POWER RANGERS Blu-ray Review

POWER RANGERS (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)

Release Date: June 27, 2016

Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Video: 2.40:1 1080p Widescreen

Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0 (Enhanced For Late-Night Listening)

THE RATINGS

The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ✰ ✰

Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Special Features - ★ ★ ★ ✰ ✰

Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰

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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
It's Sophomorphin' Time.

Reviewed by Gavin King

Power Rangers has "teenage dominance" written all over it. Granted, not every action film can always be a serious, gritty, and brooding Zack Snyder fest, but this one just seems too hyperbolic, teenager-wise, for its own good. That doesn't make Power Rangers a bad movie. It just wants to appeal to its main demographic, the adolescent audience, rather than appealing to a nationwide majority. It's also a film that seems to aim for those who grew up with the Mighty Morphin' saga back in its golden days, though it wants to gear for the former, the teen audience. But that doesn't mean this film is one big pubsecent angst-a-thon. It's got big action set pieces, an action-friendly score, and bombastic visual effects. The film is something of a confused identity, stuck with the decision on whether it wants to be a relatable teen adventure or a big-budgeted actioner, but it baseline satisfies with its generally strong performances and rollicking action.

Five teens, one destiny.

Five teens - Jason Scott (Darce Montgomery), Billy Cranston (RJ Cyler), Kimberly Hart (Naomi Scott), Zack (Ludi Lin), and Trini (Becky G) - come across an old gold mine that was blown up by Billy. It reveals five Power Coins, which each of them take but are caught by security but escape safely. The next day, each of the kids discover something special. They have unique powers that amaze themselves and their fellow classmates at school. The kids then return to the mine; this time, they all discover an ancient spaceship. There, they meet the robot Alpha-5 (voiced by Bill Hader) and the conciousness of Zordon (Bryan Cranston) inside the Morphing Grid. Zordon tells them that they are all now the Power Rangers and gives them some information about Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks), a former Power Ranger who betrayed the team to control the Zeo Crystal. Now these new Power Rangers must harness their abilities to take out the dastardly plans of Rita before the city of Angel Grove is destroyed forever.

The movie takes itself a bit too seriously, despite its aformentioned dominance on teenage angst. There's little humor other than a few opening sequences introducing the kids and a few little bits with Bill Hader's Alpha-5. The movie could have benefited from being more light on its feet, not falling into the easily vulnerable trap that is the dimness of most action junctures nowadays. Sure it's Power Rangers, and sure the instantly recognizable theme is there amidst the movie's action, but at the end of the day it's still expositionary routine. Yet much of the same can be granted to similar films of this sort of genre. They're not exactly breeding grounds for airy flair and humor and are more focused on building to the action-oriented storyline via exposition and big build-up scenes, and Power Rangers isn't an exception to the rule.

So you guys are the Power Rangers?

Yeah, there's a good amount of teenage angst, but it's not hugely constant. The film thrives on a fairly continuous sense of the way teenagers this age precieve things. It can sometimes be fun (the action scenes), sometimes a little much (the bathroom scene with Kimberly). If anything, it's nice enough that the cast knows the characteristics of being a teen, if they were that way or not (probably the former). The performances aren't Oscar-winning, but they're more than adequate, with the best of the teen performances being RJ Cyler as Billy Cranston, who brings out an appreciable sense of social anxiety to his character. Sure he'll fit in well with his fellow Power Rangers, but he's also looking for a few true friends, too. Elizabeth Banks makes for a welcome Rita Repulsa, maybe not the first choice for the role but she knows what she's doing and realizes the Power Rangers essence. Bill Hader's voice performance as the robot Alpha-5 is appreciated, as well, nothing too huge considering his constant work in voice performances in animation and live action alike but nevertheless giving the robot character a nice addition into the Power Rangers universe.

Even through the film's flaws, the good generally seeps along the bad. The film is a technical success, with an endless cacophony of visual (and aural) effects that bring color and light to the Power Rangers universe, even through the serious dimness of the film that's really become routine. Action sequences are fun, loud, well-coreographed... it's stuff we've come to expect from years and years of modernized action cinema, but it's well-done stuff, too, again maybe taking itself a little too seriously but not necessarily at the expense of thrilling joy and entertainment. It's B-movie popcorn fluff, nothing more, nothing less, and should satisfy harcore Rangerholics and leave general audiences with the idea that there was effort put into the final product.

