{"id":11116,"date":"2015-12-29T20:19:15","date_gmt":"2015-12-30T04:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=11116"},"modified":"2015-12-29T20:24:47","modified_gmt":"2015-12-30T04:24:47","slug":"review-truedetective-s2-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2015\/12\/review-truedetective-s2-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: True Detective: The Complete Second Season BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cTrue Detective\u201d: The Complete Second Season<\/strong> is definitely a step down from its predecessor, however, for all of its faults from a needlessly complicated storyline, substandard writing and too many characters (main ones anyway), I still found this season fairly entertaining due to the performances by Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and yes, even Vince Vaughn.<\/p>\n

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“True Detective”: The Complete Second Season<\/span>
\n(2015)<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Crime, Drama, Thriller
\nWarner Home Video | TVMA \u2013 503 min. \u2013 $79.98 | January 5, 2016<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 12\/29\/2015 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/u>MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Justin Lin (Episodes 1-2), Janus Metz (Episode 3), Jeremy Podeswa (Episode 4), John Crowley (Episodes 5, 8), Miguel Sapochnik (Episode 6), Daniel Attias (Episode 7)
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Nic Pizzolatto (created by), Nic Pizzolatto (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, Kelly Reilly, David Morse, Fred Ward, Abigail Spencer, Christopher James Baker, James Frain, Timothy V. Murphy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/u>DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Two Episode Commentaries, Featurettes
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (DTS 2.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.78
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, French, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Brazilian Portuguese, Latin Spanish, Swedish
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>NA
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Season Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>Highway Patrol motorcycle officer Paul Woodrugh (TAYLOR KITSCH) \u2013 on suspension after being accused of soliciting sex from a woman he pulled over \u2013 in which the victim\u2019s body has been ritually mutilated. The crime triggers an investigation that brings together Detective Ray Velcoro (COLIN FARRELL) from the fictional city of Vinci where the victim served as the city manager and Division Sergeant Ani Bezzerides (RACHEL MCADAMS) from the Ventura County Sheriff\u2019s Office. Also involved is shady businessman Frank Semyon (VINCE VAUGHN) who was in business with the city manager in a major land deal and discovers his $7 million investment is missing.<\/p>\n

In all of these characters\u2019 lives, there is trouble on the home front. Velcoro is divorced, has a heavy alcohol problem and is haunted by a past in which he murdered the man who had raped his then wife and is in debt with Semyon who passed along the identity of the rapist; Semyon and his wife, Jordan (KELLY REILLY), are unable to conceive a child and at the same time, he\u2019s in financial trouble; Woodrugh\u2019s past in the Army, is distant from his girlfriend and, when he found the body, seemed to be a suicide ride on his bike; Ani family situation is messed up with no long-term relationship, a sister in the prostitution game and a spiritualist\/hippie father (DAVID MORSE).<\/p>\n

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Review (Spoilers): <\/strong>I think \u201cTrue Detective\u201d: Season Two<\/strong> is a victim of the first season\u2019s wild success and its lackluster reception is understandable, but taking it out of the shadow of its predecessor, I actually didn\u2019t think it was half bad. Now, the story isn\u2019t as gripping and it takes more than a few cues from the likes Chinatown<\/em> but I found most of the characters to be fascinating and made the slower moments still entertaining, in a dark, gritty kind of way.<\/p>\n

The highlights of this season easily reside with Colin Farrell and to a larger extent, Vince Vaughn who to me was deserving of more praise and I\u2019m not even a fan of his and his, and that of Kelly Reilly, story wasn\u2019t too bad. Rachel McAdams has her moments and it did take some time to warm up to her character but by the end you still cared about her well-being. I don\u2019t think McAdams gives an amazing performance but she holds her own and, to be fair, I\u2019ve been a big fan of hers for many years so I am biased.<\/p>\n

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If there was one expendable person, it would be Taylor Kitsch and although his performance is perfectly fine, the character doesn\u2019t have that much to offer in comparison with Farrell and McAdams (on the law side) and it felt like his scenes were unnecessary, more filler than anything. Heck I found the conflict between Frank and his henchman Blake (played by Christopher James Baker) to be far more interesting than Woodrugh\u2019s relationship with his girlfriend and mother (Lolita Davidson).<\/p>\n

