kal
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Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 18114
Location: Ottawa, Canada
TV/Projector: JVC DLA-NZ7
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:26 am Post subject: How to Train Your Dragon 2 |
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How to Train Your Dragon 2
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| Quote: | 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' might not feel as original as the first, but that's a given. What it does here is flesh out Hiccup's relationship with his father, as all the while what Toothless means to him continues to evolve. The audio and video are stunningly perfect in every conceivable way. The stocked special features section is just gravy at this point. Simply put, this sequel is highly recommended.
The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
As you would expect, the transfer here is flawlessly beautiful. As with the first film, 20th Century Fox has provided another demo-worthy animated presentation. The first thing you'll probably notice is the immensely detailed dragons. The animation is so specific and so perfectly defined that you can easily see individual scales, spikes, and hairs. It's far too easy to get completely lost in Stoick's vast beard. Each hair on it being completely visible, without a hint of aliasing in sight.
The colors are marvelously rendered. When Hiccup and Toothless fine the colony of dragons, the wide variety of colorful dragons swirling around is as spectacular as it is exciting. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Blu-ray that came out this year that offers as much exceptional color spectrum display as this release.
As far as artifacting goes, there's nothing to be concerned about. Aliasing never shows up. Crushing is non-existent. Shadows and black areas are sufficiently deep and inky. Like I said at the beginning of this video review, this is demo-worthy material through and through. Use it to show off your systems visual components. It'll make your setup look great.
The Audio: Rating the Sound
Bolstering the demo-quality video presentation is a pumped up audio mix that offers just as much enjoyment. The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix successfully offers up a tremendously immersive soundfield. From the front to the rear this mix doesn't miss a beat. Whether it's high-flying dragon battles, or an intimate talk between a father and his son, 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' is satisfyingly perfect.
Up front the dialogue is always intelligible. Even Gerard Butler's heavily accented Stoick is easily heard. When the action gets cranked up and dragons start shooting fireballs, Hiccup's orders come through the center channels clearly. The side channels offer depth, as dragons glide from one edge of the screen to the other.
Explosions will no doubt shake the pictures on the walls in your media room. This is one of the most sub-woofer dependent movies of 2014. The action rarely lets up and when huge alpha dragons start battling the thunderous bass is deep and distortion free. |
Kal
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Last edited by kal on Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:20 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mr. Green
Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Posts: 1394
Location: Calgary
TV/Projector: Marquee 9501LC / NEC 9PG+
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 6:52 am Post subject: |
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I actually like this better than the first (tho I have watched the 2 year TV series that precluded it and enjoyed immensely). I Thought the death (spoiler alert) could have been handled in a less personal manor, but overall thought it was really well done and ready for # 3 which in the interviews they teased at. Looking forward to Dragons 3.
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