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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Ben 10: Alien Force-Vengeance of Vilgax (2008)

Ben 10: Alien Force-Vengeance of Vilgax (2008)

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Released 6-Apr-2010

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Childrens Main Menu Audio
TV Spots
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 2008
Running Time 41:49 (Case: 45)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Dan Riba
Butch Lukic
John Fang
Rick Morales
Studio
Distributor
Cartoon Network
Madman Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI $19.95 Music Kristopher Carter
Michael McCuistion
Lolita Ritmanis


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Pan & Scan English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Title of Show : Ben10 : Alien Force

    Title of Disc : Vengeance of Vilgax

    Year of Production : 2009

    Country of origin : USA

    What's included? :  Episodes 27 & 28 of the show (The first 2 of the 13 episodes in Season 3). These episodes were first shown in the US in 2009. I was quite surprised to find that this disc was just the first two episodes of the new season, I was expecting an animated movie length episode. It is a little light on for content with only 40 minutes of the show included.

    Episode Length : About 21 minutes each. (41:49 in total)

    Details of episodes : 

This sequel to the original Ben10 series is being released in volumes rather than whole seasons. The following episodes are included:

      1. Vengeance of Vilgax, Pt 1
      2. Vengeance of Vilgax, Pt 2

          In these episodes one of Ben's old enemies, Vilgax reappears planning to take over the earth by defeating Earth's greatest champion, Ben Tennyson. Vilgax has worked out a way to defeat other world's champions and take their powers for himself. Ben is getting cocky due to his recent victories and does something reckless.

    Style of Production : Animation

    Premise of show : Ben10 : Alien Force is a Cartoon Network production which follows on from the very successful Ben 10 series. It is not so much a spin-off as a sequel due to the original series completing after 4 seasons. There has been a gap of 5 years between the old series and this and Ben is now 15. He has not been fighting aliens for 5 years but suddenly aliens are showing a renewed interest in Earth and Grandpa Max has disappeared. He receives a cryptic message from Max and decides to put the Omnitrix back on. When he does this the Omnitrix changes shape and there are 6 new aliens (including Alien X whose identity is revealed in Volume 4) rather than the original ones available to him. This time Ben teams up with his cousin Gwen again (who is developing her own skills at alien fighting) but also forms an uneasy alliance with his old enemy Kevin Levin. They set out to rescue Max and fight the aliens. It is a bit more serious than the old show and includes little hints of romance and teenage angst.

    Age Group : 5-12

    Related to any other children's shows? : A sequel to the original Ben 10.

    Adult's view : A good show for young boys with a lot of excitement, some suspense, some mild scares and interesting and exciting characters.

    Child's view : A greatly loved series amongst pre-teen boys, these episodes are no exception, although my boys were disappointed when the disc contained only two episodes.

    Other Releases of this show available? : All four seasons of the original show have been released along with three feature length movies, one animated and two live action. This is the seventh release of Alien Force. There are also some repackaged versions of the original series being released.

    Overall : A good updating of the concept, my kids have taken to it well. Fans of the original series will love it (although some younger viewers may find it a bit scary).

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio non 16x9 enhanced which is not the original aspect ratio. These shows were made for widescreen but have been cropped for these releases.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise.

    The colour was very good with deep blacks.

    There was some minor interlacing artefacts but nothing too distracting.

    There are no subtitles.

    There is no layer change.

     

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is very good.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The surround speakers were used for quite a bit of atmosphere and music and the subwoofer added bass to music and effects.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

   

Menu

    The menu was still but included music.

Halloween Promo (0:31)

    Short Cartoon Network Promo featuring Ben10 characters dancing to Thriller.

Trailers

    Other Madman released children's shows.

 

 

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     The Region 1 version is called Volume 7 and includes the first 5 episodes of this third season, making it a better deal. Region 1 wins.

Summary

    Ben 10 rebooted as Ben 10 : Alien Force. Only two episodes on this edition.

    The video quality is very good but not in the OAR.

    The audio quality is very good.

    Only one extra which is forgettable.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Review Equipment
DVDSony DVP-NS708H upscaling to 1080p, using HDMI output
DisplayLG Scarlet 42LG61YD 106cm Full HD LCD. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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