POWER RANGERS Blu-ray - Video Quality

Power Rangers morphs out on Blu-ray with a typically high-end 1080p transfer. The movie was shot digitally with Red Epic cameras, a very slick, glossy type of digital camera in this reviewer's opinion, but the image retains an abundant amount of fine-point detail. Scuffs and marks on Ranger suits, rocky terrain in the cave, and the interior of an abandoned spaceship are clean and sharp, perhaps not to the point of becoming reference material but still delivering that trademark sharpness that comes with digitally-shot feature films. The film's color palette sort of dims the level of fine detail, as the film goes for darker and more muted shades (especially in the cave and spaceship), but we're still left with pinpoint sharpness to enjoy. The iconic Ranger armor is well-saturated in color - the Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, and even Black - as are the bright visual effects in the film's titular final act. The encode's undoubted strength is its incredible depth of field, with sprawling vistas of the gold mine the kids go to, as well as a few other wide shots involving other sorts of nature. The image sees stable black levels in most every scene (save for a couple shots which go ever-so-mildly pasty) and serious compression artifacts were not spotted. All told, Power Rangers makes for a solid video presentation on Blu-ray. It may not bring much new to the table, but it certainly meets any and all expectations.

POWER RANGERS Blu-ray - Audio Quality

Power Rangers features a truly amazing Dolby Atmos soundtrack, probably one of the finest listens I've heard on my surround sound system. The track makes consistent use of the surround channels in most every scene. During the opening scene where Scott escapes the cops, as the camera pans in a circle, the speakers correspond to the location the camera is placed at. For example, as the camera pans to the back of the car, we can hear Scott's voice in the surrounds. It's an almost startling surround element and it's only a sign of what amazing power the track has to come soon. An explosion around the 19-minute-mark pulses with a healthy bass accompaniment and supportive surround structure. As the kids reveal their colors underwater, the sound of water gurgling fully envelops the stage. The ending battle with Rita Repulsa is a particularly impressive cacophony of endlessly detailed action sound effects that puts the LFE channel in great effect and pulls the viewer right into battle with the Rangers. There's some astounding stuff here. Atmospherics are extraordinarily well-implemented; seagulls on a pier, pouring rain, nighttime crickets by the mine, and a school hallway completely immerse the listener into the film's locations. No matter what the environment, what the time, the multichannel track brings fully-detailed life to each interior and exterior location. Music is nicely-placed too, with tight bass and full stage involvement, no matter what genre. Even through all this constant enveloping, dialouge never once falls short and stays perfectly audible and crisp throughout. This is demo-worthy material, and it's one that audiophiles shouldn't be shy to introduce to their home theater sound systems.

POWER RANGERS Blu-ray - Special Features

- Audio Commentary with Director Dean Isrealite and Writer John Gatins Director Dean Isrealite and writer John Gatins discuss various production elements, aspects about the original show compared to this film, locations, and more. They leave a handful of silent spots but deliver a track that fans should enjoy.

- The Power of the Present is a nine-part supplement that's pretty in-depth, exploring the original Power Rangers origin, cast interviews, behind-the-scenes clips, and much, much more. The parts include Rangers Then to Now, Building the Team, Beyond the Rangers, Suiting Up, Rangers Welcome to Training, Rangers in the Wild, It's Morphin' Time, Power Ballad: Music and Sound, and This Is Your Destiny.

- Deleted / Alternate / Extended Scenes include Kimberly Dropped at School, Jason & Dad Fight in Kitchen, Swing the Shell, Stole a Cow & Invaded Police / Longer Spectrum, Where to Drill Cop, Were You Serious About Running Away?, Who Stole The Van?, Kim Doesn't Know Trini's Name, Creepy Cave Walk, Good Talk / In the Bucky Ball, I'm Sam Scott This is My Boat, Crazy How Someone Stole the Van, Let's Go Train, Tommy - Kimberly Cameo, You Don't Need a Locker, Rita Licks Trini, The Kiss, and Kid Touches Megazord. Whew!

