7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.3 |
Division is an ultra-secret government agency whose operatives are recruited young people with severed ties to family, friends and society. Trained to be invisible assassins, no one ever leaves Division -- except the charming and deadly Nikita, who has managed to escape, making it her mission to undermine the now-corrupt organization. A force to be reckoned with, the rogue Nikita taunts Division, staying on their radar, but always one step ahead. Yet as determined as Nikita is to bring down her former agency, there are those just as determined to stop her, including Division's newest recruit Alex, a beautiful young woman who seems destined to replace Nikita as their next top operative.
Starring: Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Aaron Stanford, Ashton HolmesAction | 100% |
Martial arts | 34% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Thriller | 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
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Japanese only available on Japanese menu settings
English SDH, French, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
BD-Live
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Talk about staying power. Nikita is the fourth iteration of Luc Besson's original 1990 French film of the same name (fifth, if you include 1991 Hong Kong thriller Hei mao), following John Badham's 1993 American remake, Point of No Return, and the five-season USA Network television series, La Femme Nikita (which breathed its last in 2001). Not too shabby for a twenty-year-old property. The question, though, is will it be around for another two decades? Showrunner Craig Silverstein's current take on the waif-turned-assassin saga doesn't offer a definitive "yes" or "no" on the matter. With just two-million viewers, Nikita's first twenty-two episode season wasn't a hit by any means, but it did earn a second season. Someone at the CW, it seems, believes in Nikita. And for good reason. While Silverstein's reimagining isn't a hardened killer -- yet -- it just might be come this September... if Silverstein's creative team can fix a few nagging issues. Based on the last two episodes alone, both of which set the stage for a deadly second season, I'd say chances are good.
"I was the first recruit to get out, and I'm going to make sure I'm not the last."
There isn't much room for improvement in Nikita's sharp and steady 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation. Rene Ohashi's palette doesn't always light up the skies, but its steel-blue Division interiors, striking primaries, alluring skintones and ruthless black levels rarely falter. Fine detail excels as well with crisp, well-resolved textures, razor-wire edges, refined closeups, consistent clarity and excellent delineation. Explosions, gunfights and breakneck action sequences exhibit some exceedingly minor issues (faint aliasing, pulldown-like anomalies and other mishaps sometimes appear for a split second), noise sometimes spikes when lighting is less than ideal, and softer shots occasionally work their way into each of the first season's twenty-two episodes. However, none of it amounts to anything remotely resembling a distraction, and the whole of the presentation borders on stunning. For every split-second hiccup, there are hours of perfectly rendered faces, fabrics and holsters. Unfamiliar with the creases on Maggie Q's brow? You won't be. Wondering about her tattoos? Not for long. Curious as to how many wrinkles jut across Berkley's forehead? Get counting. Better still, artifacting and banding are kept to an absolute minimum, ringing and crush aren't factors, and the only inconsistencies and shortcomings of note trace back to the series' source and Ohashi's action-packed photography. Fans and newcomers alike will be blown away.
Warner's sternum-cracking, neck-snapping, heavy-hitting DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is... wait for it... a blast as well. Dialogue is clean, nicely centered and perfectly intelligible, regardless of whether it's barked in the middle of a shootout or whispered under cover of darkness. The rear speakers never say die either, filling the already pulse-pounding soundfield with convincing ambience and lifelike acoustics. Nikita and her allies often stick to the shadows, so crowded locales aren't always commonplace. But, as you might expect, infiltration missions and covert ops have a way of spilling into bustling city streets, sneaking into chatty dinner parties and tackling heavily guarded rooms and warehouses, making for plenty of sonic fireworks, whether guns are drawn or not. Effects have particular punch, pans are silky smooth, and directionality exhibits deadly accuracy. Likewise, LFE output is big and bold, exerting force when called upon and lending weight as needed. If I have any nitpick, it's that David E. Russo's edge-of-your-seat (albeit slightly generic) spy score is sometimes buried in the mix. Not to any detrimental ends, but buried all the same. Even so, Warner's lossless track doesn't disappoint. Nikita sounds fantastic.
Nikita: The Complete First Season isn't armed to the teeth -- a twenty-two episode payload warrants more than two commentaries, as
far as I'm concerned -- but the 4-disc set holds its own with the help of an hour-long production documentary, an additional half-hour of
character featurettes and twenty-minutes of deleted scenes, all presented in high definition.
If any network can make Nikita last, it's the CW. Modest ratings? No problem. Growing pains? Take your time. Small but loyal fanbase? Well done. Season One is a tight, intrigue-fueled actioner with enough surprises up its sleeve to make it a thrill ride worth taking. It has its share of problems, sure, but nothing that can't be solved if the showrunners have been paying attention. (Which, if the last few episodes are any indication, they are.) Season Two is set to storm Friday nights this September, so we'll see if this incarnation of Nikita has as much staying power as the property itself. Whether you end up loving the series or shrugging it off, though, Warner's Blu-ray release is a strong one, with a terrific video presentation, an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio Track and a slick set of extras (with an hour-long production documentary) to boot.
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