Gotham: The Complete Third Season - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Gotham: The Complete Third Season

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Forum Post. The opinions I share are my own.” ​

Movie
Gotham is now the lone DC superhero show that lies outside of the happy go lucky (yet still angst ridden) CW lineup, and I’m REALLY glad that it has remained outside of that universe. The dark, Gothic world of Gotham is so distinctly different and so much fresher than the “Arrowverse” that it acts as a complete foil to the perky “friends are forever!” genre of superheroes (which isn’t a bad thing, I like both equally). What started out seeming to be a precursor to the general Batman world has evolved into something unique, and completely its own thing. Gotham has slowly started added villains that lie outside of the original comics and movies, as well as shifting timelines around so much that it can NOT be a typical precursor, and I think that the creators realized that sometime during season 2. As such, they have constantly moved away from canonical stories and just used the elements of said canon to create a world that is its own thing.

Season one of Gotham was a decent show, but season 2 really picked up the pace. The slow paced police procedural with Jim Gordan (Ben Ben McKenzie) as the main character soon evolved into a whole nother world of villains and violent criminals. Least year left us with remnants of the Joker as well as Hugo Strange unleashing the violent and monstrous creations from Indian Hill. Now we start up once again with those monsters terrorizing the city of Gotham. Jim Gordon is no longer on GCPD’s payroll and is now living his life as a bounty hunter, picking up said monsters for a price. However, fate has other things in mind, and Gordon gets more involved with the Gotham City Police Department the deeper and deeper he delves into the origins of Hugo’s beasts.

Crack reporter, Valerie Vale (Jamie Chung) is trying her best to bring down the criminals, and soon gets involved with Jim as he uses her to track down a newly resurrected Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett-Smith) who has some newfound powers of her own. Coupled with her return is the re-uniting of last years biggest pals. Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor in his most epic role yet) and Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) in what will be one of the biggest team ups in Gotham history (the two have an incredible chemistry that just WORKS), creating some of the most legendary Batman villains of all time.

While the series deals with TONS of Batman villains, Bruce is still at a young enough age where all of his nemesis would be old and in their 60s by the time he rises to full power, so you can tell that Bruno Heller and his crew toying with the canonical timeline just a tad (which could partially be due to the fact that Bruno Heller supposedly doesn’t really like superheroes, and is more amiable to changing things up than a died in the wool fan). A move which actually brings a fresh take to the mythos. Some of them are obviously teases at future relationships (such as Selina Kyle and the famous change into Catwoman), and others are used to further the new universe that we live in. Mr. Freeze is introduced, as is a new sultry and Ivy, who is becoming the beginnings of famed Batman sex pot, Poison Ivy (this was a choice that felt oddly out of place, and more a ploy to get the famed sex pot doing exactly what fans want. Wiggling across the screen making coy sexual comments while we all cat call).

Other villains are incredibly well done, such as the Mad Hatter and the inclusion of a bigger threat to Gotham than just random criminals. The court of owls and their desire to meet out justice in a way that hints at a much much more important villain. A villain who does show his face for a few moments, hinting at a confrontation in the future that we ALL know is coming. I can’t say that Gotham is a perfect show, but it has shifted away from stodgy police procedural that it tried to be during the first season and a half, and has gone completely comic book, with over the top villains, Jim Gordon turning into a semi hero, and Bruce Wayne coming one step closer to his inevitable destiny. Ben Mckenzie is great as Jim Gordon, and David Mazouz is quite excellent as Bruce, but the real stars are once again Robin Lord Taylor as the show stealing Penguin, and Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth. Both of their character arcs just stand out as being so incredibly well done that the rest of the characters pale in comparison.




Rating:

Rated TV-14




Video:

There's not much more to be said about the video encodes for the show. Each season has a systematically and meticulously well done encode that just screams quality. It used to be that Warner was the studio of lossy audio and mediocre TV season image quality, but no more, and Gotham: The Complete Third Season is one of their better efforts in TV show presentations. The 1.78:1 1080p encode looks simply superb. Taking a nice balance between darkness and light, the show’s creators give us plenty of time in both scenarios. The dark and brooding Gotham night is gothic and filled with inky dark shadows and the pitch blackness one associates with the Gotham “feel”. However, there is impeccable detail and no signs of digital artifacting anywhere on the disc. Banding is near nonexistent and the blacks don’t suffer from any crush or washed out black levels. The dusky and sometimes over brightened daytime sequences are just as amazing, with razor sharp detail, both up close and far away shots. Skin tones are well balanced and even though the show deals with darkness quite a bit, they never gain a sallow or yellowish hue.. The film Noir visuals are a lovely sight, and the mixture of greens, blacks, grays and contrasting primary colors makes for an incredibly textural and visceral encode




Audio:

Once again, Warner delivers the goods as Gotham's DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is a very aggressive and bombastic mix that really cranks out the goods when it gets going. The show has become very action oriented, and that change from the first season allows for an immersive and exciting sound track. Fists and super powers smash with glee and the roar of the Batmanesque inspired score keeps all 5 main speakers plus the subs blasting with gusto. The sounds of Barbara's busy club, or the rattle of Selena's feet amongst the cobblestones of Gotham ring clearly and accurately across all the surrounds, shifting direction at will. LFE is punchy and heavy, adding a lot of low end power to the copious battle scenes and the music that flows so effortlessly through the mix. Simply put, Gotham has had some incredibly aggressive and exciting encodes for a TV show and continues to deliver on that front.







Extras:

• Gotham: 2016 Comic-Con Panel
• Madness Rising: the New Villains of Gotham
• The Dark Within the Dark: The Court of Owls
• Ben McKenzie Directorial Debut
• Deleted Scenes

Final Score: ​

Gotham: The Complete Third Season is every so VERY slightly better than season 2, which was a nice upgrade from the mediocre first season. If this trend continues Season 4 should actually be really good as the show has come into its own and created a strange (but very fun) alternate view of the Batman mythos. Each year Bruce comes closer and closer to become the masked vigilante that we all know and love, and the super villain infestation of Gotham is almost at a breaking point. Meaning that this "alternate" Batman world is ripe for the super hero picking. Audio and video are across the board near perfection, and the extras once again mirror the minimal cookie cutter extras that the Warner puts on all their recent shows (a comicon panel, gag reel, a few deleted scenes etc). While not a PERFECT show, it is is a fun watch and I still recommend checking it out. Especially if you have seen previous seasons and liked what you saw.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ben McKenzie, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donal Logue
Created by: Bruno Heller
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Portuguese DD 2.0
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: TV-14
Runtime: 968 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: Own on Blu-rayTM and DVD 8/29

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Good Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will add this to my watch list.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

This is one of my favorites!