To have all four movies on Blu Ray is great, but I'm a sucker for collection packaging. Seems they just wrapped the standalone cases in a thin holder to match the release date of Awakening. A little more appreciation of the product would have been nice, but I guess I'm buying the movies, nonetheless.
All in all, this is a good set to show off to your friends and let them know that blu ray is the best way to watch (and listen) to these dark movies. In this case, the blu rays blow away the DVDs of these movies.
So crank up the surround sound and turn up those subwoofers. It's a hell of a ride!!This includes all 4 films. First one is indeed the extended version for those wondering. Each film comes in it's own case.So, anyone who's read my reviews on prior "complete series" releases (I doubt anyone has, but just in case) knows I despise the releases for Spider-Man: The High Definition Trilogy (Blu) and Transformers Trilogy (Blu), as both are completely half-assed offerings by studios rushing things to market, or worse: intentionally double-dipping consumers.
This set on the other hand is NEARLY flawless. And the flaws I can forgive.
I'll start with the flaws:
1) It's a repack of existing full-features releases, individually wrapped in a[n attractive] cardboard "brick" sleeve. This I don't have a problem with. I'm not one of those "remaster the discs" / "repacks the discs in different cases" fanatics. Individual cases are fine with me as long as the CONTENT is king. On this release, *it is*. You get all 4 movies with all the full-features included on the original fully featured disc releases. Awesome. No double-dipping. Buy it once. You're done. More on that in a sec'.
2) UV digital copy. I like the concept of UV, but implementation is occasionally lacking. In this case, redemption was easy, but quirky. At least in my copy... The 4 cases were sealed and there was a UV redemption code in the cardboard brick outside the individual disc wrappers. Easy enough. Redeemed. But wait. Where's Rise of the Lycans? Not showing up in my Sony Store or UVVU account. Really? Did they skip one movie out of the franchise? So, I opened Rise of the Lycans to get that redemption code, assuming there must have been one included on that original release, thus the second redemption code outside the wrappers wouldn't include it? No such luck... No redemption code in the Rise of the Lycans case. However, in the Awakening set there WAS a second redemption code. Which I redeemed... For a second UV copy of Awakening. However, at that point, Rise of the Lycans ALSO appeared in my Sony Store & UVVU accounts in addition to he extra Awakening license. So, I'm not sure whether Lycans just took a while for the Sony Store to 'see' it and transmit it to UVVU account and the timing was just coincident with the second redemption code, or whether the second code really was for BOTH Awakening AND Lycans, thsu duplicating Awakening but at least rounding out the UV collection with the 4th title, after a brief scare and some colorful language. All told, yes, all 4 movies do appear to be included. But, as always, digital copy codes appear to be time-limited, which I find distasteful, as I've purchased several titles in 'new' / 'sealed' condition, went to enter the codes (either for iTunes DC or UV) and gotten an 'invalid code' message, despite the verbiage on the slip saying "code MAY NOT be valid after xx/yy/zzzz" (not "definitely WON'T BE VALID after..."). Haven't yet tried streaming the videos beyond a minute or two to test they do in fact stream. But may eventually as I start using VUDU on my Blu-Ray player / hi def TV. And, again, this mean there's still no double or triple dipping (except maybe if you want 3D down the road; I'm not sold on it yet, so it doesn't factor in for me). Basically, you get the Blu version AND the online UV digital copy for the same overall "price." That is, you don't have to buy them separately, making this an overall good value (if you can get it for the right price). My opinion is ~$10/title or less is about 'fair,' less being better, as many of us have already paid into the system by buying prior DVD, DVD SE or barebones Blu versions.
3) No DVD copies. I know, I know... 'Blu-Ray is teh r0xx0r,' or whatever the kids are saying these days. I agree, Blu-Ray is pretty neat (the video quality is great vs. upconverting standard definition DVDs to hi def). However, not everyone has adopted yet. Plenty of friends / family haven't yet seen the value proposition of upgrading their still-functioning DVD/TV hardware to hi def. I think combo packs would help ease this transition. If a combo pack were available at ~the same price, I'd probably buy that instead, if only for backward / forward compatibility. As I often bring movies over to friends' / family's houses for evening entertainment. If they don't have blu, that means if I upgrade to Blu I may have to "keep" my old DVD copies around rather than trading them or selling them and recouping some of the double dipping. It would be great if studios would include DVD copies for backward compatibility. In some ways even just a bare copy would be fine, as long as it's functional. But if it doesn't cost any more, the SE disc(s) would be preferred so friends could see the special features too. I mean if one's going for an 'ultimate set,' why not go 'all in' rather than just half way? My opinion is that it would also easy late adopters into the shift by not-double-dipping and in the process building a hi def library that will be in place the day they *do* decide to switch viewing paradigms. IT might even encourage the switch by offering a carrot: "well, you've got the hi def flicks already, why not try them out?" Again, I can live with the hi def version & temporarily keeping my older versions. I just kind of wish there was a "best of both worlds approach."
So, overall, my rating on this one is "buy at the right price." ;) It's a great value proposition on account of the UV digital copy (if you're into that sort of thing) and for the fact you get all 4 movies WITH all the special features. Sure, it's a repack... But it's a well-done re-pack, not a hack job like Spiderman Trilogy or Transformers Trilogy, listed above.
It would have been nice if there was a SINGLE UV redemption code in the package (like the Resident Evil collection UV code which was a single code good for all 4 movies and worked flawlessly) instead of two redemption codes that haphazardly covered the series and resulted in an extraneous 'copy' of Awakening in my UV account. On that note, it would be kind of neat if when adding a title you already have, it instead gave you a credit toward a different title from the same studio, or generally. There's no point in having multiple copies of the same title via UV. It's just redundant. I'd much rather be able to get an additional title. But UV is new, so nobody's thought much about the finer details yet. Studios always seem to be the LAST to adopt innovations. Go figure.
But, quirks aside, I like this set. More than several other... That's all for now!Any one who likes to watch Kate Bekinsale perform will like these movies. She does an outstanding job bringing Selene to life. The original description indicated that there were no special features. I was very delighted to find this was not the case.
Underword has the following special features:
Director and Cast Commentary
Outtakes
Fang vs. Fiction Documentary
Storyboard Comparison
Music Video : Finch: "Worms of the Earth"
Seven Featurettes
Underworld: Evolution has the following special features:
Director and Filmmakers Commentary
Music Video: "Her Portrait In Black" by Atreyu
Six Featurettes
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans has the following special features:
Filmmaker Commentary
Underworld:Rise of the Lycans From script to screen
The Origin of the Feud
Re-Creating the Dark Ages The Look of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Music Video: Deathclub by William Control
Blu-Ray Eclusive Special Features
Behind the Castle Walls Picture-in-Picture
Lycanthropes Around the World Interactive Map
Underworld : Awakening has the following special features:
Fillmmakers Commentary
Blu-Ray Exclusives
Blooper Reel
"Heavy Prey" Music Video by Lacey Sturm featuring Geno Leonardo
Five Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
and exclusive to this Blu-Ray:
Cracking the Underworld: Picture-in-Picture Experience
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