- Aspect Ratio: 1:78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: PG-13
- Run Time: 90 Mins.
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: Starz/Anchor Bay Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: February 7th, 2012
- List Price: $24.99
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase Metal Shifters on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for More Blu-ray Titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Metal Shifters tells the story of a time in the near future. Traveling millions of years through space, a chunk of alien bacterium (yes, I’m not mistyping anything) has crash landed in rural Redeember, Idaho. Part Transformers, the bacterium has the ability to ‘transform’ steel objects into furious killing machines. Who will stop these beasts? Enter your typical TV hero in Jake (Kavan Smith). Tagging along is his ex-girlfriend Amanda (Nicole de Boer). Both hope to somehow end the reign of terror this “invader” is causing. What results is truly the definition of a cheesy film, but one that is mostly entertaining enough throughout its brief run time.
I guess one could say the best part of Metal Shifters is that the film knows how over-the-top it is. The movie is so out there that you can’t really ever take it seriously. The acting is laughable at times, but not really that bad all because no one ever acts in the manner where they hope we’ll take them seriously. They all know starring in this made-for-tv effort, a cheesy one at that, we’re never meant to really think anything of them. It kind of helps the initial feel of the film too because Shifters plays out like a mix of a bad video game and Transformers. Only it’s nowhere as good or entertaining as the latter (I’m sure I’ll receive a a lot of flack for that statement). The film is ridiculous at times. Take for instance the idea of these random people, one being a contractor, thinking they can stop a machine. It’s almost as insane as an oil driller thinking he can stop an asteroid from hitting Earth (*cough* Armageddon *cough*). Still, as over-the-top, as insane, as ridiculous that Metal Shifters is, I can’t say it’s not entertaining throughout. I just highly, highly doubt I’ll ever throw this disc in again.
(For a different take, read our Metal Shifters Blu-ray Review by Brandon DuHamel)
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
The 1:78:1 framed, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer is just about perfect. For a made for TV film, I was surprised at the quality of this transfer. Colors are well balanced, whether the bright exterior shots or the low lit interior moments. Flesh tones are accurate as are contrast levels. There’s no instance of white levels being overly pumped up resulting in our characters having a very natural, realistic look and feel to them. Blacks are dark and inky giving us a solid amount of pop in certain sequences. Video noise is kept in check as well with only a slight layer. All in all, this is a great effort from Starz/Anchor Bay.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The film’s provided Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is a few notches below the aforementioned video. Dialogue is well reproduced throughout the whole film via the center channel. Being a sci-fi themed film, atmosphere is key throughout. Luckily, the film’s sound design all put throws plenty of atmosphere our way. Whether the booming steps of the “Iron Invader” or simply background clings and clangs, everything seems to be placed just right in order to create a solid atmosphere. Pans between rears are invisible as are the discrete effects. Normally I’d give this actione track a 4/5, but in comparison to other TV themed tracks, this one gets a slightly lower score. Still, this is a solid effort from Starz/Anchor Bay.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
The included supplements are presented in HD.
- Metal Shifters: Behind the Scenes – Running 15:02, this behind-the-scenes feature gives us a glance into the production of the film via cast and crew interviews.
- Trailer – The film’s trailer (1:43) is shown.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:2/5]
Cheesy yet entertaining, Starz/Anchor Bay’s made-for-tv film Metal Shifters arrives on Blu-ray with nearly perfect video and solid audio. If you’re looking for a ridiculous film to watch, give this one a rent. Just don’t expect too much.
Additional Screen Captures
[amazon-product]B006BZ8NQQ[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Metal Shifters on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for More Blu-ray Titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
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