- Outtakes Funny moments from the cast and crew.

- Theatrical Trailer (with Audio Commentary by Dean Isrealite)

POWER RANGERS Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation

Power Rangers is a mixed bag. It doesn't know what kind of movie it wants to be - an angsty teen flick or a breakneck action movie - but it satisfies with is fun final act, strong visual effects, and good cast performances. It's flawed, to be sure - a bit on the angsty side (as I keep mentioning), falls into slightly derivative routine, could boast a more breezy tone - but, on the positive side of things, this is popcorn fluff with a capital F, by no means going to win any big movie awards but gives fans of the franchise what they want and leaving the non-converted with a satisfied look on their faces. Lionsgate's Blu-ray delivers most of the goods; a hugely effective Dolby Atmos soundtrack, top-shelf 1080p video quality, and a good allotment of supplements, bolstered by a 2 hour and 20 minute long feature. Recommended.

I will add extra screenshots later. Thank You!

THE GREAT WALL Blu-ray Review

THE GREAT WALL (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)

Release Date: May 23, 2016

Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Video: 2.40:1 1080p Widescreen

Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1

THE RATINGS

The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ½ ✰

Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Special Features - ★ ★ ✰ ✰ ✰

Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰

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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
Maybe great is a bit of an overstatement, but it's all in cheesy fun.

Reviewed by Gavin King

What a transfer in the characteristics of roles for Matt Damon in the past several months. Rewind back to July of 2016, Damon was the main in the latest installment in his trademark trilogy Jason Bourne, involving, fist fights, espionage, gun-to-gun violence, motorcycle chases, and more. It wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't a very good one, either, reverting to slightly repetitive formula in lieu of its Bourne predecessors, featuring much of the same and less of much new inventive ideas to a once sparkling, edge-of-your-seat series. Still, though, fans of the saga loved it, and it's not necessarily difficult to see why. It's generally quite fun to see Matt Damon kick some butt as he travels across the globe, taking out his nearby villains to well-coreographed - albeit nearly headache-inducingly shakingly shot - skill. Fast-foward to February 2017, and Damon becomes yet again the leading role of an action-oriented movie. Yet this film is very much different in scope, plot, and focus to 2016's Jason Bourne. The Great Wall takes place in a fantasy China, which rests on the notion that the warriors were using the wall to keep out menacing creatures that stem as magnets of battle and brutality - and a relatively high body count. It's by no means particularly novel or even somewhat original - damn it all if it isn't the slightest bit derivative - but The Great Wall is the kind of film you can sit around with your friends, drink a few beers (though be careful not to get too drunk), and just have a darn fun time with. Forget its plot and come for the silly action and you'll find yourself having a really good popcorn time.

William takes a few steps.

The Great Wall takes place around the Song dynasty of AD 1010-63, in which two mercenaries named William (Matt Damon) and Tovar (Pedro Pascal) are on the hunt for black powder but themselves, including their following men, are chased by bandits, leaving the duo to escape into a nearby cave and battling a mysterious monster. The next day, William and Tovar are taken prisoner by a large group of Chinese soldiers known as the Nameless Order, who greet the two and prepare them for an incoming battle. After prepping for battle, they then face a monster which attempts to enter the Great Wall. Determined to rid the creature, William and Tovar attempt to defeat the monster - and save a few souls on the way. Their skill and courage impresses the Chinese and earns their respect. The two learn more and more about the Nameless Order and its villains during their stay - and continuously prepare for what kinds of odd creatures and monsters are on their tail next.

Not that much of an interesting plot, right? While no doubt it does slightly intrigue at some points, it's not the most fully engaging story in the world. Besides, let's be honest; we come to these kinds of movie for the corny action, agreeably acceptable hyperbole, and even maybe, just maybe, the silly dialogue. The Great Wall epitomizes all of that, but at least it's in a way that audiences like me can appreciate. It's no meaty story, but the action more than satisfies to create a basic fun popcorn movie. That being said, it's far from groundbreaking stuff - as mentioned before, it relies on hyperbole and a pinch of exaggeration to move its story forward - but it makes for one of the more enjoyable munch-on-your-popcorn-and-smile-like-a-complete-idiot movies out there - that is, if there ever was a list for that.

