SYNOPSIS:
More
than three months after their fateful crash, the survivors
of Oceanic Flight 815 will discover that the only thing more
dangerous than the island might be the people who have come
to rescue them.
MOVIE REVIEW:
What going on? Who is that? What the hell happen? When is this? Where are they REALLY? These question may be ultimately the main goal for such avid viewers but fear not, some are answered in this season but alas as any good JJ Abraham TV series, they throw back at you twice as much new questions. Frustrating isn't it? Well i guess that is the very reason viewers are totally hooked on to the series. Having a mundane season 3, this latest makes it all up, labeling it the year Lost got its wow back.
Perhaps it was the writers strike-shortened season but season four had a definite electricity and was the best season since the first. New cast members were added, notably those referred to as the “freighter people”, including Paranormal Miles Straume (Ken Leung), Anthropologist Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader), physicist Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies), chopper pilot Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey), and the sinister mercenary Martin Keamy (Kevin Durand).
By revamping the format, offering “flash-forwards” in the place of flashbacks, Lost finally made the character vignettes of the previous 3 seasons seem fresh and interesting again. What had previously been slightly interesting moral fables at best and pointless time-filler at worst instead became a window into the ultimate fate of the characters. While that half of the show had become stale in seasons 2 and 3, the flash-forwards were, on some occasions, more interesting than the material actually on the island.
Even as the plot thickened, one-off episodes such as the Desmond-centric “The Constant” proved that you don’t need shocking revelations to grip a viewer in what turned out to be both one of the series’ high points and an astounding piece of television. Elsewhere, Ben, the former “Henry Gale” of The Others came to the forefront as one of the most compelling characters in the series, eclipsing even previous fan-favourites.
Season 4 ran for a total of 14 episodes as part of a deal to run the pre-planned finale of Lost over 3 years without artificially extending the content of the show. Having the finish line in sight is a clear motivator for the writing team of Lost, who are now free to lay their cards on the table with near-reckless abandon. With an end date in mind and fewer episodes to work with, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse upped the forward momentum of the plots, resulting in Lost's most satisfying, action-packed season to date. It's also the year the series fully embraced its gooey sci-fi center, integrating even more time travel, teleportation, and other strange things you might see on an episode of that other J.J. Abrams show, Fringe. It's no surprise that season 4 placed Lost back in the Emmy race for Best Drama Series. Compared to the paucity of information received in the first few seasons, there’s little doubt that Lost’s 4th season is the most entertaining and re-watchable yet, and thus the prime candidate for purchase on DVD.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
Lost: Season 4 comes packaged with the entire writer’s strike season as well as two bonus discs, stuffed with behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes and more. Lost has always been good at giving a behind-the-scenes look at the production, and its bonus features are top notch:
* LOST in 8:15
A godsend for those who missed a season or two (shame on you), here is a feature that summaries ALL that happened in season 1 to 3. Most fun you'll have in 8 minutes and 15 seconds.
* The Right to Bear Arms
This featurette looks at the various guns used in the show, and the revelation that most of the actors aren’t sure if their own characters are packing heat. Guns has been passed around so much that it has become a main job for someone to keep track of who has what over the years. More comical than anything else.
* The Freighter Folk
This one includes interviews with the new cast members, primarily added from the freighter. Many are doomed to die, but there are several new additions, and they are pretty entertaining when out of character.
* The Island Backlot: Lost in Hawaii
The best feature in the sets, this one explores how the crew transform various parts of Hawaii into the scenes in Lost, including exotic locations like Africa, Korea and so on and so forth. It’s pretty impressive, and neat to see.
* The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies
This faux documentary is a conspiracy tale of the cover-up of the crash of Oceanic 815.
* Offshore Shoot
This behind-the-scenes look explores filming on the freighter.
* Soundtrack of Survival
This featurette looks at the composition of Lost’s score. i've been a great fan of the use of music, no matter if its a film or TV. It the most essential tool to really bring the emotion up and tie everything together. And having a full orchestra really did bring much character to the series instead of boring synthesizer (read: Channel 5).
* Lost On Location
Interviews with the cast and crew while filming. This one is pretty entertaining, as it shows how weather and other issues can lead to some pretty dull days at time.
* The Definitive Flash-Forwards
In case you're still puzzled of the chronological order of the flash-forwards, this feature is for you
* Bloopers, Deleted Scenes and Audio Commentaries
Self-explanatory.
If you’re a Lost fan and you don’t own the DVD sets, what the hell is wrong with you? Re-watching the show is almost essential, and you get so much more out of it - not to mention the fact that watching the show episode-after-episode with no commercial breaks (including no fast-forwarding over commercials) is a sight to behold
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Lokman B S
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