[Blu-Ray Review] ‘Powers: Season 1’: Own It Today On Blu-Ray & DVD From Sony

Powers: Season 1 [Blu-Ray]

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Susan Heyward, Noah Taylor

Release Date: Now Available On Blu-ray & DVD

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

What if the world was full of superheroes who aren’t actually heroic at all? Whatif all their “powers” were just one more excuse for mischief, mayhem, murder, and endorsement deals? Enter the men and women of the Powers Division, the brave people in charge of protecting humans like us and keeping the peace over commercialized, god-like men and women who glide through the sky imposingtheir power over the mortals who both worship and fear them. Based on the graphic novel by Michael Avon Oeming and Brian Michael Bendis, the edgy and dramatic POWERS follows the lives of two homicide detectives, Christian Walker (Sharlto Copley) and Deena Pilgrim (Susan Heyward), who are assigned to investigate these cases.

Based upon the graphic novel of the same name by Michael Avon Oemingand and Brian Michael Bendis, the TV adaption of ‘Powers’ tells the story of a world in which people with unique powers exist all around us, although more of them than not use their powers for selfish or even malevolent purposes, often without any thought for human casualties, and obsessed wannabes without powers will do anything to fit in with these people which they idolize. While heroes do remain, they are few and in order to police the majority of individuals with powers who abuse said power or break the laws put in place related to those with abilities are investigated and handled by the special Powers division of the police force. The series follows two detectives assigned to cases such as these, detective Christian Walker (Copley), an ex hero previously known as Diamond who no longer retains his powers and his new partner Deena Pilgrim (Heyward), assigned to him following his previous partners untimely demise.

For the graphic novel and/or superhero enthusiasts out there who appreciate a far darker and more adult oriented subject matter and style, the PlayStation Original Series ‘Powers’ is quite likely right up your alley. This violent, entertaining and often surprisingly graphic tale of a world where those with powers run or fly unapologetically throughout our streets and skies with no regard for the innocent lives so frequently caught in between, is a refreshingly unique take on a genre so overpopulated with often incredibly similar material these days. The cast of the series also helps a great deal to pull the viewer more efficiently into the story, including Sharlto Copley (District 9), Susan Heyward (TV’s The Following), Noah Taylor (Predestination, Edge of Tomorrow), Eddie Izzard (TV’s Hannibal) and a number more, all of whom deliver quite capable performances in each of their respective roles, although Izzard regularly steals the show with his deliciously unnerving portrayal of Wolfe.

Fans of the series will definitely want to make sure to pick up a copy of the ‘Powers: Season 1’ Blu-Ray release to relive the episodes time and again in the best possible quality available. The Blu-Ray release delivers outstanding high definition video and audio presentations on all ten episodes in addition to some nice extras including Deleted Scene(s) on the majority of the season’s episodes and more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) making it a must own for those who are already fans. For those not previously familiar with the series, I would highly recommend checking it out; it’s an entertaining, gritty and blood soaked look at a world overwhelmed by people with powers that disturbingly reflects our own in a number of aspects.

VIDEO:

The Blu-Ray release of ‘Powers: Season 1’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the show’s original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio on all of the first seasons episodes. The video presentation looks stellar, delivering a rich and detailed presentation one every episode with bright warm colors and a suitable bitrate thanks to Sony making the smart choice to split the ten episodes between three discs. No notable faults big or small were found throughout on my end and it holds up impressively even during the numerous fast moving and/or darkly lit sequences, never causing anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or indiscernible in the slightest. Overall, these are top notch high definition video presentations that should have newcomers to the series and fans alike quite satisfied.

AUDIO:

The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on all 10 Season 1 episodes. These lossless multichannel soundtracks sound pretty wonderful themselves and perfectly complement this fun series with a clean, discrete and often surprisingly aggressive presentation on every episode. All five available channels are regularly utilized in order to surround the viewer with numerous action-oriented auditory effects, in addition to the series’ score and any number of more naturally fitting audio tidbits, while never resulting in any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or inaudible at any point. Overall, just as with the video presentations, these 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtracks are active and fantastic; they shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-Ray release of ‘Powers: Season 1’ includes a few solid extras. Included on the release are a couple of Behind the Scenes Featurettes which explore different aspects of bringing this story to the screen and take the viewer deeper into the series with behind the scenes footage and interviews and comments from members of the cast and crew discussing the series. The included Featurette’s are: ‘Policing the All Powerful: Envisioning and Filming Powers’ (running approximately 10 minutes in length) and ‘From One Visual Medium to Another: The Art and Adaptation of Powers’ (approximately 11 minutes). We are also treated to Deleted Scene(s) for 8 of the season’s 10 episodes, and an ‘Outtakes’ reel (approximately 2 minutes).