Blu-ray Review Crime

'Mr. Robot: Season 1' Blu-ray Review: Hack and backslash

January 12, 2016Ben MK



FEATURE: 
On the surface, the Golden Globe winning series Mr. Robot and The Matrix appear to share a lot in common. After all, both feature a protagonist who's an office worker by day and a hacker by night. And both have him recruited into a rag-tag band of unconventional freedom fighters, whose goal is to liberate society from the invisible forces that control it. But if it sounds like the show is just a knockoff of The Matrix, think again.

In Mr. Robot, Rami Malek plays Elliot Alderson, a depressed and paranoid cyber-security engineer whose penchant for hacking everyone and everything has caught the attention of Mr. Robot (Christian Slater), the leader of the hacktivist group "fsociety." Invited by Mr. Robot to help fsociety topple the world's largest conglomerate, E Corp — or, as Elliot calls them, "Evil Corp" — Elliot inadvertently opens the door to a dangerous new world, making new enemies in the process. Not only that, Elliot may end up discovering more about himself and his own secrets than he's prepared to handle.

Part The Matrix, part V for Vendetta and part Fight Club, Mr. Robot isn't an easy show to sum up in a nutshell. Suffice to say, it's not — as its title may imply — a sci-fi series. On the contrary, season one tackles everything from internet culture to income inequality to capitalism, and throws in a few mind-blowing twists along the way. It's a show that's best experienced with as little precursory knowledge as possible. But if you're still feeling inclined to find out more about what Mr. Robot has to offer, here's the full rundown of all ten episodes included in the season one Blu-ray set:

  • eps1.0_hellofriend.mov - anti-social cybersecurity tech elliot meets mr. robot leader of hacker group fsociety. evil corp — biggest co. in the world — is hacked. is robot behind it? brb.
  • eps1.1_ones-and-zer0es.mpeg - elliot torn between job offer from evil corp and joing fsociety. @ same time elliot needs to make decision that could harm ppl around him.
  • eps1.2_d3bug.mkv - elliot tries to lead normal life — but pulled back into fsociety. gideon gets suspicious. tyrell plays dirty @ evil corp. I did it 4 the lulz.
  • eps1.3_da3m0ns.mp4 - fsociety hits the road to initiate world-changing hack, elliots inner demons threaten to derail operation. LIRL.
  • eps1.4_3xpl0its.wmv - fsociety arrives @ steel mountain — most secure data facility in USA. elliot needs to get in and get out — wuz he pwned?
  • eps.1.5_br4ve-trave1er.asf - to save someone elliot cares abt, hes gotta hack vera — badass drug-dealer — out of jail. tyrells "game" gets crazy. angela digs deeper into moms death.
  • eps1.6_v1ew-s0urce.flv - elliot MIA. mr. robot gotta pull fsociety back together. future depends on it. angela goes head to head w/ old nemesis. IMO risky as hell.
  • eps1.7_wh1ter0se.m4v - allsafe gets pwned — & dark army is ready to meet elliot. is it @whiterose? tyrell and joannas plan goes into full effect.
  • eps1.8_m1rr0r1ng.qt - evil corp hack is threatened when a mystery man from elliots past arrives. wtf.
  • eps1.9_zer0-day.avi - a brave new world. but where are mr. robot and gideon? & 1 of elliots past hacks comes back to haunt him. TEOTWAWKI?
AUDIO & VISUALS: 
Visually speaking, Mr. Robot doesn't impress right out of the gate, spending a lot of time in monochromatic offices and on orange-lit street corners. However, as the show progresses, the look of the cinematography and lighting improve considerably, bolstered by a 1080p image that accurately renders textural detail, contrast ratios and black levels, while at the same time respecting the show's somewhat muted color palette. As for the show's sonic dynamics, they fare just as well, thanks to a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix that plays up the show's dialogue and its electronic-synth score without ever neglecting the ambience provided by passing subway trains, busy city streets and background office chatter.

EXTRAS: 
Universal's two-disc Blu-ray release includes an UltraViolet digital copy and the following Blu-ray extras:

  • Deleted Scenes (13:29) - Deleted scenes for the season's second, fourth, seventh and ninth episodes.
  • Gag Reel (5:16) - Flubs and goofing around from the set.
  • M4k1ng_0f_Mr_R0b0t.mov (12:13) - Creator Sam Esmail and the cast talk about the show, from its premise and its inspirations, to its production design and its depiction of computer technology.

Mr. Robot: Season One is available from Universal Home Entertainment as of January 12th, 2015. Episode synopses above provided courtesy of Universal. The Blu-ray features an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and English SDH subtitles. The total runtime is 8 Hrs. 4 Mins.







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