Arrow: The Complete Fifth Season was at least a passable year for a show I never really cared for but the writing still isn’t great and the performances were, at best, so-so. One big drawback is that the other two episodes in the 3-part “Invasion” crossover were not included in this set, lame.
Arrow: The Complete Fifth Season
(2016-17)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Drama, Action
Warner Home Video | NR – 970 min. – $54.97 | September 19, 2017
Date Published: 10/08/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE SEASON — 3.25/5 |
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Season Synopsis: Newly appointed Mayor Oliver Queen (STEPHEN AMELL) finds himself challenged on two fronts as he fights to protect Star City’s future, both as Mayor and as the Green Arrow. With his right hand, John Diggle (DAVID RAMSEY), back in the military and his sister, Thea Queen (WILLA HOLLAND), adamant about hanging up her vigilante hood as Speedy, Team Green Arrow is down to just Oliver and Felicity Smoak (EMILY BETT RICKARDS). But Green Arrow’s public defeat of Damien Darhk (NEAL MCDONOUGH) at the end of season four inspires a new crop of masked heroes to defend the city including brilliant inventor Curtis Holt (ECHO KELLUM), Wild Dog (RICK GONZALEZ) and Evelyn Sharp (MADISON MCLAUGHLIN), while the arrival of a deadly new adversary named Prometheus, forces Oliver to confront questions about his legacy. Quick Hit Review: Arrow has never really been a favorite of mine, at least within the numerous DC television shows out there and while this season is at least a little interesting with the introduction of more members of Team Arrow as well as the season-long antagonist, Prometheus, who isn’t a great villain or anything, but at least gave Oliver Queen a decent adversary. Outside of that, however, the acting is still rather stilted which isn’t helped by some bad writing. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5 |
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This 4-disc set comes housed in a wide HD Keep Case and side-sliding matted slip cover. Inside is an episode guide and redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Deleted Scenes – ‘A Matter of Trust’, What We Leave Behind’, ‘Second Chances’, ‘Checkmate’, ‘Kapiushon’, ‘Dangerous Liaisons’, ‘Missing’, ‘Lian Yu’ Allied: The Invasion Complex (12:44; HD) – Every crossover event needs a moment when the hero is tested. This is the second part of the series where Oliver battles his inner demons and galvanizes his team against the malevolent alien armada. Arrow: 2016 Comic-Con Panel (27:19; HD) – The cast (Amell, Ramsey, Holland, etc) and executive producers talk about the fifth season at the San Diego Comic-Con. Returning to the Roots of Arrow: Prometheus (15:18; HD) looks at how Oliver Queen faces his dark past once again, this time in the form of the villain, Prometheus. Gag Reel (5:23; HD) |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Arrow shoots onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio, as originally televised, and given a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). The picture looks good with sharp detail on the close-ups and some colors that does pop out even though the series is on the darker side both in palette and tone. |
AUDIO – 3.5/5 |
| Each episode comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 but you could’ve fooled me this wasn’t just Dolby Digital 5.1. What struck was how much of the audio was centrally located with minimal usage of the front and rear channels which was mostly relegated for minor ambient noises and the score. Dialogue levels were fine but sometimes sounded noisy, perhaps due to less than stellar sound design. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
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Overall, Arrow: The Complete Fifth Season was at least a passable year for a show I never really cared for but the writing still isn’t great and the performances were, at best, so-so. One big drawback, and a drawback for the The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow sets, is that the other two episodes were not included in this set, lame. As for the Blu-ray, the picture is pretty good but the audio has much to be desired while the features are on the limited side. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.