Returning to write is Nic Pizzolatto and if there\u2019s something I can agree with the series\u2019 detractors is that the writing isn\u2019t nearly as strong and in fact the show heavily relies on the performances from its talented cast, some decent photography work by DP Nigel Buck, giving a vastly different aesthetic versus season one, which was far more Southern Gothic while this is as dark and dirty as the corrupt city officials that are at the center of the plot, though even there, the show was inconsistent as there were no less than 6 who took the director\u2019s chair versus season one which had only Cary Joji Fukunaga, though Justin Lin started things well on the first two episodes.<\/p>\n

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Also, admittedly, as much as I enjoyed season two, the writing has taken a step down and the season-long storyline is far too complex or, depending on your viewpoint, convoluted. As I said before, remove Kitsch\u2019s Woodrugh character, and it could\u2019ve been a tighter season. However, I\u2019m not going to pretend the first season wasn\u2019t without its own pacing or writing issues as there was a fair chunk in the middle which meandered and relied more on red herrings, but with two award-worthy performances by McConaughey and Harrelson (who served as honorary executive producers), masked many of the issues which were far more glaring this go around.<\/p>\n

In the end, while \u201cTrue Detective\u201d: Season Two<\/strong> had its flaws and maybe Pizzolatto should\u2019ve included new blood writing-wise, not to mention more consistency with its directors. But with all that, I still found this season fairly enjoyable warts and all thanks in large part to Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 2.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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The 3-disc set comes housed in a foldout digipak which tucks inside a sturdy outer case. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD<\/u><\/strong> copy. One nice element is that although the backing, like most HBO releases, is removable, the info on this release are on the back cover.<\/p>\n

Episode Commentaries:
\n<\/u><\/strong>\u2018Down Will Come\u2019 – Series Creator\/Executive Producer\/Writer Nic Pizzolatto and Actors Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Taylor Kitsch and Rachel McAdams<\/p>\n

\u2018Omega Station\u2019 \u2013 Nic Pizzolatto, Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Executive Producer Scott Stephens<\/p>\n

One would think with so many participants, there would be a plethora of information dispensed but there seemed to be far more dead air than actual talking. It would appear if Pizzolatto himself wouldn\u2019t steer the conversation, perhaps a moderator would\u2019ve been beneficial.<\/p>\n

Making \u2018The Vinci Massacre\u2019 (29:28; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 This takes viewers behind-the-scenes on the big shootout at the end of the episode, \u2018Down Will Come\u2019. It\u2019s a nice featurette which goes in-depth on how the scene was conceived and shot.<\/p>\n

A Look Inside \u201cTrue Detective\u201d (10:16; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is another behind-the-scenes featurette on the overall series and include interviews with the cast and crew talking about the story and characters.<\/p>\n

True Detective\u2019s California (3:56; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is a compilation of footage over various areas of California; it\u2019s the same stuff seen throughout the season.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Warner Home Video releases \u201cTrue Detective\u201d<\/strong> onto Blu-ray shown in its originally televised 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a brilliant looking 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). The picture quality, unsurprisingly, looks great with excellent detail throughout and colors, albeit on the warmer side in keeping with the California setting the crime drama genre, appear well balanced. There were no major signs of artifacts or aliasing making for an all around pleasing looking video presentation.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Given this is basically drama first, action second, the DTS-HD Master Audio track is more than effective. From the opening title sequence to the dialogue levels and finally to the few action sequences, such as the Vinci shootout, it sounds fantastic from episode to episode. It provides good depth and clarity through each channel.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Overall, \u201cTrue Detective\u201d: The Complete Second Season<\/strong> is definitely a step down from its predecessor, however, for all of its faults from a needlessly complicated storyline, substandard writing and too many characters (main ones anyway), I still found this season fairly entertaining due to the performances by Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and yes, even Vince Vaughn. This Blu-ray release by Warner is decent enough with great video and audio transfers and a respectable amount of bonus material.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n