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WARNER

MOVIE INFO

Created By:
Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, Phil Klemmer
Cast:
Arthur Darvill, Wentworth Miller, Ciara Renee, Dominic Purcell, Victor Garber
Writing Credits:
Various

Synopsis:
Focuses on time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter, who has to recruit a rag-tag team of heroes and villains to help prevent an apocalypse that could impact not only Earth, but all of time.

MPAA:
Rated NR

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles:
English
French
Portuguese
Dutch
Latin Spanish
Danish
Finnish
Norwegian
Swedish
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
Dutch
Latin Spanish
Portuguese

Runtime: 681 min.
Price: $44.98
Release Date: 8/23/2016

Bonus:
• Comic-Con 2015 Panel
• Gag Reel
• “Hex Marks the Spot” Featurette
• “A Fantastic Voyage” Featurette
• “History in the Making” Featurette


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
Panasonic TC-P60VT60 60-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Smart Plasma HDTV; Sony STR-DG1200 7.1 Channel Receiver; Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player using HDMI outputs; Michael Green Revolution Cinema 6i Speakers (all five); Kenwood 1050SW 150-watt Subwoofer.

RELATED REVIEWS


Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete First Season [Blu-Ray] (2015-16)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (August 30, 2016)

A spinoff from Arrow and The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow provides a new entry in the DC Comics TV universe. This two-disc set includes all 16 of Season One’s episodes. The plot synopses come from the Blu-ray’s packaging.

Pilot, Part 1: “Time traveler Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) assembles a team of heroes and rogues to stop the immortal villain Vandal Savage (Casper Crump).”

When I look at two-part episodes, I wait for the second show to discuss my impressions. Skip ahead!

Pilot, Part 2: “When things go from bad to worse, Professor Martin Stein (Victor Garber) sets off with Sara (Caity Lotz) and Jefferson “Jax” Jackson (Franz Drameh) to contact a brilliant man – his younger self (Graeme McComb) – much to Rip’s consternation.”

Unlike the other DC TV shows, Legends gives us a team with no precedent in comics. Actually, DC put out an anthology book with the same title, but it involved different personalities/situations.

So while Legends delivers familiar characters, it gives us a new concept/theme, which makes it interesting. The big question becomes whether or not a series that revolves around secondary roles can become involving in its own right.

That remains to be seen, but the “Pilots” set up the series pretty well. I like the fact it acknowledges the characters’ inconsequential nature, and it uses time travel in a fun manner. The series launches well.

Blood Ties: “In an effort to weaken Savage by going after his financial assets, Rip and Sara infiltrate his bank. Meanwhile, Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller) and Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell) take the jumpship back to Central City for a job.”

After a good start to the series, “Ties” seems a bit on the lackluster side. Some good action results, but the episode feels more melodramatic than I’d like. While not bad, the show doesn’t zing as well as the “Pilot” programs.

White Knights: “The team follows Vandal’s trail into the 1980s Soviet Union, where they meet nuclear scientist Valentina Vostok (Stephanie Corneliussen), but only Snart gets through to her.”

After the lackluster “Ties”, Season One bounces back pretty well with “Knights”. While it doesn’t use the Soviet setting as well as one might like, it still adds some good action and adventure. This becomes a fairly satisfying program.

Fail-Safe: “After some of the team are captured and thrown into a Russian gulag during the Cold War, Snart leads the team in an elaborate escape plan to free their comrades.”

Essentially part two of “Knights”, “Fail-Safe” moves along the material well. I like the combination of the naïve Ray and the gruff Mick, and other threads fare well. I could live without the cutesy reference to Prison Break - Miller and Purcell’s former show - but otherwise this becomes a good show.

Star City 2046: “When a malfunction sends the Waverider crashing into Star City 2046, the team faces a disturbing version of their own futures where they never stop Savage or return home.”

Ah, the post-apocalyptic future wasteland! Well, I guess it’s the only way to go – after all, if Legends showed a paradise, there wouldn’t be much motivation for action and drama.

At least “City” uses the dark, violent environment to its advantage. Granted, it doesn’t reinvent the post-apocalyptic wheel, and the series continues to borrow from Terminator more than I’d like – but “City” still works.

Marooned: “After receiving a distress call from a stranded timeship, Rip answers – despite the team’s warning that it could be a trap – forcing them to battle time pirates.”

With a lot of nods toward sci-fi adventures like Star Wars and Star Trek, “Marooned” gives us a lot of fun action. It also reflects a bit of emotion via Rip’s story, sentiment that avoids sappiness for the most part. “Marooned” packs a lot of zing.

Night of the Hawk: “The team tracks Savage to a small town in Oregon in the 1950s where he’s working as a doctor in a psychiatric hospital. Sara and Stein take covert steps to uncover his plan.”

“Hawk” mixes action, horror and a distinct Back to the Future vibe. That creates an appealing combination, even if some of the material becomes a bit cheesy at times. More good than bad results.

Left Behind: “When the Waverider leaves them stranded in the 1950s, Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) and Kendra Saunders (Ciara Renee) bond as a couple, while Sara rejoins the League of Assassins and Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable).”

Rather than develop the Ray/Kendra romance in a conventional manner, “Behind” gives things a spin, as it allows them to be together for two years while they await retrieval by Rip. That’s a clever choice, one that allows matters to become much more involved than otherwise could be the case. This deepened connection acts as one of many good threads in this above-average episode.

Progeny: “In an attempt to save his family, Rip takes the team into the future to eliminate one of Savage’s allies. But he crosses the line when the team learns the target is a child.”

