging production design, lighting, and post production influences. The show is by-and-large a visually dark affair, with shadowy corners and low light arenas the standard for the various settings. Such scenes are often bleak and gray, accentuated by accent lights shining dull warm yellow and orange light on key subjects or focal areas, or by way of a more diffuse pattern to bring some visibility to the screen. Costumes are dark, props are dark...the entire thing just isn't very visually robust, though it is, obviously, what the filmmakers envisioned for the production. The color palette is not desaturated, it's just greatly influenced by the dreary lighting conditions. In these darkened shots, clarity remains unaffected, offering high yield skin and clothing definition, firm location detail, and an overall sense of texture and definition. Noise is certainly in accompaniment much of the time, but even under the limited luminosity it's never particularly bothersome. The show does, from time to time, enter into some more welcoming light. It is in such shots and scenes and sequences where the image reveals a firm, capable presentation that is light on noise and heavy in clarity, fine detail, and color reproduction excellence. The picture is generally healthy, sharp, and true. It's well managed under the visual style and the constraints inherent to that style. Fans should be pleased with Warner Brothers' efforts with this one.
Krypton: The Complete Second & Final Season features a nicely balanced DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is immersive as necessary and straightforward along the front in general, with dialogue the mainstay that presents with faithfully authentic cadence and prioritization from the front-center position. Musical cues are healthy and nicely detailed, pleasantly wide along the front and folding in only appropriately balanced back channel support. The rear channels do carry a good bit of activity during action: a few shootout scenes in the final episode come alive with impressive zip and stage traversal, yielding perfect clarity and directional authenticity with each zap. Likewise, the back channels carry critical ambient effects; whether detailed and specific sounds or just an immersive background hum, the track finds nice balance and a feel for immersion within even its most mundane moments. Listeners will not feel shortchanged in any department.
Krypton: The Complete Second & Final Season contains two extras on disc two. A digital copy code is included with purchase. The release ships
in the standard Warner Brothers TV series slip box.
Where did Krypton go wrong? Did it go wrong? Perhaps the show suffered from a case of overdevelopment and/or questionable execution. Maybe the story wasn't tight enough. Or was it the acting? Perhaps it's as simple as this: Krypton, while imperfect, did nothing egregiously wrong. There's simply too much Superhero saturation, too many excursions beyond what works -- and there's a whole lot of what works -- and into the far reaches and dusty corners in hopes of finding some untapped resource. There's even a young Alfred show out there, for goodness sakes. Are legions of fans really lining up to learn about distant relatives and convoluted backstories? That's what this reviewer believes ultimately doomed Krypton: there are just too many tentacles out here, many of which are blindly stabbing at anything and everything to latch on to the next big Superhero hit, all the while reeling in the ideas and slapping the audience upside the head time and again. Here's an idea: cool it for a bit. Let the appetite grow. Fans are stuffed to the point of bursting, and there are only so many TV watching hours in a week. Anyway, Krypton's second and final season Blu-ray includes two extras to go along with solid video and audio presentations. For fans only. The season is also available in a double pack with Krypton's first season.
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