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THE MOVIE
Oh man, I have not watched wrestling since I was a young teenager. Madman continues supporting TNA with a compilation disc of the 50 best moments of the last four years of this company, trying to make its way in the face of its giant competitor WWE. Just in case you aren't up to speed, Total Nonstop Action was a reinvigoration of NWA, a smaller group that existed in the shadow of WCW and WWF, the two big wrestling shows that duked it out. By the time WWF had eaten WCW up and changed its name to WWE, no other entertainment wrestling shows were on national TV in the States. Jeff Jarret, a bit of a WCW loyalist, decided to put a new show together called TNA. With the help of NWA, who eventually bowed out and let the new company go it alone, TNA has become the second largest show.
This DVD is a collection of the best moments, celebrating four years of a TV series in an industry that can be incredibly harsh. The pace starts off slow with a few moments that last maybe 30 seconds and aren't backed up by context. But the moments build up and about 15 moments in, you're watching highlights of wrestling matches as good as any of them. Insane physical prowess, balance and acting skills. Rivalries you remember from childhood, renewed once more. These boys know how to take a bump and man, I love watching it again. There's new moves and new lows. It's nice to see the old characters still hamming it up. The DVD serves as a great overview of the storylines and characters if you aren't familiar with the franchise, and I bet a great addition to your shelves to relive the best moments during a beer and BBQ.
Oh, but because I have to mark this section for plot, well, hell, I gotta mark it low.
THE TRANSFER
Video:
Weirdly enough and maybe because of its low budget roots, this sucker is in 4x3. It's what you can expect from TV studio cameras shooting in SD, but it comes up good on a solid HD TV like mine. Don't expect incredible cinematography, but you do get some nice crane and rooftop shots.
Audio:
The audio is a little low, the bass taken out of a lot of the rants and screaming matches, but again it's the result of live performances and gettin' what they could get. The heavy metal pumping through makes me smile and if you pump it up good and loud, you aren't disappointed.
THE EXTRAS
Sweet bugger all. Sweet. Bugger. All. But I guess you could say the whole disc is a special feature you might get on a Pay-Per-View's DVD.
SUMMARY
The best thing about TNA is that a lot of WCW favourites who refused to join or subsequently left WWE gradually began to join the cast. Sting, 3D, Raven, Jeff Hardy, Big Poppa Pump, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Diamond Dallas Page, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, hell, even Hulk Hogan makes an appearance. It's a rednecked, boganed up disc of high octane ridiculousness. Soap opera for men and the women who look like them. If you are sick of the hyped, amped up nature of WWE and McMahon, try the alternative. If WWE is Nova, TNA is kind of like the Triple J of wrestling. |
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