Everyone knows the philosophical time travel question: if you could go back and kill Hitler as a child, would you do so? “Progeny” gives that notion its own spin, though I can’t claim the concept adds much charge to the show. Parts of “Progeny” work well and the show does seem more introspective than usual, but it’s a little lackluster after “Left Behind”.

The Magnificent Eight: “The team needs a place to hide out, so Rip sets a course for the Old West. When they run afoul of an outlaw gang, Rip enlists his old friend Jonah Hex (Johnathan Schaech).”

Every time travel show needs to hit the Old West at some point, so “Eight” became inevitable. “Eight” has fun with the genre and becomes a mostly good episode, though some stale qualities emerge. It’s still largely successful.

Last Refuge: “The team is targeted by the Pilgrim (Faye Kingslee), a deadly assassin who wants to erase them from the timeline by erasing their younger, pre-superhero selves.”

As I mentioned earlier, Legends owes a major debt to Terminator - one that “Refuge” acknowledges. The episode manages to bring some life to the format, though, as it mixes sentiment and action well. Even with the potential pitfalls, the show succeeds.

Leviathan: “Rip takes the team to London 2166 when Savage is at the height of his power, where they discover Savage’s daughter (Jessica Sipos) and the means by which he can be killed.”

After a slow start, “Leviathan” develops into a good episode. Its second half packs a ton of action and creates intriguing story developments as well, all of which allow it to overcome its mediocre first half.

River of Time: “After the team successful captures Vandal Savage, his presence causes dissension among them as they determine if he should live or die.”

Much of “Time” follows an unusually introspective path, as it explores connections and motivations among the characters. This all winds up with exciting moments and the show blends the components to create a satisfying expansion of the season.

Destiny: “Rip and Rory are incredibly disturbed by the Time Masters, while Sara takes control of the Waverider and Snart decides that he might be a hero after all.”

With one more episode to go, “Destiny” ramps up the drama. It sets up the finale and gives us compelling twists to take us home.

Legendary: “Rip returns the team to Central City a few months after they left, so they can decide for themselves if they’re willing to risk everything.”

No one will claim that “Legendary” brings S1 to a neat and tidy ending, but it does finish things on a fairly exciting note. The show wraps up narrative elements and offers the requisite nod toward Season Two developments. That makes it a quality finale.


The Blu-ray Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B+/ Bonus C-

Legends of Tomorrow appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on these Blu-Ray Discs. The shows offered appealing visuals.

No significant issues with sharpness developed. Some wider elements seemed a bit soft, but those instances didn’t dominate, so the shows usually provided crisp, distinctive visuals. I saw no jaggies or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws were a non-factor as well.

In terms of palette, we got a lot of the usual orange and teal, but the mix of places/eras added other hues as well, so those brought out some kick. Within the choices, the hues looked well-developed. Blacks came across as dense and tight, and low-light shots demonstrated nice clarity. All in all, I thought the series delivered nice visuals.

Expect fairly positive audio from the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Legends. The forward realm dominated, as the shows featured solid stereo music and a good sense of environment. Elements meshed smoothly and moved across the spectrum well.

In addition, the surrounds added some pizzazz. The back speakers used music well, and effects also created a fine sense of place. With all the time-traveling action on display, the shows boasted a nice array of elements that used the various speakers in a more dynamic manner than usual for a TV series.

As for the quality of the audio, it seemed good. Speech always came across as natural and concise, with no edginess or other issues. Music was bright and clean, while effects showed nice reproduction. Those elements came across as lively and dynamic, and low-end response appeared deep and firm. The episodes consistently boasted positive audio.

Disc One comes with a 2015 Comic-Con Panel. It runs 18 minutes, 49 seconds and involves executive producers Marc Guggenheim, Phil Klemmer, Sarah Schecter, Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti and actors Victor Garber, Dominic Purcell, Ciara Renee, Brandon Routh, Wentworth Miller and Caity Lotz. The piece looks at spinning off Legends from other series as well as story/character areas and cast/performances. These panels tend to be promotional and superficial – this one follows that path.

Also on Disc One, a Gag Reel goes for seven minutes. It shows the standard mix of goofs and giggles, which makes it forgettable.

Disc Two opens with Jonah Hex: Hex Marks the Spot. In this six-minute, 57-second piece, we hear from Guggenheim, Klemmer, production designer Ian Thomas, location manager Peter Klassen, prop master Trinita Waller, costume designers Maya Mani and Vicky Mulholland, and actor Johnathan Schaech. “Spot” looks at aspects related to the “Magnificent Eight” episode. It gives us a reasonable overview.

A Fantastic Voyage: Touring the Waverider Set lasts eight minutes, 53 seconds and features Guggenheim, Klemmer, Thomas, and director of photography David Geddes. As expected, “Voyage” details the design and creation of the series’ main set. We learn some useful information here.

Finally, History in the Making goes for 13 minutes, four seconds. It involves Guggenheim, Thomas, Klemmer, Geddes, Waller, Mulholland, Klassen, location manager Catou Kearney, and visual effects supervisor Armen Kevorkian. “Making” looks at challenges related to the series’ recreation of so many different times periods. It becomes another satisfying featurette.

Another fine DC Comics TV series, Legends of Tomorrow’s first season works well. It mixes interesting characters with compelling stories and a lot of action to become a consistent pleasure. The Blu-rays provides very good picture and audio but it skimps on supplements. Despite the lack of substantial bonus materials, I recommend Legends for comic book/sci-fi fans.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3.6666 Stars Number of Votes: 3
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Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main