Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season (Blu-ray)
By Adam Beck • MovieMassacre.com
Released by: Warner Home Video
Episodes: 21
Run Time: 1,012 Minutes
“Smallville”, the hugely popular CW television show, chronicling the early years of Clark Kent, the man who would go on to become the iconic superhero known the world over as "Superman".
Even though I’m a huge comic book fan, I must confess right off the bat that I never really cared much for the Superman character. I always felt that Superman was overloaded with superhero attributes, making him nearly invincible and in my opinion sort of boring to read. In fact, the last time I picked up a Superman comic book was nearly 17 years ago! When it comes to “Smallville” I must also confess that I am not a loyal follower of the show and have not watched a single episode since its 2001 debut. So with that being said, you now know where I’m coming from in terms of my opinion of Superman and my limited knowledge of the “Smallville” TV show prior to my reviewing this Season 9 set from Warner Home Video.
When I do movie reviews, I sometimes find it challenging to come up with a basic spoiler free synopsis of the film I’m reviewing…However when you’re talking about 17 hours worth of material, for a television show as complex as “Smallville”, it becomes even more of a challenge! The main focal point of this season though involves Major Zod (played by Callum Blue) and his army of Kryptonians who are transported to Earth with a total loss of their superpowers and the knowledge of how they arrived on our planet. Clark Kent (played by Tom Welling) has yet to fully discover his true potential as “The Man of Steel” and instead has been moonlighting as a vigilante hero known as “The Blur”. Instead of tackling the criminal element of Metropolis by himself, Clark is part of a larger crime fighting syndicate called “The Watchtower”, which includes fellow superhero The Green Arrow and his best friend Chloe. After discovering that some of his fellow Kryptonians have arrived on Earth, Clark attempts to reach out to them, only to find himself in the midst of a violent power struggle with their villainous leader Zod, who is foreseen leading his people into an all-out war with the human race…it’s up to Clark and “The Watchtower” to assure that this war never takes place.
The season features all kinds of exciting twists and turns, as well as some amazing DC character appearances that would make even the most casual fan happy. Other than Zod with whom I’ve already mentioned, this 21 episode set also features such iconic villains as Metallo, The Toyman, Roulette, Icicle, Granny Goodness, Silver Banshee, Amanda Waller and many more. You’ll also see appearances by such superhero favorites as The Wonder Twins, Zatanna, Cyborg, Star-Spangled Kid, Sandman, Martian Manhunter and even Clark’s own father Jor-El (played by Julian Sands).
In my opinion, the absolute best moment of this season occurs in episode 11 titled “Absolute Justice”…Here we are treated to a two hour special featuring the Justice Society of America members Hawkman, Dr. Fate and Stargirl. This episode acts almost like a superhero movie within itself and has a vibe very similar to the 2009 film ‘Watchmen’ in which an aging group of superheroes are being targeted by a member of their past. Being able to see Hawkman and Dr. Fate in a live action format such as this was extremely cool and in fact I’d recommend buying Season 9 simply for this single episode alone. Most of the episodes are fairly dark in tone and furthers the storyline of Zod and his impending war with the humans…however this season also turns its focus at times onto other story elements such as The Green Arrow’s self-destructive lifestyle and Clark’s rocky relationship with fellow reporter Lois Lane.
So now on to the good and the bad...
The Good:
With that being said, overall I enjoyed the hell out of this season which I can safely say has turned me into a "Smallville" fanatic. Instead of watching one episode at a time, I found myself completely hooked, watching 4 or 5 episodes in one sitting. If you've never seen the show before and are interested in checking it out, I can't really say that this is the perfect place to start...I mean there are 8 other seasons that you'd probably want to check out first. However if you were thinking of picking up season 9 in preparation for the upcoming 10th and final season, then I'd say go for it. Like I mentioned before, I had absolutely no problem jumping right into season 9 despite having never watched previous seasons.
The blu-ray set includes all 21 episodes of Season 9 on 4 blu-ray discs and also features: 2 episode commentaries with the cast and crew...deleted scenes...a 15 minute documentary titled "Kneel Before Zod", which discusses the character's origins and adaptations from comic-to-screen...and also a 30 minute making of featurette titled "Absolute Justice: From Script to Screen" which goes over the "Absolute Justice" episode, which was easily my favorite of the season. I must also mention that the picture quality on the blu-ray was fantastic and the sound quality was quite good as well. Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season is in stores now from Warner Home Video, so make sure you pick up a copy and also be sure to tune in to the 10th and final season of "Smallville" which premieres September 24th, 2010 on The CW.
Episodes: 21
Run Time: 1,012 Minutes
“Smallville”, the hugely popular CW television show, chronicling the early years of Clark Kent, the man who would go on to become the iconic superhero known the world over as "Superman".
Even though I’m a huge comic book fan, I must confess right off the bat that I never really cared much for the Superman character. I always felt that Superman was overloaded with superhero attributes, making him nearly invincible and in my opinion sort of boring to read. In fact, the last time I picked up a Superman comic book was nearly 17 years ago! When it comes to “Smallville” I must also confess that I am not a loyal follower of the show and have not watched a single episode since its 2001 debut. So with that being said, you now know where I’m coming from in terms of my opinion of Superman and my limited knowledge of the “Smallville” TV show prior to my reviewing this Season 9 set from Warner Home Video.
