Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Wings 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

A re-release of a feature documentary edited down from a six-episode series. Still with me?

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown April 8, 2015

BBC Home Entertainment is dipping its toe in the 3D Blu-ray waters... just as the majority of studios are scrambling to get out of the pool. There was the December 2013 release of Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor, BBC's only notable 3D title to date, but it seems little else has lent itself to the format. Until now. Enter Planet Dinosaur, Tiny Giants and Wings, a trio of natural history documentaries hinging their 3D bets on some additional pop and visual punch. Unfortunately, despite each documentary boasting (varied) value, there are a few caveats. Planet Dinosaur is new to Blu-ray, but Tiny Giants is essentially a truncated, 43-minute cut of two episodes of BBC's three-hour Hidden Kingdoms series (available since July 2014, and at its current price, a steal), while Wings is simply a re-release of Winged Planet 3D, available since March 2014 as a Best Buy exclusive. None of it amounts to a deal-breaker. Consumers and 3D enthusiasts will just want to check their collections and consider every angle before making a purchase.

Narrated by Doctor Who star David Tennant, 'Wings' is the breathtaking aerial adventure that takes goose bumps to new heights. Emmy Award-nominated director John Downer uses breakthrough filming techniques and technology to bring you high-flying sights that will amaze. Remarkable 3D footage captures majestic bald eagles scanning over the Grand Canyon, resplendent parrots on the wing, manta rays soaring skyward from the sea, barn swallows dive-bombing for a drink, cranes high over Venice waterways and so much more.

Wings 3D wasn't only previously available at Best Buy as Winged Planet 3D; it's also a 90-minute cut of BBC Earth's 370-minute Earthflight series, meaning it's possible to have already purchased Wings on two separate occasions. The truncation doesn't exactly benefit the film either. Wings is suitably spectacular, sure. But Earthflight is a fuller, more detailed, more diverse documentary that takes advantage of every one of the extra 280 minutes of material it has to offer. Does that make Wings a waste? Not at all, particularly for 3D enthusiasts. It's simply a matter of receiving significantly less content for roughly the same price.

That said, Wings, like Earthflight before it, is a magnificent production; soaring and majestic, poetic yet entertaining, engaging and informative. It's a natural history documentary for the entire family, from fledgling biologist to seasoned science geek, and its only limitation is your children's (or perhaps your own) attention spans. Manning narration duties is none other than David Tennant, who injects equal parts gravitas, wonder and impishness into his role as host. The subjects themselves, the various species of birds and creatures of the air featured in the film, are a fascinating, worthy focus too, delivering more than enough personality and curious behavior to fill out the feature's runtime. Together, Tennant and the feathered princes of the sky pull back the curtain on a kingdom all too often overlooked, with an appreciation and awe that justifies each minute spent in the skies.

There are a handful of distractions -- chief among them the cameras the NHU team situate atop several birds' backs for mid-flight recording, which amounts to inadvertently comical shots reminiscent of an Aflac promo gag -- but, by and large, this is another dazzling, triumphant entry in the BBC Earth catalog.

Wings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The biggest hurdle Wings' 1080p/MVC-encoded presentation faces is its multitude of video sources, some of which look less than spectacular in high definition. Artifacting, noise, ringing and other predators prowl the skies, and leave many a shot ragged and tattered. That said, each instance is inherent to the series' photography, making it difficult to complain too loudly when so many scenes are such sights to behold. The BBC Natural History Unit isn't beholden to the best image, but rather the best shot; regardless of clarity or convenience. Thankfully, colors are fairly vibrant and lifelike, with occasional flashes of primary brilliance, nicely saturated earthtones and satisfying black levels. Detail is quite good too, or at least as good as it can be given the aforementioned inconsistencies. Several sequences are stunning, no two ways about it, and everything that doesn't measure up will be easily forgiven by anyone whose expectations align with the norm for natural history documentaries, particularly those filmed so high above the Earth. The encode itself isn't prone to anomalies either, meaning Wings impresses in spite of the NHU's filming challenges.

In 2D, that is. Where Wings falters is its 3D experience. Depth and dimensionality are oftentimes at the mercy of the team's various cameras and the clarity and cleanliness of the source photography. For every close-up and serene sequence that offers a welcome bit of pop, there's another scene that renders the 3D presentation unremarkable and problematic. Minor aliasing, which is almost invisible in 2D, is also more pronounced in 3D, and ghosting makes a mess of wide shots comprised of hundreds of birds, ocean waves, or, you guessed it, a massive flock of birds swirling over the rough waters of the ocean. (Note: said ghosting will, of course, only be an issue for viewers whose displays are prone to crosstalk.) The result is less than extraordinary, to the point that Wings is best viewed in 2D. As such, why not pick up Earthflight instead?

Wings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The one area Wings bests Earthflight is that it includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track; an upgrade from the lossless 2.0 mix featured on the series' Blu-ray release. The only downside? In terms of sound design, Wings is a typical natural history documentary. David Tennant's narration is strong and intelligible at all times. Bird calls, flapping wings, rustling trees and other effects are prioritized perfectly. And the film's music is full and enveloping. Otherwise, there isn't a lot to get excited about. LFE output and rear speaker activity are, for the most part, rather restrained. Flocks of birds can be heard circling in the rears, and the heavy fwap, fwap, fwap of eagle wings arrives with a bit of notable low-end weight, but the soundscape remains that of a narration-helmed documentary. It isn't a problem -- nature documentary fans won't be surprised in the least -- but it does make for a somewhat average lossless 5.1 experience.

Wings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Neither the Blu-ray release of Wings 3D nor Winged Planet 3D includes any special features.

Wings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even trimmed to 85 minutes (from the 370-minute Earthflight series), Wings remains an absolute delight; one that's as entertaining and dazzling as it is engaging and educational. David Tennant makes for a wonderful narrator too, and one the BBC would be wise to utilize more often as Sir David Attenborough's reign sadly comes to a close. The film's 3D Blu-ray release is a tad hit or miss, though. While its video presentation and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track deliver, its 3D experience underwhelms and its supplemental package is non-existent. My recommendation? Skip Wings and order Earthflight instead.