'Da Vinci's Demons: Season 3' [Blu-ray]
(Tom Riley, Laura Haddock, Elliot Cowan, Gregg Chillin, Eros Vlahos, Blake Ritson, David Schofield, Lara Pulver, Hera Hilmar, et al / 3-Blu ray / NR / 2016 / Anchor Bay Entertainment)
Overview: Leonardo da Vinci's world comes crashing down when the city of Otranto is torn apart by an Ottoman invasion. On the battlefield, the Turks use da Vinci's own weapons against him ... the designs for which were stolen by someone he trusted. This betrayal will haunt Leo long after the battle is decided, as will the deaths of loved ones lost in the fighting.
Blu ray Verdict: Honestly, it makes me sad to give this show such a low rating, for when I started it, it seemed really appealing. The first episode was thrilling, full of events, very dynamic, but then the magic dissipated and it simply became another boring show I force myself to watch.
It is not historically accurate and you can see it from the first 10 minutes of that very first episode, but nothing is perfect, so I decided to go on. After all, this isn't a documentary. It's a TV series. But the main character is not Da Vinci. I'm not saying I expected him to be the perfect impersonation of the genius, but he has so little of the artist.
Some details are true - such as him being ambidextrous and a vegetarian -, but that's what they are, details. I hoped that this would be a slightly modified Da Vinci, just like BBC Sherlock is a different Sherlock Holmes, yet with traits of Conan Doyle's version, but they simply used the name to create a whole new character.
Although the plot could be really interesting, it is far too fantastic - baring deliriousness - and it just stopped capturing my attention. There are some anachronisms and mistakes that I really couldn't let go unnoticed and that was one of the things that ruined the series for me. Want an example? "Medici". Seriously, they couldn't get the family name right? Just go to Wikipedia and see the pronunciation! It made me cringe every time they said "Me'dici" instead of "'Medici", and I'm not asking them to speak perfect Renaissance Italian, it is a simple word that everyone heard at least once in their lives!
Firenze, however, is beautiful. When I first saw the scenery, I was dumbstruck: it is gorgeous! The clothing is, overall, pretty accurate, and I didn't find the acting as bad as some reviews suggested; it is actually rather good. But Da Vinci's hair. Oh my. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. It is so out of place, even though it looks good in the actor.
That all said, here in season three, the last season, as Starz has announced that this very same third season will now be the last for 'Da Vinci’s Demons,' shows da Vinci (played by Tom Riley) witnessing his personal inventions being employed by Ottoman invaders during the battle of Otranto.
A hero armed only with genius, Da Vinci stands alone against the darkness within, and the darkness without. Facing an uncertain future, his quest for knowledge nearly becomes his undoing as he explores the fringes of his own sanity. Da Vinci throws himself into his genius and emerges as an unstoppable force that lifts an entire era out of darkness and propels it into light. His story becomes a mirror into our own world, calling us all to join his fight to Free the Future.
Please understand that I don't want to discourage everyone from watching 'Da Vinci's Demons.' If you're up to fantasy and action, go ahead and watch it, because you will still enjoy it - for the most part. I learned to! The soundtrack is really great, it actually thrilled me when I was bored, but the soundtrack should make the scene more exciting, not provide all the excitement. As for the ending to the series, well, I'm not about to give that away either! Watch it for yourself as, to my mind, it wraps things up as nicely as possible - given the rug that was pulled by Starz, of course! Oh, and finally, did you know that the actual theme song of this series is like a musical palindrome. It sounds the same when played backwards?! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
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www.Starz.com/DaVincisDemons