Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Reviewed by Drav3n

Format: Blu-ray

Release: May 25, 2010

Rated: NR

Runtime: 42 Minutes

The Movie:

We all remember the Writer's Strike that happened during 2008. Well, even though alot of people missed out on some of their favorite shows, this allowed director Joss Whedon (Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse) to bring us this hysterical musical comedy (and funding this project himself), featuring the always funny Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) and the beautiful Felicia Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Most people that have already seen this know, but for those that don't, this film was actually created as an online miniseries, and was released as three different episodes that aired two days after the previous episode has aired. Instantly, this became a huge hit online, just as Whedon had hoped. Which would eventually lead to releases on iTunes, followed by dvd and then blu-ray.

When he's not too busy breaking the law or trying to get close to his crush, Penny (Day), wannabe supervillian Dr. Horrible (Harris) brags about his exploits, answers emails from viewers, and talks about his dreams of joining the Evil League of Evil and defeating his nemesis, Captain Hammer (Fillion) all through his video blog. But when Captain Hammer and Penny start dating, this leads to Horrible revealing that he has completed the work on his Freeze Ray and plans on using it to defeat Captain Hammer once and for all.

This movie is absolutely hysterical from beginning to end, and pairing Harris with Fillion was genius. Each of them are both very talented and hysterical actors. This film excels in making the villian of the movie be the character that the audience cheers for. And it's not even because he's the bad guy, its the fact that no matter Horrible does, things never work out the way he wants them to. The love story works too. You have the innocent and sweet Penny being persued by the complete opposite in the likes of Horrible and Hammer. And with Hammer's intentions, it's even easier for you to cheer for Horrible.

Don't let the running time of this movie fool you. Sure Dr. Horrible is not even 45 minutes long, but if it ran any longer, it probably would've lost its momentum and started to drag on. Props to Whedon for sticking to a short-film style for this instead of looking into a feature-length. He's a good example that you don't need a blockbuster budget to do a good movie. All you seen is good writing, a good story, and good actors and the movie will sell itself. Whether you're a fan of Whedon, NPH, Fillion, or musicals, you are guaranteed to enjoy this movie!

Presentation:

I don't see why reviewers are saying this transfer looks mediocre. Were they watching the dvd version instead? The blu-ray image looks incredible for such a low budget release. Colors are strong, objects show a good amount of detail and looks crisp, and skin tones look pretty acurate. There is a small amount of grain, but nothing distracting. Overall, fans of this "movie" will be please with the presentation.

Audio:

The box states that there's only a Dolby 5.1 surround track on here, but they are incorrect. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog provides a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Overall, the audio sounds great during the movie. The dialogue is always clear whether it's being in song or vocal. The sound effects and background music sound just as good, with no issues. However, the audio in the special features has a good amount of static which gets annoying quick.

Bonus Material:

• Audio Commentary - Featuring the whole cast
• Commentary! The Musical - More of a mock-commentary that's filled with songs and jokes. Very entertaining!
• The Making of Dr. Horrible (480p, Runtime 20:42) - A three part feature that takes a look at the making of the movie, the music, and interviews and thoughts with the cast.
• ELE Application Videos (480p, Runtime 30:50) - A look at fan-created fictional character auditions. It's pretty tough to sit through all 30 minutes of this
• Outtakes (480p, Runtime 1:57) - A small amount of clips that are highlighted by "magic tricks" performed by NPH.
• Behind the Scenes (480p, Runtime 1:04) - A few shots of the actors rehearsing.
• Evil League of Evil Interview (480p, Runtime 3:15) - Just as tough to watch as the Applications.
• Teaser Trailer

Bottom Line:

Chances are that if you are a fan of Joss Whedon's work, you are going to pick up Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It looks great, sounds great, and the commentary tracks are excellent. Plus you can pick this movie up for just over $10 on Amazon, making this purchase a no-brainer, and worth a blind-buy! Highly recommended!