Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens was officially released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 5th. And of course, just like all big movie Blu-rays that come out, several different retail exclusives have to be released. And just to get this out of the way, I hate retail exclusive releases of movies! Having different covers and even Steelbook cases are fine with me, what bothers me is when the extra special features are split up among the different releases. In this movies case, Target had an exclusive supplement that you can only view by buying their exclusive Blu-ray set and entering a code that comes with it so you can then watch it on a separate Disney digital site that requires an account. Why not just put it on the disc? Or better yet, put it on every single release! Plus looking at it, the packaging looks thin and cheaply made. I would have gone with the Best Buy Steelbook addition, but it bothers me that the design of it doesn't match with the Steelbooks of the previous 6 films released last year.
So for this review, I will be looking at the standard Blu-ray/DVD release.
PACKAGING
On the inside you get the DVD on the left side and 2 Blu-ray's stacked on top of each other on the right. While I'm not the biggest fan of doing that, at least the discs aren't that difficult to take out.
BONUS MATERIAL
The Star Wars movies released on DVD and Blu-ray have been packed with a ton of features, each release topping the rest. So does the bonus material in this set live up to those of the past? Well, yes and no.
The hour-long documentary "Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey" is fantastic, going into aspects of the cast, crew and production as well as reflecting on the past and explaining certain decisions made in the film. I do find it weird how they feature Gwendoline Christie and talk about Captain Phasma a lot, seeing as how her character barely does anything in the film.
"The Story Awakens: The Table Read" isn't what I thought it would be, it's not a full table read, it's mostly the new and old cast members talking about their experiences during the said read. I really would like to see the full cast script read or at least have a downloadable audio file, the idea of having Mark Hamil narrating the story feels me with joy.
"Building BB-8" and "Crafting Creatures" talk about exactly what they say they do.
"Blueprint of a Battle: The Snow Fight" is a fascinating look at the final Lightsaber battle on Starkiller Base. How they built the awesome set and choreographing the duel. Also what ever type of prop Lightsabers they used for the fight, I WANT!!! They look 100 times better then the current Lightsaber toys that have been released in the past months.
"ILM: The Visual Magic of the Force" covers the digital effects seen in the film, including the motion capture acting.
"John Williams: The Seventh Symphony" goes into making the score for the movie composed by the legend himself.
There are a few deleted scenes included as well, most of which I can understand why they were taken out. One does stand out though, 'Jakku Message' I feel would have been a great early reveal for Leia had they kept it in.
The only other supplement included is a look at the 'Force for Change' charity campaign.
One disappointment from me is that my favorite types of features are not included in this release: an Audio Commentary track from Director J.J. Abrams and the Cast or a trailer collection.
The hour-long documentary "Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey" is fantastic, going into aspects of the cast, crew and production as well as reflecting on the past and explaining certain decisions made in the film. I do find it weird how they feature Gwendoline Christie and talk about Captain Phasma a lot, seeing as how her character barely does anything in the film.
"The Story Awakens: The Table Read" isn't what I thought it would be, it's not a full table read, it's mostly the new and old cast members talking about their experiences during the said read. I really would like to see the full cast script read or at least have a downloadable audio file, the idea of having Mark Hamil narrating the story feels me with joy.
"Building BB-8" and "Crafting Creatures" talk about exactly what they say they do.
"Blueprint of a Battle: The Snow Fight" is a fascinating look at the final Lightsaber battle on Starkiller Base. How they built the awesome set and choreographing the duel. Also what ever type of prop Lightsabers they used for the fight, I WANT!!! They look 100 times better then the current Lightsaber toys that have been released in the past months.
"ILM: The Visual Magic of the Force" covers the digital effects seen in the film, including the motion capture acting.
"John Williams: The Seventh Symphony" goes into making the score for the movie composed by the legend himself.
There are a few deleted scenes included as well, most of which I can understand why they were taken out. One does stand out though, 'Jakku Message' I feel would have been a great early reveal for Leia had they kept it in.
The only other supplement included is a look at the 'Force for Change' charity campaign.
One disappointment from me is that my favorite types of features are not included in this release: an Audio Commentary track from Director J.J. Abrams and the Cast or a trailer collection.
FINAL VERDICT
Overall this is a great release for a fantastic movie, the force is strong with this one. If ya loved the movie, pick it up.
Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.
So long...
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