I must tell you about the Great Wall of China...

Performances aren't going to blow people away, but they surely get the job done. Matt Damon does a fairly good job as his character, William, in pure fantasy fashion. He's likely the reason people are going to flee to the movie, if anything, and he'll satisfy action-hungry fans with his always dependable charisma in fighting off the monsters that ever so want to get over the Great Wall. Supporting roles are fine, too, most notably the chinese women who bang on the huge drums to signal positions and attacks for the Nameless Order. One of the movie's strenghts is its colorful cinematography, stuffed to the gills with stylish costumes, savage monsters, and eye-popping wide shots of various locations that the film takes place in. It's a very attractive visual style, and leave it to a guy like Zhang Yimou to really bring out the bling in his stylish, big-budgeted fantasy.

As said above, The Great Wall does rely on some serious exaggeration to keep its story manuevering over its blessedly brief 96-minute runtime. Arrows are shot at Matt Damon's character and his parter when they first come across the Great Wall, and the arrows seem to hit surrounding them, and not on them, in a rather cartoonish way. Members of the Nameless Order scurry along and quickly bow down to their leader, reminding them of incoming attacks pointing their way. Monster battles are very fantasy-esque; they take an almost Hobbit like designing in the way the area is designed where the monsters rampage out of. But it's what makes the film fun in the first place, actually. Sure, the film may take itself a bit too seriously, but it's all in good fun - especially when one considers what visionary masterclass director Zhang Yimou had in mind in the first place.

THE GREAT WALL Blu-ray - Video Quality

Yep, I'm impressed. The Great Wall features a truly outstanding video presentation that's pure demo material for home theater systems from the first minute to the last. The visual excellence is apparent all throughout the runtime. Nameless Order costumes spring to life with vibrant splashes of blue and red. Blazing hot fireballs slash through with unmistakable orange flash and power. Even less flashy pieces of the palette like the dimmer walkways of the Great Wall filled with fog are still brimming with truly great naturalism that does the film's visual intent justice. Details are just as striking. Armor and suits are the unquestioned standout. Yimou has crafted the costumes with a startling, rich complexity that brings to life every fabric, belt, piece of leather, and every single aspect of the textural astonishment with ease. Facial pores, metal gear, and terrain are top notch, too, with no inch of the digital source photography being scoffed off to the typical digital flatness that The Great Wall is not a symptom of. Black levels come just as expected, with a firm deepness that never succumbs to murkiness. No compression artifacts were spotted in the presentation. The Great Wall makes for one terrific visual showcase on Blu-ray.

THE GREAT WALL Blu-ray - Audio Quality

The Great Wall's hugely effective Dolby Atmos lossless soundtrack breathes fiery life into every arrow blast, monster attack, clanking of metal, and piece of machinery with absolutely zero complaint. It's hands-down one of the finest listens of the year so far, a reference-quality sound mix all the way. The overheads catapult power to each and every thunderous battle the film throws its way, and while it's hard to say that those extra channels are constantly utilized throughout the experience, it's a lot harder to say that they aren't used effectively. Because they really are. Each action effect is wonderfully complimented throughout each speaker in the multichannel surround sound sytem, with flawless surround accompaniment and astonishing bass extension. The LFE channel is put to good use in a number of scenes, but its best moment is when those huge drums are beat. It'll put your subwoofer to the test and shake the foundation of your house. But the track isn't just a loud cacophony of fantasy warfare battle. The track has its subtler moments that are used to a greatly immersive extent, like the dining room Matt Damon's character grabs a bite to eat in after battle, windy gusts outside the great wall, and dozens others. Ramin Djawadi's percussion-laden score is offered a nice stage envelopment here, and perfectly prioritized dialogue collects everything into tip-top shape. Audiophiles, take note; The Great Wall makes for an astounding, pulse-pounding sound mix that'll leave you breathless.

