Game of Thrones: The Complete Eighth Season is probably the lesser of the series and the storylines didn’t quite gel and did feel rushed at times, though still left satisfied for the most part.
Game of Thrones: The Complete Eighth Season
— Limited Edition Steelbook —
(2019)
Genre(s): Drama, Adventure, Fantasy
Warner Home Video | TVMA – 425 min. – $64.99 | December 3, 2019
Date Published: 01/23/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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The studio provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
Note: The screen captures were taken from the Blu-ray disc and do not represent the 4K Ultra HD transfer.
THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
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Synopsis: Game of Thrones returns for a final season of duplicity and treachery, nobility and honor… and an epic clash between the living and the dead. With the Night King’s army bearing down on Jon (KIT HARRINGTON) and Dany (EMILIA CLARKE) and their combined forces, a denouncement eight seasons in the making will be reached, answering a myriad of questions surrounding the fate of the series’ protagonists. Quick Hit Review: I’ve probably mentioned this in my other Game of Thrones reviews, but I’ve never been an avid watcher or even massive fan in general of this show nor have I read the source material, though probably doesn’t follow it as the series went on. So with that said, while other fans were rather disappointed with the conclusion of this series that ran for eight seasons, I myself found it to be… fine, albeit did feel rushed at times. However, what kept my attention at least was still some very respectable production and costume designs alongside solid performances from the ensemble cast, most notably Emilia Clarke, a personal favorite actress of mine, had some great moments. But that’s the thing, just moments. As a whole, and looking back, only on memory as I haven’t revisited this series, the technical aspects, and most of the performances, seem to far outweigh the storylines and arcs, with some few exceptions. This season really doesn’t have many highlights, appeared like many involved, behind-the-scenes at least, were like seniors on the last week of high school, ready to graduate and move on. With so much promise, it is a shame it ended with a whimper and even the proposed spin-offs could be axed, which might not be such a bad thing. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.5/5 |
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This six-disc set (3 BDs, 3 UHDs) comes housed in a nice Steelbook which is housed in a clear outer plastic box and on front, a magnet. Personally, Steelbooks do nothing for me and I especially don’t like stacking discs, which this set does, making getting fingerprints on the edge pretty much unavoidable and if you want to get to discs 2 or 3, got to remove the top one. Episode Commentaries:
When Winter Falls (29:13) — Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with the cast, go behind the scenes and look back at the colossal filming of “Battle of Winterfell” Duty is the Death of Love (31:36) — Featurette on how the team behind the Game of Thrones brought a conclusion in the series finale. Game of the Thrones: The Last Watch (1:53:00) — Documentary chronicling the hard work and camaraderie shared by the producers and actors while filming the final season. Histories and Lore allows you to learn about the mythology of Westeros as told from varying perspectives by the characters themselves: King’s Landing (2:55), The Greyjoy Rebellion (5:32), The Blackfyres (5:16), The South (2:30), The Defiance of Duskendale (5:17) and Maegor the Cruel (5:19). Deleted Scenes (8:28) — Not much, just five scenes that got cut or removed. |
4K VIDEO – 5.0/5, BD VIDEO – 5.0/5 |
| This is actually the first time watching Game of Thrones in 4K and given the Blu-ray already looked fantastic in the past and this 4K does look fantastic, detail is incredibly sharp throughout and while there isn’t some sort of explosion in colors, as the majority of this series has been dark, cold and all around oppressive, the black levels were stark yet elements within was still discernible. The Blu-ray meanwhile, as always, also looks amazing in its own right and the difference between the two I found to be ever so slight, but based on the pricing point, doesn’t appear there was a premium up charge. |
AUDIO – 5.0/5 |
| This Dolby Atmos track sounds, unsurprisingly, fantastic with great depth and exceptional dynamic providing for crisp and clear dialogue and comes to life especially for the action-centric scenes. The score also makes good use of every available channel beginning with the catchy and identifiable main theme. (Copied from the season 2 & 4 limited edition reviews). |
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OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Game of Thrones: The Complete Eighth Season is probably the lesser of the series and the storylines didn’t quite gel and did feel rushed at times, though still left satisfied for the most part. The performances were still great and the production and costume designs top-notch. This 4K/Blu-ray combo release comes with excellent video and audio transfers to go along with a nice selection of bonus material. |