Heroes: Season 2 [Blu-ray]
![Heroes: Season 2 [Blu-ray]](/images/Heroes-Season-2-Blu-ray-B001B7CNX8-L.jpg)
|
List Price: Our Price: $23.67 You Save: $36.31 (61%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.07 (click here) Category: Blu-ray See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Heroes: Season 2 [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: Learn to focus the camera
Summary: 3 Stars
This is an interesting show despite the fact that it's a bit different than my normal fare. It's darker and the soap opera miniseries feel is not my favorite since there is rarely any resolution and you never know if what you "know" is true. Nevertheless, it tends to be a fun ride at times with interesting characters and pretty good casting, although the writer's strike seems to have taken its toll on the quality of the stories in addition to only having 11 episodes in the season.
The audio is solid, but the video is inconsistent. Some shots exhibit excellent detail and sharpness while others are clearly out of focus. This show has a problem I've observed in other shows on Blu-ray, but to a greater degree. A camera focuses at a specific distance. Objects slightly closer and farther are also in focus, and the range between the closest and farthest distance is referred to as the depth of field. Depth of field is greater at farther distances and less close up, and tends to be greater with more brightly lit subjects. As such it's important to be focused at the right distance when subjects are close.
Unfortunately, the people running the cameras in this show for closeups, which are common, don't seem to know how to properly focus their cameras. All too often in closeups of people's faces the face is out of focus while something else, such as the pattern in a necktie or the fabric on his shoulder is sharp as a tack. That happens when the camera is focused an inch or two too far away. I've noticed this in other shows as well, but more in this show than any other I've seen. I don't know if that's because of the more frequent use of close shots or because the camera people used by this show are less competent. In any case, it's annoying.
Ultimately I enjoy the show despite its flaws, so I gave it three stars, but as you can tell from the ratings it's not for everyone. Some people love it, some hate it, and in the middle are folks such as myself who enjoy it in spite of its flaws.
Movie Review: Buyer Beware
Summary: 3 Stars
I can't really review the content, because I held off watching Season 2 for the Blu Ray realease. After returning two copies, I learned that the set won't play on BRD players which do not have the current 3.95 Firmware upgrade.
I love the way that Blu Ray looks, but between the price differential and keeping up with firmware upgrades I sort of regrett the investment.
Firmware upgrades are available on line at WWW.sonystyle.com or by calling Sony for a disc with installation instructions. Would have been nice if this would have been noted somewhere on the packaging!!!!!
Movie Review: A thundering disappointment after Season One
Summary: 2 Stars
Not since Season Two of TWIN PEAKS has a good show fallen so sharply off in quality as HEROES in Season Two (and unfortunately, as of this day, Season Three). And never has a series so completely belied its name.
The fundamental problem with HEROES is that there are no heroes. There are people with super abilities, but no one acts especially heroic. There are no clearly demarcated good guys and no clearly delineated bad guys. Instead, characters are apparently good for a while and then apparently bad. In other words, the fundamental conception of the show is just a mess.
The problem with Season Two is twofold. First, it fails to build on the promise of Season One. The best long narrative shows of recent years (and HEROES apparently bills itself as a long narrative show) continuously and clearly moves the story alone. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA clearly and brilliantly tells a story. LOST (the draggy Season Two aside) tells a story. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER clearly and inevitably told a series of stories. But even well into Season Three it isn't clear that HEROES has a story to tell. There are markers and signs that they think they have a story to tell, but things remain dark and murky. Watching the show in Season One I assumed that the show was showing how a group of people with remarkable abilities was going to come together, perhaps to team together for good. But at this point in the series no one seems to really be finding their way. Few have had epiphanies. No one is becoming truly heroic.
Frankly, at this point I don't have much hope for the show, though out of habit I've made myself keep up. One thin that truly great shows like BATTLESTAR GALATICA and LOST and BUFFY have in common is individual narratives of responsibility and redemption. Apart, possibly, for Sylar, we've had no such narratives in HEROES. Even Sylar might slip back to his evil, evil ways.
So the first major problem with HEROES in Season Two was the failure to move the story forward. Instead, they essentially did a reset and put thing back to where it was in Season One. All the work of Season One seemed for naught.
The second major problem is that too much of the season was spent on new characters, instead of developing the stories of established characters. I was happy to see Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell, join the show as the electrifying (literally) Elle, but there were simply too many new characters, several of them pretty unpleasant. We had a number of characters from Season One who were simply neglected to deal with the new characters.
I'm not sure that the show can be saved at this point. Sadly and tragically the show will certainly get some major help in the near future. ABC has stupidly canceled one of the finest shows on TV, PUSHING DAISIES. The only -- and I don't see this as much of a consolation prize given the loss of one of the most exhilarating shows in the history of TV -- upside to this abominable decision is that Bryan Fuller is now free to return to HEROES. Can Fuller turn the show around? One can only hope. Though Tim Kring insisted that all the writers worked on all episodes, I can't help but feel that it isn't an accident that Fuller was given writer's credit for what is hands down the best HEROES episode to date, "Company Man."
But if HEROES is to be saved, they first need to have the characters live up to the title, which at this point is more ironic than descriptive. Secondly, they need to force the story to start going somewhere.
Yes, the Blu-ray discs are spectacular. I have Season One is regular DVD and there is no question Season Two looks far superior in Blu-ray format. But clarity of picture and superior sound can't come close to matching a strong story. And that at this point HEROES continues to lack.
NBC is very slow to give up on shows. On ABC or CBS or FOX there is little question that HEROES would have been cancelled by now. The show's viewership is now less than half of what it was in Season One. If it doesn't improve soon and begin attracting back its old viewers, it has little chance for a Season Four.
Movie Review: $40, really??
Summary: 1 Stars
I don't know what extra's could possbly rate a $40 price tag for this. It's only half a season, and a terrible one at that. Too many new characters are introduced without bothering to flesh them out, which takes time away from developing the current cast and in the end, everyone is pretty much back where they started from by the end of the season.
Season 1 was great, and works as a self contained story arc and
I do hold out hope for season 3, but season 2 isn't even worth renting.
Movie Review: Heroes SSN 2 missing feature found on DVDs: Does not include SSN 3 Sneak Peek
Summary: 1 Stars
For those people who are fans of blu-ray and Heroes, this blu-ray set is ok for this mediocre season. For die hard fans, who want to see the season 3 sneak peek found on the dvd sets, you will have to get the set on dvd. In the long run, I don't think this missing bonus feature will be important, it just disturbs me that Universal/nbc would cheat fans of blu-ray and heroes by not including all the bonus features from the regular dvd sets. Especially considering the price of this blu-ray set.