THE GREAT WALL Blu-ray - Special Features

- Deleted and Extended Scenes include the following: Commander Lin Enters the Great Wall, Guards Take Tovar to the Barrocks, Ballard Takes Tovar Inside the Wall, Extended Scheming in Ballard's Suite, Extended Funeral Sequence, Tovar and Ballard Wait For William, Lin Mae Arrives at the West Tower, and Extended Emperor Sequence.

- Matt Damon in China Matt Damon recaps his work on the film.

- Working With Director Zhang Yimou The Great Wall's cast and crew sing their praises about the director.

- The Great Wall Visual Effects The film's VFX artists explain the daunting process of crafting the film's special effects.

- Man vs. Monster Composed of three parts: The First Battle, The Second Battle, and The Third Battle. As these titles suggest, the pieces explain the film's big battles.

- Weapons of War Another self-explanatory title, this piece takes a look at the film's weapons used to kill and catch the monsters.

- Designing a Spectacular World Takes a look at the film's production design.

THE GREAT WALL Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation

The Great Wall is dumb, sure, but it's dumb fun. Excuse the film's false history and convoluted plot and go for the visuals and bombastic action sequences. In that scope, you'll be having a good time. It's a flawed film to be sure, but the good rises way above the bad in this case; sharp, eye-opening visual effects (courtesy of visual savant Zhang Yimou), rock-solid though far from Oscar-worthy performances, and impressive technical support. Come into The Great Wall expecting a breath of fresh air in the fantasy action genre that rocks the world in terms of this kind of cinema, and you'll likely walk away disappointed. But for those who know what they're in for and can forgive an unrealistic story for bonkers in the entertainment department, come in with popcorn stuffed in your mouth and enjoy the ride. The Great Wall's Blu-ray release from Universal is quite good; supplements are sadly rather short, but video and audio quality are out of this world. Recommended to those whose expectations are set accordingly.


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THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE 3D Blu-ray Review

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital HD)

Release Date: June 13, 2016

Studio: Warner Home Entertainment

Video: 2.39:1 1080p Widescreen

Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 Compatible), English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DVS 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1

THE RATINGS

The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

3D Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰
Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰

Special Features - ★ ★ ★ ½ ✰

Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
Who'd watch this movie in three dimensions? BATMAN!

Reviewed by Gavin King

2014's The Lego Movie was a genuine surprise. Beautifully animated, funny, and filled with a shocking amount of heart, it set a caliber for its inventive animation techniques (looking as if it was stop motion, while it was really computer animated) but also tackled big themes, all brought together by incredibly talented voice work and laugh-a-minute gags. No doubt that that success is what spiraled this year's The Lego Batman Movie into shape. The film carries over all of the hugely positive standouts that made The Lego Movie so enjoyable - crisp animation, hilarious moments, a sprinkle of charm - but the film is more than just baseline Lego Movie related characteristics. It also delivers surprisingly big and bold (er, should I say, brave and bold) action and a story that may not be as deep as 2014's Lego but builds upon the classic superhero film with a bunch of inspired touches throughout, whether it be in its dizzyingly hilarious humor or its brisk, breezy, and bombastic plot.

"Say, Batman, do you think this suit would look good in 3D?"

Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) has saved the city yet again. He's taken out the Joker's (voiced by Zach Galifianakis) evil plots to set off a bomb that will destroy Gotham City and its poor citizens. Luckily, he diffuses the ticking explosive just in time, and Mr. Bruce Wayne again gets all of the raving recognition that he deserves. Outside of all his adventures with villainy, Batman lives a pleasant life in Wayne Manor, his mansion where he'll be greeted by his 'Puter, eat his Lobster Thermidor, and live life as only Batman can. One night he's caught looking at family photos by Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Ralph Fiennes). He tells Batman that he's going to the winter gala to celebrate the commencement of Commissioner Gordon (voiced by Hector Elizondo), in which, at the ceremony, his daughter Barbara (voiced by Rosario Dawson) will take over his position in the city. But during Ms. Gordon's speech, the Joker takes over. But this isn't any ordinary mishap from him. He and his followers are surrendering, while his trusty partner Harley Quinn (voiced by Jenny Slate) is on a mysterious mission disguising as a doctor. Thinking that the Joker is up to something, Batman recruits an orphan named Richard "Dick" Grayson (voiced by Michael Cera) on a super-hero quest to steal the Phantom Zone Projector from Superman (voiced by Channing Tatum) - the one contraption that can send the Joker and his pals to the Phantom Zone, a meeting place for some of history's most iconic villains.