When I do movie reviews, I sometimes find it challenging to come up with a basic spoiler free synopsis of the film I’m reviewing…However when you’re talking about 17 hours worth of material, for a television show as complex as “Smallville”, it becomes even more of a challenge! The main focal point of this season though involves Major Zod (played by Callum Blue) and his army of Kryptonians who are transported to Earth with a total loss of their superpowers and the knowledge of how they arrived on our planet. Clark Kent (played by Tom Welling) has yet to fully discover his true potential as “The Man of Steel” and instead has been moonlighting as a vigilante hero known as “The Blur”. Instead of tackling the criminal element of Metropolis by himself, Clark is part of a larger crime fighting syndicate called “The Watchtower”, which includes fellow superhero The Green Arrow and his best friend Chloe. After discovering that some of his fellow Kryptonians have arrived on Earth, Clark attempts to reach out to them, only to find himself in the midst of a violent power struggle with their villainous leader Zod, who is foreseen leading his people into an all-out war with the human race…it’s up to Clark and “The Watchtower” to assure that this war never takes place.
The season features all kinds of exciting twists and turns, as well as some amazing DC character appearances that would make even the most casual fan happy. Other than Zod with whom I’ve already mentioned, this 21 episode set also features such iconic villains as Metallo, The Toyman, Roulette, Icicle, Granny Goodness, Silver Banshee, Amanda Waller and many more. You’ll also see appearances by such superhero favorites as The Wonder Twins, Zatanna, Cyborg, Star-Spangled Kid, Sandman, Martian Manhunter and even Clark’s own father Jor-El (played by Julian Sands).
In my opinion, the absolute best moment of this season occurs in episode 11 titled “Absolute Justice”…Here we are treated to a two hour special featuring the Justice Society of America members Hawkman, Dr. Fate and Stargirl. This episode acts almost like a superhero movie within itself and has a vibe very similar to the 2009 film ‘Watchmen’ in which an aging group of superheroes are being targeted by a member of their past. Being able to see Hawkman and Dr. Fate in a live action format such as this was extremely cool and in fact I’d recommend buying Season 9 simply for this single episode alone. Most of the episodes are fairly dark in tone and furthers the storyline of Zod and his impending war with the humans…however this season also turns its focus at times onto other story elements such as The Green Arrow’s self-destructive lifestyle and Clark’s rocky relationship with fellow reporter Lois Lane.
So now on to the good and the bad...
The Good:
- Despite the fact that I haven't watched this show in more than 9 years I was able to pop in season 9 and have a full understanding of everything that was going on, which says a lot about the excellent writing team behind it.
- Even though I'm generally not a fan of Superman, I actually liked the character a lot on this show and thought Tom Welling did an excellent job at portraying him. I also liked the fact that the show isn't solely focused on Clark Kent, but on other DC characters as well.
- I thought the special effects were top notch, especially for a TV show with a smaller budget such as this.
- Callum Blue was a horrible pick to play Zod in my opinion. Compared to Terence Stamp who played Zod in 'Superman II' (1980), this guy is in no way menacing. In fact in nearly ever scene that he's in, he looks like he's on the verge of tears. His horribly thick cockney accent doesn't help much either.
- After 9 years on the air, Clark still hasn't mastered the art of flying and he's yet to wear his iconic red/blue Superman outfit...instead he's fitted with a more goth looking black on black attire. Based on previews of the upcoming 10th season though, this appears to be rectified.
- Exciting new characters are introduced into the story and are then suddenly killed off in the same episode or they'll disappear for the rest of the season. This seemed to happen in nearly every episode and it was quite strange.
With that being said, overall I enjoyed the hell out of this season which I can safely say has turned me into a "Smallville" fanatic. Instead of watching one episode at a time, I found myself completely hooked, watching 4 or 5 episodes in one sitting. If you've never seen the show before and are interested in checking it out, I can't really say that this is the perfect place to start...I mean there are 8 other seasons that you'd probably want to check out first. However if you were thinking of picking up season 9 in preparation for the upcoming 10th and final season, then I'd say go for it. Like I mentioned before, I had absolutely no problem jumping right into season 9 despite having never watched previous seasons.
The blu-ray set includes all 21 episodes of Season 9 on 4 blu-ray discs and also features: 2 episode commentaries with the cast and crew...deleted scenes...a 15 minute documentary titled "Kneel Before Zod", which discusses the character's origins and adaptations from comic-to-screen...and also a 30 minute making of featurette titled "Absolute Justice: From Script to Screen" which goes over the "Absolute Justice" episode, which was easily my favorite of the season. I must also mention that the picture quality on the blu-ray was fantastic and the sound quality was quite good as well. Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season is in stores now from Warner Home Video, so make sure you pick up a copy and also be sure to tune in to the 10th and final season of "Smallville" which premieres September 24th, 2010 on The CW.
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