The Flash: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review

The Film

“Lightning gave me abs?”

Right ahead of the second season debut, we are getting The Flash: The Complete First Season Blu-ray. You’d better start playing catch-up, because this is one superhero show that’s actually, well… super.

The Flash has absolutely everything you’d want in a superhero show. It has a handsome, likable lead, great supporting characters, tons of action, and it’s just a lot of fun to watch.

That’s because our hero, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin), actually likes being a superhero. He’s not tortured by it. Of course, he has other things he’s tortured by. When he was a boy, he watched his mother get murdered by a mysterious being and his father (John Wesley Shipp — the 90s version of The Flash!) went to prison for it. From then on, Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) and his daughter Iris (Candice Patton) became his family. That’s awesome, but Barry is also in love with Iris, who just happens to be dating her dad’s partner (Rick Cosnett).

So what’s an awesome superhero to do? Barry spends his time and most of The Flash: The Complete First Season honing his abilities, outsmarting bad guys, and enjoying every second of it. There are plenty of other twists, turns, and even some drama, but I don’t want to spoil too much.

Just know that are so many great things about The Flash. First of all, the show is really well done. The characters are interesting, the acting is top-notch (most notably by Martin and Tom Cavanagh), and the special effects aren’t cheesy. Every episode has our hero seeking the truth about his mom and justice for his father, but he’s always saving the city from someone else and cracking that boyish grin in the process. Also, Barry isn’t the only “meta-human” out there, so we get all sorts of great guest stars, villains from the comic books (including Gorilla Grodd!), and even tie-ins to Arrow.

Speaking of which, The Flash was actually spawned from the success of Arrow, but it’s slightly lighter in tone and image. And unlike Gotham, the show is always consistent. It also doesn’t try to shoehorn so many characters into the series without a lot of backstory. The Flash: The Complete First Season isn’t at all confusing; it’s just a lot of fun to watch.

The Picture

From an image standpoint, The Flash is just spectacular. Skintones are very natural, black levels are inky, and there are a lot of moments that allow the color palette to really pop. Most impressive are those oranges and reds that appear in every episode. The most surprising aspect of this Blu-ray is how sharp the image is, whether the action is in the rain, in the dark, and even in the special effects mayhem. Barry’s chiseled good looks are particularly impressive, with every mole, smile line and pearly white tooth pretty evident. The Flash’s costume is equally as impressive, with textured detail all over. It’s really hard to find any faults with this one.

The Sound

Ka-pow! This is what a superhero series should sound like. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track for The Flash: The Complete First Season is surprising and simply awesome. All of the dialogue comes through clearly, but really the action and special effects are what makes this track a standout. Expect to be surrounded by plenty of bullets, breaking glass, car crashes, and more. However, whenever Barry is on the move (which is a lot), you can expect the room to be really rumbling. Like the show itself, this audio track will pull you into the action and keep you entertained throughout all of the first season’s 23 episodes.

The Extras

There are several deleted scenes, a gag reel and even a screen test on this 4-disc set. However, the most interesting piece is “Creating the Blur – the VFX of The Flash,” a short on the special effects in the show. It’s a great way to spend 26-ish minutes because when it comes to special effects on TV, there’s a fine line between awesome and cheesy. The special effects for The Flash are extremely impressive, so it’s interesting to see how those are created. You’re also going to want to check out “The Trickster Returns,” because it has Mark Hamill talking about bringing his character from the 1990s series back to life. And it’s Mark-freaking-Hamill. It’s a great little short.

Final Thoughts

You don’t have to love the comic books or even the Arrow to enjoy The Flash, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. My one gripe is that some of The Flash: The Complete First Season plays a bit like a teen drama. Those moments where Barry is pining for sweet Iris are valuable moments he could be spending whipping around the city outsmarting bad guys. That said, it’s hard to complain when the show is just so much fun to watch. The audio, video and special features are just a few of the added superpowers that make The Flash a worthy adversary to other shows on your must-watch list. Set the DVR for season 2 and start cramming this 4-disc set right away. It’s one you won’t want to miss.

Product Details

• Actors: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Rick Cosnett, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, Jesse L. Martin
• Directors: Doug Aarniokoski, John Behring, Nick Copus, Dermott Downs, Thor Freudenthal, Rob Hardy, Ralph Hemecker, David Nutter, Larry Shaw, Millicent Shelton, Steve Shill, John F. Showalter, Wendey Stanzler, Steve Surjik, Kevin Tancharoen, Jesse Warm, Glen Winter
• Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Danish, Finnish, French, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latino), Swedish
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of Discs: 4
• Rating: NR
• Studio: Warner Bros.
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: September 22, 2015
• Run Time: 979 minutes
• List Price: $60.10
• Extras:
  • Disc One:
    • Commentary – Pilot
    • Deleted Scenes
  • Disc Two:
    • Deleted Scenes
  • Disc Three:
    • Behind the Story: The Trickster Returns!
    • Deleted Scenes
  • Disc Four:
    • The Fastest Man Alive!
    • Creating the Blur – the VFX of The Flash
    • The Chemistry of Emily and Grant Screen Test
    • DC Comics Night at Comic-Con 2014 Presenting Gotham, The Flash, Constantine and Arrow
    • Gag Reel
    • Deleted Scenes
  • UltraViolet Digital Copy