7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
Packed with explosive action and edge-of-your-seat suspense, The Unit delivers a non-stop blast of spectacular thrills and hard-edged excitement! Risking their lives on deadly undercover missions around the globe, the Unit is a highly skilled, ultra-secret contingent of special forces soldiers operating outside the traditional chain of military command. Now, the hunters become the hunted as the team and their families are targeted by a deadly and far-reaching conspiracy. And, as they are forced to relocate and assume new identities, Season Four follows the complicated day-to-day lives, intricate military operations, and extraordinary heroism of the world’s finest counter-terrorism strike force – The Unit!
Disc 1: 182 Minutes
Action | 100% |
War | 47% |
Thriller | 7% |
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, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Five-disc set (5 BDs)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
What began as a red, white and blue network cash-in -- a humorless Team America calibrated for the over-fifty crowd -- soon evolved into a semi-decent guns-n-grenades television series. What surged as an intense but predictable ode to all things 24 quickly lost its way in its misguided, problematic third season. What struggled to find its footing in its fourth, some would say fiercest season met its end at the tip of an executive's red pen. The Unit has been a lot of things to a lot of people. To its devoted fanbase, it's been a taught, thrilling actioner. To its critics, it's been a cliché-ridden minefield littered with overreaching performances and inescapable plot holes. But to the rest of us, it's just another formulaic drama; third-tier TiVo filler that's only worth watching when nothing else is on.
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The Unit: The Complete Fourth Season boasts a stark, sometimes striking 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that owes a debt of gratitude to 24, as well as its penchant for overblown contrast and overheated whites. The series' palette is anchored to a range of bleached primaries and bronzed skintones, but it works well within the confines of its creators' established aesthetics. Likewise, shadows are often reduced to inkblots and bright skies wipe away detail on a regular basis, but anyone who's accustomed to shows with a similar visual style will feel right at home. Thankfully, textures are shockingly crisp, edges are razor sharp, and fine facial features like stubble and scars look amazing. More importantly, black levels are well resolved, contrast is vibrant and stable, and nighttime sequences look quite good. Once you get past the incessant but intentional noise and heavy grain that litters the image, you'll also notice how technically proficient the picture is. Artifacting, significant edge enhancement, aliasing, and noise reduction are nowhere to be found. All things considered, Fox's Blu-ray transfer will satiate the appetite of any viewer longing for one last hit of The Unit.
The Unit seems handcrafted for lossless glory and Fox's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track takes full advantage of every kick kack, rat-a-tat tat, and thoom that erupts across its soundfield. Even though the series itself is surprisingly chatty -- with plenty of soft-spoken exchanges and family drama -- its quiet disposition is peppered with a bass-heavy score, a series of weighty voices and, of course, enough explosions and gunplay to pack some serious punch. LFE output is strong and fulfilling (particularly each time the team ventures abroad), the rear speakers are agile and aggressive, and dialogue is crisp and nicely prioritized. Moreover, directionality is precise, pans are smooth, immersion is a cinch, and dynamics are brazen and bold. As it stands, it's a more satisfying sonic experience than most television releases deliver and fans will eat up every rip-roaring second it has to offer.
Like many recent television releases from Fox, The Unit: The Complete Fourth Season arrives with very little supplemental content. A small batch of Deleted Scenes (SD, 5 minutes) left me yawning; Into Hell: A Brotherhood Divided (HD, 11 minutes) is a bland episode-specific EPK that spends far too much time recapping plot-points to offer any insight into the production; Shadow Riders: A Western Come Undone (HD, 8 minutes) is another boring episode-centric featurette that commits the same cardinal sin; and Snake Doctor: A Leader Among Us (HD, 5 minutes) is a look at a Dennis Haysbert-directed episode that suffers from a strikingly similar structure and fate. All together, Fox's five-disc set includes less than thirty minutes of special features. Hardly becoming of a respectable television release, even for a show that's been canceled.
The Unit has never been a show that's appealed to everyone, and its Complete Fourth Season follows suit. Unless you've been on board from the beginning, there isn't much here to warrant your attention. Granted, a strong, technically proficient video transfer and a booming DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track await anyone who picks up this release, but an impressive AV presentation can't overcome the sort of overwrought storylines, stilted exposition, and mediocre action that weighs down The Unit's episodes. Fans will be pleased with the results, but newcomers will rightfully wonder why the fourth and final season of a canceled show is worth their hard-earned cash.
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