7th January 2010

TERMINATOR : SALVATION Blu Ray Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

From the file marked Summer Blockbuster Class of 2009 comes the latest in the TERMINATOR film franchise. This time out McG holds the directorial reins and big Arnold Schwarzenegger appears in a brief cameo.

The BR is as satisfying as you would expect in the sound and picture stakes from such a high profile “made for the format” film and the extras are also of good quality. The three requisite behind the scenes featurettes focus on the making of the film whilst the BR exclusive content is an excellent Maximum Movie Mode version of the film where the director pops up alongside the cast and allows you to delve deeper into the film – should you wish to do so.

Two versions of the feature are accessible on the disc – the theatrical cut and the three minute longer director’s cut. This features some additional nudity and violence that was taken out from the original version.

A solid purchase. I had not seen the film theatrically so I was pleasantly surprised by the TERMINATOR : SALVATION – and perhaps my expectations were not particularly high. While obviously not as good as the first two TERMINATOR’S it is a good dark winter evenings watch.

UNDERWORLD : RISE OF THE LYCANS Blu Ray Entertainment Home Video.

An underwhelming, pointless prequel to the UNDERWORLD film series. This time minus Kate Beckinsale – but attempting to fill her leather boots is Rhona Mitra. Obviously paying overdue tax bills are Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen, both equally awful in their roles.

The blue colour tinting and dark tones of the film do not translate well to the BR format and therefore the feature does look lacklustre visually.

Veteran special effects man Patrick Tatopolus is the director and I’m afraid that the SFX set pieces are all very run of the mill and CGI heavy.

The BR does come as an extended cut edition so additional werewolf vs vampire exploits have been added to enable an 18 certificate horror friendly rating.

Extras include a director’s commentary, music video and three making of featurettes.

Paul.

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