Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season [Blu-Ray] 
Cast: Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey
Release Date: August 30, 2016
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Disc Rating: 7.5/10
Synopsis:
After defeating his most formidable foe to date and riding off into the sunset with longtime flame Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen (aka The Arrow) left Star City with the hopes of beginning a new life. But will Oliver ever truly be able to leave behind his past as The Arrow, and, if so, what becomes of the team he has worked so hard to assemble? Will military vet John Diggle, Oliver’s sister Thea Queen, and lawyer-turned-vigilante Laurel Lance continue Oliver’s fight without him? And with Malcolm Merlyn having ascended to the top of the League of Assassins as the new Ra’s al Ghul, is anyone really safe?
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.
The fourth season of ‘Arrow’ picks up a short while after the shocking final moments of season three with Oliver and Felicity now happily living their suburban dream life together. At least that was the case until the continued threats against Star city result in the couple being forced to return home in order to assist. With the Arrow now believed dead by the city, Oliver dons a (slightly) different costume and rebrands himself as the Green Arrow, intent on refocusing his priorities and doing the right thing for the city, no matter how difficult that might be personally. Unfortunately the arrival of an ex-League member turned sadistic magic wielding madman named Damien Darhk and his cult of faithful killers means Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow will have their work cut out for them, especially once they begin to discover just how deep Darhk’s influence truly reaches.
The fourth season of ‘Arrow’ returns from last year’s drastically unexpected season finale with one of the goofiest openings imaginable, although even with that strange starting point, as events begin to unfold and we begin to find ourselves delving into the thick of it, the latest season quickly becomes one of the most intense yet, and easily the darkest since its sophomore season in many ways as the show’s latest villain Damien Darhk (played with a charming, yet vicious ferocity by the always wonderful Neal McDonough) arrives in Star City and begins to wreak havoc upon its citizens. Naturally making certain to retain the romantic side story (or stories) that tend to be a confliction among so many fans (the majority seeming to either love or hate them) while I can’t help but remain indifferent, if nothing else accepting their importance within Oliver Queen’s journey. Filled with all of the brutal and mesmerizing action fans have come to love and further expanding the story of these unique and complex characters as they fight to protect their city while also struggling to find themselves. The fourth season of ‘Arrow’ certainly isn’t a groundbreaking point in the series, nor is it the best season to date by any means, although it undoubtedly delivers what the fans want in addition to a few surprises combined with a fantastic new villain; the fellow fans should not be disappointed.
Fellow fans of the DC Comics Television Universe, and the story of Green Arrow in particular will surely want to grab a copy of ‘Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season’ on Blu-ray to add to their collections. The Blu-ray release of the show’s intense fourth season delivers the solid high definition video and audio presentations we’ve come to love and expect, along with a number of exciting extras including ‘Deleted Scene(s)’ for 10 of the season’s episodes, the Crossover Event with The Flash, and more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below), altogether certain to make this one another definite must own for the fellow fans of Arrow and the DC-TV Universe.
Overall, fellow fans of the DC Television Universe as a whole and especially those of ‘Arrow’ will likely want to make sure and pick up a copy of ‘The Complete Fourth Season’ on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray release of the latest season delivers the usual fantastic high definition video and audio presentations and of course a few fun bonus goodies. Fans of the series who haven’t yet had the opportunity to check out the latest season will also want to be certain they do so before the fifth season returns in October, and any DC Comics fans who haven’t yet had the pleasure of ‘Arrow’ or any of the other DC-TV Universe titles, I can’t possibly recommend them highly enough, they are a continually impressive treat that you will not want to miss out on.
VIDEO:
The Blu-ray release of ‘Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the show’s original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio on all of the fourth season’s episodes. The video presentations look pretty great as a whole and deliver sharp, detailed and fairly clean presentations from start to finish on every episode in the season. Some mild video noise is briefly noticeable in a few rare occurrences, primarily during a couple of the sequences with fast paced action occurring within dark surroundings, although nothing that should detract from the overall viewing experience as everything occurring on screen always remains perfectly discernible. Overall, these are more than adequate high definition video presentations that should easily please the majority of series fans.
AUDIO:
The Blu-ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on all 23 Season Four episodes. As is commonly the case, these lossless multichannel soundtracks are one of the biggest treats present in the season set and provide consistently crisp, clean and hard hitting audio presentations on each episode. Utilizing all five available channels freely in order to fully immerse the viewer within the action by sending plenty of bullets, debris, and other action related auditory effects throughout the various speakers regularly, while never resulting in any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted, let alone rendered inaudible. Overall, these are outstanding 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtracks that should easily thrill the casual viewers and audiophiles alike.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-ray release of ‘Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season’ includes a number of entertaining extras. Included on the release are ‘Deleted Scene(s)’ from 10 of the season’s episodes, in addition to both parts of the ‘Crossover Event’ with The Flash which also includes two Featurettes specific to the event, they are: ‘Star Crossed Hawks’ (running approximately 11 minutes in length), and ‘Star Crossed Hawks: The Hunt For Vandal Savage’ (running approximately 11 minutes). We are also treated to a new Behind the Scenes Featurette ‘Smooth Criminal: The Damien Darhk Story’ (approximately 15 minutes), in addition to the ‘Arrow: 2015 Comic-Con Panel’ (23 minutes), and a ‘Gag Reel’ for the fourth season (6 minutes).
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.
Disc Rating: 7.5/10
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