7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The Greatest Stars of the New Millennium profiles 15 superstars that dominated the ring for the first decade of the 2000s. Each star is profiled and one of his greatest matches is included. Stars examined will include John Cena, Triple H, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Edge, Chris Jericho, Batista, and more.
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Steve Austin (IV), Paul Levesque, Paul Wight, Dave BautistaSport | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
It's a little early, isn't it? The 21st century isn't even old enough to drive, and yet here it is, a list of the greatest stars of the new millennium, fresh off the advent of HDTV and Blu-ray and not a whiff of wrestlers like Daniel Bryan or CM Punk (not in any capacity as a members of the list, anyway). Best of the decade? Sure, why not. Century? It's a wee bit premature. Semantics aside, the point of the release is simple: highlight most of the best and brightest from the decade that was, pump up their brand, and inflate the WWE universe. Simple enough, but does the execution warrant a watch, or will the material prove too soft and too brief to amount to anything more than wrestling fluff?
Smell it.
Greatest Superstars of The 21st Century features an adequate high definition transfer. Normally, the WWE reformats older 4:3 material to a 1.78:1 aspect ratio when it's inserted into a main program to match newly created HD video interview clips framed at 1.78:1. That's, thankfully, not the case here. Older material is presented in its original aspect ratio throughout the program, retaining the 4:3 shape and featuring purple vertical bars on either side of the image to preserve its original appearance. With the older standard definition footage comes the usual array of technical flaws, but it's not graded on the Blu-ray scale. What little new material there is looks good enough. Interviews offer crisp, well-defined clothing and facial details and even, generally bright and natural colors. Newer material featuring wrestlers who performed in the HD era are presented with satisfactory clarity in the 1.78:1 frame. Light ringing, noise, and compression artifacts are occasionally evident. The digital-live action hybrid wrestler intros are soft. Though not a showstopper, WWE's Blu-ray satisfies in every major area of concern and within the context of the material it has to offer.
Greatest Superstars of The 21st Century features a basic Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. It's rather lively, at times, playing with a fairly large, electric presence. Clarity isn't the greatest, but listeners will enjoy the raw enthusiasm on display. Background music underneath narration plays at a low volume, understandably, but kicks up when it's front-and-center. Music, at every level, is well spaced across the front and enjoys a light, but healthy, surround element through the back. Dialogue, likewise, isn't booming, but narration and clip highlights play with solid front-center presence. This track won't redefine wrestling audio on Blu-ray, but it suits the material well enough.
Greatest Superstars of The 21st Century contains the following matches and moments. Matches and moments are found on both included
Blu-ray discs.
Disc One:
Greatest Superstars of The 21st Century is more superfluous than it is disappointing. This is a decent overview for relative wrestling newcomers, but diehard fans will only want this to round out their WWE Home Video collections, not to discover any sort of groundbreaking new information. There's no ranking or any semblance of order to the listings, just a perpetual highlight reel that changes names and faces every few minutes. It's a decent enough time killer, but most every other WWE Home Video release has proven significantly more substantial. This Blu-ray release of Greatest Superstars of The 21st Century delivers adequate video and audio and a healthy assortment of bonus matches. Recommended only to newcomers interested in some of the biggest current and former stars or hardcore WWE Home Video collectors and enthusiasts. Anyone falling in the middle ground is advised to skip this one.
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2-Disc Collector's Edition
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