Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Fourth Season (Slim Set)
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Movie Reviews of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Fourth Season (Slim Set)
Movie Review: Buffy's weakest season (I think), but it's still Buffy
Summary: 4 Stars
Ok, so I've been a fan of Buffy for a while now, but I've only recently begun buying and watching the show in boxed sets. So far, I own seasons 1-5 and I saw seasons 6 and 7 on TV a while back (I'll buy them soon). I've watched each season that I own at least twice, and I've watched the first three seasons at least four times each.
Season 2 is my favorite. Seasons 1, 3, and 5 are also very strong (5 seems to be unpopular, though). Season 6 is fairly good, and I like seasons 7 and 4 least. Keep in mind this is my own personal rating, and that I like the whole series. These rankings are just for comparing Buffy seasons to each other.
Good things about season 4:
*Buffy is maturing and learning to be an adult in a convincing way.
*Willow's character goes through a lot, and she changes and develops a great deal over the course of the season.
*The final episode is a bizarre impressionistic train-of-thought rollercoaster that is very confusing. However, it goes a long way in demonstrating the true nature of every Buffy character and features references to many great novels and movies (especially Apocolypse Now/ Heart of Darkness).
*The Big Bad is intimidating, smart, and has a reasonably strong motivation for his actions. Adam is less obviously "evil" than Angelus, the Master, or The First, but he's still not as deep or interesting as the Mayor or Faith.
*"Hush" was a genuinely scary episode. It was a very good micro-horror movie, and horror movies are rarely "very good!"
*Riley's character wound up being more interesting than I expected.
*Xander's character becomes deeper. He finds a role in the group that goes way farther than comic relief.
*Anya and Spike turn into real characters and remain as interesting and likeable fixtures in the show for the following seasons.
*Oz leaves (I didn't find him very interesting), and a more interesting character, Tara, moves in.
Bad things about season 4:
*Some episodes feel like random fluff. The main plot of the season doesn't go anywhere, the main dilemma of the episode comes across as stilted and silly, and the actors feel like they're just repeating lines.
*There is almost no primary plot line for the season as a whole. The Big Bad shows up late in the season, and the lesser villains up until then are barely enough to keep things interesting.
*Riley's character (I think) starts out very weak. Marc Blucas didn't seem to be doing a very good acting job at first. Late in the season and in season 5 he does much better. I took a while to get to like Angel's character in seasons 1 and 2, but I eventually accepted him. I had no issue with the acting. With Riley, it took me a while to even consider him much of a character at all.
*The Initiative was interesting when it was menacing and mysterious. Things just got sillier and "cheap Sci-Fi original movie" feeling. The soldiers went from using real-looking guns and actual Tasers to some very silly costume-store looking lightening guns. I think that the makeup jobs on Adam and his minion Forrest were a little too colorful-looking and not all that scary.
*I know Giles was bothered by being unemployed and that he struggled with feeling useless, but his character just didn't go anywhere beyond that. He was much more interesting in other seasons.
And I just can't make up my mind about some things:
*Spike's little behavior-modification brain implant bothers me a bit. It's kinda silly, but James Marsters actually does a good job making it convincing, and it allows everyone to get to know Spike a bit better.
*The final battle was both really awesome and a bit cheesy. Part of it was because Adam looks a little silly and pulls some guns out of nowhere in a way that would make the Transformers laugh. But, the battle-royal between soldiers and demons is pretty cool, and the way in which Adam is defeated was more interesting than just blowing him up with a big bomb like the the Scoobies did to the Mayor.
In summary:
Though a whole lot happened in this season in terms of character development and personal drama for the characters, the supernatural problems faced by Buffy and the gang were not as frightening or interesting as in other seasons. Some episodes are still excellent, but many are far weaker than even the worst episodes of previous seasons. Season 5 wound up being a major relief for me because it felt like a return to the stronger plot-driven episodes of seasons 1-3. Season 4 didn't measure up to other Buffy seasons in my book, but the weakest season in a really great series is still well worth my money.
Movie Review: Great
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this series. The slim set is also nicely packaged so it doesn't take up the entire shelf. Great special features.Movie Review: DVD's
Summary: 5 Stars
It was cheap, and in great condition. The package got here a lot sooner than expected too!!Movie Review: Buffy the vampire slayer - complete fourth season
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very good season in the Buffy series. I enjoyed it very much. The plots are intertaining and the charachters are too. Sarah Michelle Gellar is at her finest, demure yet spunky, the buffy we all know and love. Movie Review: College - The Initiative
Summary: 5 Stars
I love the slim sets, cheaper and easier to acess the discs. Buffy is in college. She had to deal with feeling like an outsider and have The Initiative trying to out do her in the demon fighting department. You also have to see her deal with guys who don't treat her right. They focus on college the most this season than any other. They are growing up but still try to do some funny episodes.