What made 2014's The Lego Movie so special was its rapid-fire humor, one of its strongest assets. This is something The Lego Batman Movie thrives off of in a gleefully maniacal fashion. The gags range from pop culture references (in which there are lots of them) involving some of Batman's past appearances in films such as The Dark Knight Rises and even the 1966 cartoony Batman TV series, from delightful eye candy and visual gags, with one of the most guffaw-inducing being when Batman and Robin (Dick) enter Superman's party and Batman asks Robin to perform a visual interpretation of a mathematical equation. If there's anyone who's masters at the art of animated movie comedy, it's Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (along with the brilliant mind of director Chris McKay). Their proof in the past for humorous hijinks was elevated in 2009's Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and their comic stride has continued with movies such as The Lego Movie and, even if they're not directing this time around, The Lego Batman Movie.

"Psst! Don't tell him he can't watch these movies in 3D!"

Visually, The Lego Batman Movie delivers. This is nothing short of a visual CGI astonishment. While it could be argued that there are a few minor elements in this film that may not hold the absolute inventiveness of The Lego Movie - for example, washing water in 2014's and real water used at the end of the film here - there's certainly no mistaking that Batman retains every bit of that visual awesomeness. One could easily be fooled into thinking that a majority of the film was shot via stop-motion animation. Rather, the entire picture was animated digitally, but to the film's animators and design artists excessive gratitude cannot be repelled enough; every last little intricacy of each Lego figurine, block, brick, and character has been painstakingly rendered to give audiences a truly one-of-a-kind digital experience.

Voice work is up to moot, too. Will Arnett, who voiced Lego Batman in the 2014 Lego Movie, reprises his role here, with his trademark gravely voice and recognizable darkness that comes from the Batman character. He's a remarkably hilarious performance here, because he knows how to balance tonal darkness with an exaggerated wit that - with the help of director Chris McKay and team - makes him one of the best voice performances in an animated movie in ages. The film assembles a hodgepodge of discernible voice talent - Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, Ralph Fiennes - but the highlight of the supporting roles is easily Jenny Slate, who plays the perky Harley Quinn in this version. If you've read my Blu-ray review of The Secret Life of Pets, you'll know that she plays the fluffy Pomeranian Gidget in that film, and her cracky, irresistible voice is perfectly cadenced here, interweaving anarchy and charm largely well. Not only a technical astonishment but also wonderfully enjoyable on a baseline level, The Lego Batman Movie fires on all cylinders. Now here's hoping September's The Lego Ninjago Movie continues the Lego film franchise's positive streak.


THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE 3D Blu-ray - Video Quality

The Lego Batman Movie's 3D presentation is pretty good. Depth and volume are prominent throughout, with good attention paid to spatial differentiation between Lego characters and their environments in large crowds, with a good example being the gala scene. Environments feel more fleshed out, too. Take a look at Wayne Manor when Batman first arrives in it at the beginning of the film and says, "I'm home." As his voice echoes through the Batcave, the image moves back, and with that we, as viewers, are able to grasp a more believable sense of space and wideness in the cave. There are a number of standout "poking through the window" 3D moments - flames shooting from Batman's Batmobile, Lego bricks flying towards us, even the Merch gun which shoots out Batman stickers - and the 3D converters have done a very strong job at giving three-dimensional life to Lego Batman's world. As for the Blu-ray's net effects, detail appears just a little less refined as the Blu-ray, and there are a very tiny handful of scenes where the image is a tad darker. Nevertheless, it's worth the surcharge in price. This may not rank up with the absolute best of the best when it comes to 3D conversions in the traditon of Doctor Strange or The Secret Life of Pets, but this is a very, very well-done 3D presentation, and I don't think fans of the film will be too disappointed with this one.

