5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by The Cause and its charismatic leader.
Starring: Paul Thomas Arnold, Oto Brezina, Kip Canyon, Jean Louise O'Sullivan, Scott King (VI)Period | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.0
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (448 kbps)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 1.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Full Moon dominated parts of the 1980s and 1990s, cranking out plenty of great little low-budget gems built on the backs of passion for the medium and the know-how to pull off the near impossible: good-to-great movies in unassuming packages. Movies like Trancers and Puppet Master dazzled in the skill of maximizing simplicity and focusing on character growth and narrative detail, avoiding most of the low-budget, rushed-to-production pitfalls of so many of their peers. Now, in the digital age when making movies is easier than ever before, Puppet Master X: Axis Rising shows a steep decline in quality to the point that a beloved franchise feels almost as if it's been taken over by The Asylum, a studio that prides itself on quick and dirty moviemaking rather than the care and craftsmanship that defined Full Moon's best efforts back in the studio's heyday.
Puppet Master X: Axis Rising does feature a solid 1080p, MPEG-2 transfer. The digitally photographed motion picture translates well enough to Blu-ray, but expect that classic flat and lightly glossy look about it. Details are fine but not quite as sharp and precise in every scene as they might could be. Facial and clothing textures range from adequate to excellent, while puppet details -- notably in close-ups -- are outstanding. Colors are rich and balanced, evident particularly in brighter scenes, though darker, danker shots inside Freuhoffer's laboratory are also true. Black levels hint towards a slightly paler shade in a few shots, but flesh tones appear accurate across the board. Minor aliasing seen on Beth's checkered dress creeps up a couple of times, as does very light background noise. Overall, however, this is a strong, albeit somewhat flat by nature, video presentation from Full Moon.
Puppet Master X: Axis Rising arrives on Blu-ray with a Dolby Digital 5.0 (not a typo) soundtrack. It offers adequate musical clarity and spacing but not the sort of lifelike transparency the score deserves. Surround speakers are frequently engaged with music, but not to any sort of excess, instead providing a nice counterbalance to the front elements. Ambient effects are minimal. Gunshots are purposeful but not potent, while a few other heavy effects, such as waves of electricity zapping around the stage, are nicely integrated if not somewhat lacking in raw energy and volume even at reference level. Dialogue is usually even and accurate, save for an evident hollowness to Beth's voice in a couple of early film sentences.
Puppet Master X: Axis Rising contains a "Videozone" featurette and previews for other Full Moon titles and film lines.
It's a shame to see the plunge in quality in such a beloved franchise, and with the equally underwhelming Puppet Master: Axis of Evil showing the same signs of lame, it appears that the series is quickly approaching the point of losing its charm, where simply re-watching earlier entries will prove a wiser choice than sampling Full Moon's latest puppet-centric wares. Puppet Master X: Axis Rising is a flat, purposeless movie that, other than returning some old favorites to the screen, hardly seems like a true Puppet Master movie, clearly sacrificing the tight, detailed structure and obvious passion for the filmmaking process that made the early movies so terrific in favor of cheap, quick, and thoughtless moviemaking. Puppet Master X: Axis Rising's Blu-ray release, courtesy of Full Moon, features solid video, passable audio, and a few supplements which are highlighted by one of the studio's latest "Videozone" featurettes. Recommended as no more than a rental for hardcore franchise fans; newcomers are encouraged to go back to the beginning and pretend that this latest installment (along with Axis of Evil) doesn't exist.
2003
Puppet Master 6
1998
Puppet Master 9
2010
1994
1993
Puppet Master 11
2017
Puppet Master 2
1990
Puppet Master 3
1991
Puppet Master 7
1999
2018
1989
The Secret of Marrowbone
2017
2018
1980
2018
1987
1941
Roger Corman's Cult Classics
1978
1979
1987