Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Red vs. Blue: Season 14 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 11, 2016

There’s what seems to be a bit of a riff on one of The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series’ opening credits sequences at play during this season of Red vs. Blue, and in fact some longtime viewers of this decidedly odd series may feel they have actually been transported into “another dimension,” to use Rod Serling’s inimitable words. Overarching plots (such as “plots” ever are in the world of Red vs. Blue) are pretty much shunted to the wayside in favor of short vignettes, some of which aren’t even in the series’ traditional “machinima” aesthetic.

For those wanting a bit more information on this completely peculiar enterprise, our reviews of (some of the) show's previous seasons can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Red vs. Blue: RVBX: Ten Years of Red vs. Blue Blu-ray review

Red vs. Blue: Season 11 Blu-ray review

The series’ humor has often been intentionally juvenile, building jokes out of interchanges like, “You shut up”, “No, you shut up!” That tendency continues this season, though in shorter, scene specific, form, without any overriding throughlines guiding the episodes. What sets this season apart even more than its story proclivities is the decision to break away, at least at times, from the machinima aesthetic. Therefore, this season has episodes in other “media”, including traditional animation (see screenshot 4) and even Lego characters (see screenshot 2). It may strike purists as blasphemy, but of course for some, even thinking of people being “machinima purists” is enough to generate laughs as significant as anything in the show itself.

Red vs. Blue: Season 14 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Red vs. Blue Season 14 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As with previous seasons of the series, some "baked in" deficiencies in the machinima world can't quite be overcome in this high definition presentation, with things like stairstepping on supposedly straight lines more than apparent at times (some of the screenshots accompanying this review clearly show the anomaly). Colors are beautifully suffused, though, and the episodes that exploit other aesthetics like old style animation look sharp and clear, with problem free line detail.

Red vs. Blue: Season 14 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once again Red vs. Blue goes the lossy audio route, with an appealing Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that provides consistent surround activity, albeit in a lossy environment. The show's tendency for goofy action provides ample opportunity for discrete channelization of effects, and dialogue is always clearly presented. A lossless track may have helped up the low end, which seems a tad anemic at times.

Red vs. Blue: Season 14 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All of the supplements feature interviews with various crew members:

• Deus ex Machinima (1080p; 6:41)


• The Building Blocks of RVB (1080p; 7:03)


• Making a Mercenary (1080p; 8:57)


• Immersion BTS (1080p; 8:00)


• Rocket Jump BTS (1080p; 7:03)


• Red vs. Crew (1080p; 00:58) is a slide show of talent involved in the show.


• Audio Commentaries features a host of talent, including Miles Luna, Sean Murphy, Gray Haddock and Burnie Burns.

Additionally, there's some whimsical swag in the keepcase, including an "activity book" and some playing cards.

Red vs. Blue: Season 14 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Red vs. Blue Season 14 is a break from the show's established aesthetic and story formulations, and as such it may not appeal immediately to some of the series' longtime fans. Those willing to treat this season as an "experiment" may have an easier time with it, for some of the humor is still goofily enjoyable and the changes in animation styles is actually a nice break from incessant machinima. Technical merits are okay if not overwhelmingly strong. For (tolerant) fans, Red vs. Blue Season 14 comes Recommended.