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Category:    Home > Reviews > Superhero > Action > Adventure > Comedy > Drama > TV > Urban > Gangster > Revenge > DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: The Complete Third Season (2017 - 2018/Warner Blu-ray Set)/The Punisher (2004/Thomas Jane/Lionsgate 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)

DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: The Complete Third Season (2017 - 2018/Warner Blu-ray Set)/The Punisher (2004/Thomas Jane/Lionsgate 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)



4K Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B+/B- Sound: B+/B- Extras: B/B- Main Programs: B/B-



Next are two releases with underrated characters from the biggest sources of the superhero genre...



Crossing over with the DC Universe (now all on the CW Network) which includes Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl, The Legends of Tomorrow is a fun assembly of small screen superheroes. The special effects are surprisingly pretty good for being a TV series and there are a lot of fun moments that comic fans will enjoy. This Complete Third Season (2017 - 2018) continues the show's success with a four episode crossover event 'Crisis of Earth-X'.


You can check out our review of the First Season here...


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14363/DC's+Legends+of+Tomorrow:+The+Complete+Firs


This Third Season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow stars Victor Garber (The Flash), Brandon Routh (Arrow, Superman Returns), Caity Lotz (Arrow), Franz Drameh (The Flash), Maisie Richardson-Sellers (The Originals), Tala Ashe (The Carrie Diaries), and Keiynan Lonsdale (The Flash), with Nick Zano (The Final Destination), and Dominic Purcell (The Flash).


A Time Master named Rip Hunter (Nick Zano) recruits a group of unlikely meta humans who face off against various threats to ensue the safely of mankind. Featuring characters from each of the Arrowverse shows, the characters include Black Canary, The Atom, Heat Wave, Firestorm, Vixen and many others.


Episodes include Aruba-Con, Freakshow, Zari, Phone Home, Return of the Mack, Helen Hunt, Welcome to the Jungle, Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4, Beebo the God of War, Daddy Darhkest, Here I Go Again, The Curse of the Earth Totem, No Country for Old Dads, Amazing Grace, Necromancing the Stone, I, Ava, Guest Starring John Noble, and The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly.


The show is presented in sharp 1080p high definition with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a nice sounding DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit) lossless mix, both of which are a vast improvement over the original television broadcast. Commercial and watermark free, this clean presentation is the ideal way to watch and enjoy the show as the filmmakers intended.


Special Features...


The Best of DC TV's Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2017


Inside the Crossover: Crisis on Earth-X


Post Production Theater


and a Gag Reel


This is defiantly one of the better comic book-based shows on air right now and shows a lighter side of DC Universe that isn't all grim and destruction.



Meanwhile in the world of Marvel Comics, The Punisher is now on TV after three feature films, the first of which wasted its leads (Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett Jr.) and was afraid to use the skull logo and the third & last for now of which was so horrendous, it could have killed Ray Stevenson's career before it began. Between them is the nest of the films, Jonathan Hensleigh's The Punisher (2004) with Thomas Jane as the (eventually) vengeful lead and John Travolta as the villain.


This time, the makers proudly use the skull logo, give us extended exposition on the characters life and family, plus some of his background and manages to transplant his Vietnam origins into a new era. Jane (who soon would be in the hit HBO series Hung) fits the role well, can also the family thing, the comedy (some of which people will like, though it is in a different tone that the current Marvel films) and definitely the action. The film want to harken back to the grittier 1970s serious action films and that runs from having Roy Scheider as his father to not using many digital effects to cars used to even imitating a little of the Roger Moore Bond films.


The result is one of the better Marvel Comics movies and though a few parts have aged more than expected, the rest holds up much better than you would think and the film did break even, but that was not enough for thew sequel or series the films deserved. Yet, like The Shadow with Alec Baldwin, was a better film than it got credit for at the time and is easily the best film on the character to date. Jane also did not become the star or action star he should have been, but did a short later proving he could still play the character as much as even now, Wesley Snipes could be Blade. You can see the marvel Universe left behind some of its best actors and works.


Though some people criticized John Travolta's villain, he is actually very consistent as the head mobster and formidable nemesis who has the heroes family killed out of revenge. Made before The Sopranos took on the whole gangster genre and changed it forever, the mob parts here have aged better than the makers could have hoped for. The action is solid too, as is the supporting cast that also includes two other actors who are part of the X-Men films of the time: Ben Foster and Rebecca Romjin, plus John Pinette, Russell Durham Comegys, Mark St. John, Eddie Jemison, Samantha Mathis and Will Patton. At this point, it could be argued the film is a minor classic of the genre.


Lionsgate has dug this gem out of their catalog to issue it as a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray while still including a copy of the old Blu-ray edition, which has already made for some interesting comparisons with other titles. The result here is that the 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1 Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image may show some flaws or other minor issues with the film, the film was shot in the Super 35 format and looks amazing often even to my surprise and memory of seeing it brand new in 35mm at the time of its original theatrical release.


Director of Photography Conrad W. Hall (Panic Room) does some of his best work here still to date with more demo shots throughout than you would expect. Light and color are atmospheric and vivid without being overdone and the color range also impresses. Hall has moved on to more commercial work that does not challenge his talents as much as I wish it did, but his work here shows what he is capable of and this disc proves it.


The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is softer, has not aged well and has a lack of overall detail that makes one wonder why Lionsgate did not jut redo the regular Blu-ray but the 4K version is so impressive that maybe they thought that was useless.


As for sound, Dolby Atmos 11.1 lossless mix on the 4K version is an impressive upgrade from the original 5.1 digital soundmaster that was issued in all three formats at the time, capturing the dialogue, music and sound effects with an even better soundfield, better detail and even more warmth. Though it is not going to sound like the best 12-track film mixes of today, it could teach them a few things about sound for narrative and how to make a solid recording to begin with.


The DTS-HD 6.1 ES lossy mix on the regular Blu-ray was considered a step ahead of it original theatrical 5.1 mix with its discrete back surround channel (Dolby EX was always matrixed) before the sound that now appears on Blu-rays and 4K Blu-rays was settled. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA are the standard lossless soundtracks for the formats before 11.1 arrived, but lesser lossy sound formats, plus room-consuming PCM sound (including 5.1) were being used at first. This is actually a rare ES track (a discreet back surround channel vs. Dolby's matrixed EX version) on any Blu-ray, but the lossiness and some slight compression are apparent. Having it here (that is if your home theater system can still play this format) makes for an interesting listen, especially for those not used to the brief-lived format.


Extras include different extras on each disc. In a rare move, the 4K disc has its own extras including a feature length audio commentary track with director Jonathan Hensleigh, two Deleted Scene with optional director commentary (Introduction of Saints and Sinners Club, Livia Saint Insults Mickey Duka) and two featurettes: Keepin' It Real: The Punisher Stunts and Army of One: The Punisher Origins. The regular Blu-ray adds the War Journal: On the Set of The Punisher featurette, Music Video ''Step Up'' Performed by Drowning Pool and Drawing Blood: Bradstreet Style featurette.



- Nicholas Sheffo (Punisher) and James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/


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