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE 3D Blu-ray - Audio Quality

It seems like Warner wants to jip 3D viewers of the best avaliable soundtrack by only giving lossless track lovers the option of a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack on this iteration. The decision raises some questions: Why must Warner give viewers the inferior track on a 3D Blu-ray they've rightfully spend their hard-earned money for? Sure 3D at home support may be slightly declining, but there's no excuse for Warner to not grace viewers with the original Blu-ray's terrific Dolby Atmos soundtrack. As it stands here, the DTS 5.1 track is fine, but the differences between it and the Atmos track, when it comes to overall immersion, are noticable. There's still a reasonably effective sense of depth to most action scenes, but it lacks the fullness that Atmos track's overhead sensation benefited from. That's not to say that the DTS track is bad. Because, it's not. It's just a slight notch below the original Blu-ray's already great Atmos track (for what it's worth, the 2D Blu-ray with the Atmos track comes with this combo pack, so there's an upper). Adjust your expecations accordingly.

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE 3D Blu-ray - Special Features

No special features are located on the 3D disc. All must be selected from the included 2D disc.

- Animated Shorts include the following:

Dark Hoser Lego Batman is dragged into the Justice League of Canada.

Batman is Just Not That Into You Harley Quinn interviews the Joker about the relationship between him and Batman.

Cooking with Alfred Alfred Pennyworth, Batman, and Robin find making the perfect omelette a little tougher than they thought.

Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That? A few characters from The Lego Batman Movie show us how they interpret laser sound effects.

- The Master: A Lego Ninjago Short A Jackie Chan-like ninja battles a silly chicken to get the ever-wanted title of The Master.

- Deleted Scenes include the following: Batcave Studio, Lollipop, Batman & Mayor Swap, and Clayface.

- Featurettes include the following:

One Brick at a Time: Making The Lego Batman Movie This featurette treads through the film's storyline, the director Chris McKay, the painstaking animation process, the cast performances, and much more. This is a featurette that fans of the film will adore.

Rebrick Contest Winners Will Arnett introduces us to the top three winners from the Lego Batman short film contest. Each entry had to be 15 to 30 seconds long and needed to follow the storyline of Batman taking out villains.

Inside Wayne Manor Batman/Bruce Wayne takes us on a tour of the extravagant Wayne Manor.

Brick By Brick: Making of The Lego Batman Movie Cast interviews with fun moments behind the microphone.

Behind the Brick This promotional piece introduces us to the film's zany, action-packed characters.

Me and My Minifig The Lego Batman cast reacts to their Lego minifigures.

- Promotional Material includes the following:

Trailer 1 - With Will Arnett Intro

Trailer 2

Trailer 3

LEGO Life Trailer

Follow Me Online

Don't Skip

Happy Holidays Jingle

Batsby New Year's

Team Cutdown

Comic-Con Panel

- Director and Crew Commentary Director Chris McKay and his crew of 20 other people in his commentary deliver a blast of a track. Granted, their laughter can sometimes get a tad in the way things, but their enthusiasm is well appreciated and their are tons of informal pieces throughout.

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE 3D Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation

The Lego Batman Movie is a fantastic movie that never takes itself too seriously - and that's one of it's biggest strengths. It's a film filled to the brim with positives - wonderful animation, hilarious gags, admirable cast performances, a tidy plot - and it's a welcome entry into the growing saga of Lego movies in the tradition of the spiraling success that 2014's The Lego Movie was. Some might even enjoy it more on repeat viewings, to look out for easter eggs that director Chris McKay and the Warner Animation Group team hid into the animated hodgepodge of goodness. More than just one of the best movies of the year so far, The Lego Batman Movie is one of the best animated movies of the 21st century, and I can't wait to see what the team behind the Lego films come up with next considering their already phenomenal streak. Warner Home Entertainment's 3D Blu-ray gives viewers a very strong 3D presentation, but the sacrafice comes within switching from the Blu-ray's fantastic Atmos track to the inferior DTS 5.1 track here. Still, for those interested in the 3D, it's worth the trade-off, and based off the 3D and the strength of the film + special features, this iteration comes very highly recommended.

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