“Black Sails”: The Complete Second Season is another success for Starz with a compelling story arc and even better cast led by Toby Stevens and Hannah New while newcomer Zach McGowan from “Shameless” as the latest pirate villain, Captain Vane.
“Black Sails”: The Complete Second Season
(2015)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Adventure, Drama
Anchor Bay | NR – 555 min. – $59.99 | November 3, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Various Writer(s): Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine (created by) Cast: Toby Stevens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Zach McGowan, Toby Schmitz, Clara Paget, Louise Barnes, Rupert Penry-Jones, Tadgh Murphy DISC INFO: Audio: English (Dolby TrueHD 7.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
** Click Here to Purchase “Black Sails”: Season 2 on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
THE MOVIE – 4.25/5
Season Synopsis: The Walrus crew is stranded, with an army of Spanish soldiers between them and the precious Urca gold. And with their crimes against their brethren no longer secret, Flint (TOBY STEVENS) and Silver (LUKE ARNOLD) must join forces in a desperate bid for survival. Meanwhile, Eleanor Gothrie (HANNAH NEW) struggles to maintain her grip on Nassau, as a new breed of pirate arrives in the form of Ned Low (TADGH MURPHY), a man for whom violence isn’t just a tool… it’s a pastime.
As blood is spilled, and tensions mount, Captain Charles Vane (ZACH MCGOWAN) must decide which he values more: Eleanor’s life, or the respect of his men. And unbeknownst to all of them, a prize of immeasurable value has already smuggled onto the island… one whose discovery will alter the very landscape of their world, and force everyone in Nassau toward the ultimate judgment: are they men, or are they monsters?
Quick Hit Review: This second season of “Black Sails” continues the success of its freshman season with more and new alliances, new enemies and some “Deadwood”-esque sex and violence which allows it to stand out from the rest. The acting however is the highlight of the year. Toby Stevens is fantastic in what is more or less the lead, though it’s much more of an ensemble, while Hannah New’s Eleanor gets more involved especially after making a deal with Stevens’ Flint who has to battle to get back into power after his deception is discovered at the end of the first season. There’s also some good drama between him and Silver.
Executive Produced by Michael Bay and Bradley Fuller (“The Last Ship”, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles, Friday the 13th reboot), “Black Sails” is a compelling pirate adventure-drama with impressive production values and decent enough visual effects that over its relatively short 10 episode stint, it’s a well worth the time investment.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
This 3-disc set, just like the previous season set, is housed in a digipak with a thick slip cover and lenticular front cover. Inside is a slip for with the redemption code for the Digital HD copy.
Inside the World of “Black Sails” (21:32; HD) takes viewers behind-the-scenes of the second season and includes interviews with, primarily, members of the crew, as they talk about the storylines and characters.
Man O’War (4:10; HD) – This looks at building the Man O’War ship.
Expanding Worlds (4:06; HD) – This featurette covers the new characters introduced in season two.
VIDEO – 4.5/5
“Black Sails”: The Complete Second Season docks onto Blu-ray presented in its originally televised 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. The series offers sharp detail with bright, natural colors though tend to go more on the darker scale in keeping with the plot lines and corrupt characters. The transfer appears clear, free of major signs of aliasing and artifacts.
AUDIO – 5.0/5
Give the show, and the studio, credit. Each episode is accompanied with a fantastic and strong Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. With a wide range from ship-to-ship fights to dialogue-centric sequences which show off the lower end of the scale. It’s one of the more dynamic and depth-filled tracks I’ve come across especially for a television series.
OVERALL – 4.0/5
Overall, “Black Sails”: The Complete Second Season is another success for Starz with a compelling story arc and even better cast led by Toby Stevens and Hannah New while newcomer Zach McGowan from “Shameless” as the latest pirate villain, Captain Vane. It’s a strong season well worth binging on especially since there are only 10 episodes. The Blu-ray release is on the weaker side, though, with minimal bonus material however the video and audio transfers are both remarkable.
Published: 11/04/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.