Why So Blu?

Kin: Season 1 (Blu-ray Review)

A boy is killed and his family embark on a gangland war with an international cartel – a war that is impossible to win. But the Kinsellas have something the cartel does not: the unbreakable bonds of blood and family. Kin: Season 1 is now available on Blu-ray & DVD. KIN Season 1 stars Charlie Cox (Daredevil, Boardwalk Empire), Clare Dunne (Herself), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), Emmett J. Scanlan (Peaky Blinders), Maria Doyle Kennedy (Orphan Black, Outlander) and Ciarán Hinds (Game of Thrones, The Terror). Peter McKenna (The Last Kingdom, Red Rock) serves as showrunner/executive producer, writer, and co-creator, alongside Ciarán Donnelly (Altered Carbon, Vikings) who also serves as co-creator.

Series

The Kinsella Family are one of the most powerful families in Dublin…powerful gangster families I should say. They answer to the kingpin Eamon Cunningham (Hinds). After Michael Kinsella (Cox) is released from prison he’s back to his old ways as a trustworthy enforcer, with some health and estranged family issues. He’s not a loose cannon by any means but has few prospects other than taking orders.

When one of the hothead members of the Kinsella family makes an unauthorized hit on a rival, it jeopardizes the family’s entire drug running operation. Cunningham has no choice but to bring the hammer down on them to settle scores. Amanda Kinsella (Claire Dunne) will do everything in her power to keep the family on good terms with Cunningham, even if she has to go against him.

Kin is an engrossing television show. I knew nothing about it prior to reviewing the Blu-ray set, but was blown away in the end. Early on in the first episodes of the series – the structure is so inward, where we see how the family carries on. We get nothing about their nefarious business practices and what they do outside of the home. We do know that they have a drug operation, but it’s only implicitly stated. It’s when everything starts to unravel that we see how far their reach goes. We are given characters to sympathize with and root for but also characters that we hate.

There are familiar tropes throughout the series that mirror The Godfather films but I’d say is more of homages to those films rather than ripping them off outright. In fact, one can almost say this is the Irish version of The Godfather in terms of themes and whatnot. It doesn’t mean it’s a rip-off.

Kin: Season 1 on Blu-ray was exciting and a breeze to get through. It’s eight episodes and time flew by. I hope the series comes back for a proper second season, because it’s a stellar show all the way around.

 

Video  

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Clarity/Detail: Contrast and sharpness levels were nice and natural looking, even if the overall presentation highlighted the bleak skies.

Depth: These RLJE Blu-rays always shoot it out of the ballpark in terms of crisp and vivid presentation.

Black Levels: Black levels were deep, inky, and crush-free.

Color Reproduction: Color levels were spot on – banding was never an issue nor pixilation. The palette is generally subdued under the overcast skies anyway.

Flesh Tones: Flesh tones were natural and blemish-free. No one looked sickly.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

 

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: This may be a gangster-type of show but the lossless 5.1 track is awesome. It has a more than few scenes involving action, gunfire, music cues, etc., and the lossless audio reproduction was great.

Low Frequency Extension: The LFE subwoofer channel gives the scenes involving music and action get that extra low-end push. The LFE is low, tight, and never rattles or distorts.

Surround Sound Presentation: The surround sound channels carried on the ambience, with several scenes of folks congregating, along with sporadic gunfire traced to the rear channels.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is clean and clear — even with the Irish accents, I had no problems understanding what was being said.

 

Extras 

There are no extras on the Blu-ray disc.

Summary 

Kin was an awesome show and I’m looking forward to the second season. The Blu-ray has some great video and audio specs but drops the ball hard on the lack of extras. It’s a bare bones release. The Blu-ray is available now and is highly recommended!

 

Kin: Season 1 is now available on Blu-ray!

ORDER NOW!

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