Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Arrow: The Complete First Season

Top positive review

but I love the Arrow

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2016

I am old, but I love the Arrow. At a time of a tragic double loss in my life, when I was depressed, and unable to focus on what I needed to be doing, the only thing that made me happy, lifted me up, and took me away from all that was going on around me, was the Arrow. I ran across this show by accident, had never heard of the Arrow before, but I am so glad I found it. I love Stephen Amell and all the characters. In my opinion the casting is perfect, there is never a dull or boring moment, great story, lots of action, normal people dealing with things in their lives, while fighting against the evil, to make things better. It was hard for me to wait for the next show, so I bought all the shows that are out, and have a pre order in for the next series. I guess you could say I am probably the biggest fan, and I hope it does not change into something else, I hope it does not fail me in the future.

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Rick L. Phillips

Too depressing for me

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2016

I love most of the TV shows and movies based on superheroes that are out today. However, some are just too dark and depressing for me. This is one of those. I tried to like it when I watched the TV show but didn't. I thought that it may be because I missed most of the first season, so I bought this. It turns out I just don't like the show. I love the spin-off of the Flash and I liked the episodes Flash has been in on Arrow. I am sad to say that I just don't like Arrow, even though I loved reading Green Arrow in the comic books.

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M. Bristol

but I love the Arrow

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2016

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27 people found this helpful

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TLH in Tallahassee

Soap and Arrows

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2015

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"Arrow" is a soap opera with a comic-book background, and it was definitely finding its feet this first season. Stephen Amell does a pretty good job of showing Oliver Queen's change from "Ollie the playboy" to "brooding almost-hero". (Later he gets to show more emotional depth, but that's for another review for another season.) David Ramsey and Emily Bett Rickards really strengthen the cast, with Mr. Ramsey bringing a reality and solidity to a situation that's hard not to mock in real life (really? arrow-shooting-vigilante? reeeaaaallllllly?), and Ms. Rickards' energy and honesty are endearing and another flavor of reality (Felicity's facial expressions at Oliver's lies are PRICELESS; when Dig joins her in the eyerolls, you'll have to hit pause while you giggle). Susanna Thompson also brings an honesty to Moira Queen (honesty? Moira Queen? hmmm....) that makes her creepily believable and even likable. Everyone else's acting had a weird kind of clench-jawed-ness to it, although I was sad that A Certain Character was killed off at the end of the season; I think that role and situation had potential.

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Page Turner, III

Much More Than I Ever Expected!

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2015

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I read some of the posted comments and the majority were really quite positive. I had been looking for an adventure series that I hoped would not get me interested like Lost did and then during season three turn into a pathetic soap opera. So far this series has me staying up late with interest.
The stories are not too far fetched, the Island background is most interesting, and the acting from these fine actors is top notch. I hope I am not letting too much out by saying this, but this series has some of the most exquisite and talented actresses (I know, they want to be called actors.) I have ever seen.
Katie Cassidy is stunning to watch.Willa Holland is beautiful and mischievous, Susanna Thompson's heart-stopping pulchritude is almost enough to make one forget the story lines.
The two actresses I hope stay involved with the show for as long as it lasts are Kelly Hu and Emily Bett Rickards. These two ladies walking into a room would make blind men wish they could see and lame men walk. I also hope we see more of Janina Gavankar.
The male actors are not slouches. They are great actors.
I love the stories and there is enough jeopardy to keep ones attention.Maybe if I periodically write glowing reports of this series the producers will invite me the set one day. I am only half way through season one.

7 people found this helpful

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GSXRUSER

Must Watch! ARROW

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2016

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Not a D.C. Comic reader at all!
But this show is different somehow!
First the hero is no hero!just an average person.
Well average spoiled rich kid who never cared about anyone else his entire life!
But shipwrecked on a deserted island made the playboy wake up!
Very well done show that shows him as he came home after 5 years on the island Lian yu. (Purgatory) shows his daily life back home adjusting and shows what really happened on the island and why he must right his fathers wrongs and save his city!
It's fun,smart,entertaining and very enjoyable!
But if a guy in a green outfit and green Hood pops up at night and says
YOU HAVE FAILED THIS CITY!
Run!
Good show for most all ages!

7 people found this helpful

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B. Hafner

Season One = Worth It

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2017

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I have been watching this show since it came out, I even remember getting excited when it was announced. With that in mind I will do my best to not be bias. Season One of Arrow is actually addicting, and nowhere near what the show has turned into today. The action is a bit dated already, but it is still entertaining and smooth. The story is actually very intriguing, and has a bit of a variation from the comics, but nevertheless if you keep an open mind, it is great!

Please note that this show, as well as all the other DC Universe shows are on Netflix, I only purchased this; because I couldn't access my Netflix account for a couple months at a time due to poor internet connection in college. With that in mind, the price for Blu-Ray + DVD + HD Digital is amazing. You really can't get much more bang for your buck anywhere else on Amazon.

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Scot Merideth Peirson

Arrow, Season 1--Abs...Hamlet??!?...A little LOST...and a Scene Stealer...

Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2014

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It's evident that Time Warner/DC Entertainment/DC Comics are following one rule regarding their heroes--The Trinity (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) are big-screen projects; the lesser-known heroes and/or storylines are for television. That does not mean that the lesser-known heroes will get short shrift on the smaller screen--in fact, it has allowed DC Entertainment a certain amount of artistic freedom with the TV projects.
This has been the case with "Arrow". When the CW announced in late 2011/early 2012 that this project was going forward, many--the fans of "Smallville"--wanted Justin Hartley, who had played Oliver Queen well in that reimaging of the Clark Kent legend--to be brought back for this series.
But what showrunner Greg Berlanti was putting together with this project was far different in terms of image and complications within the story. Hartley fit as Oliver within the "Smallville" universe, but Berlanti's vision and story...required someone different. The complaints about Stephen Amell flew fast and loose before the series.
Of course, Amell killed all complaints about twenty minutes into the pilot episode. Women swooned over Stephen's blue eyes and the most ridiculous set of abs on network television, and the men had to give Stephen his props after his first action sequence, the stunning fight/parkour sequence.
For those who have followed the Oliver Queen story...the core of the story--Ollie being lost on an island and becoming proficient with bow and arrow--is kept intact, for the most part. But the core origin is the ignition of the larger story--the circumstances of the sinking of The Queen's Gambit, and with Oliver's return to Starling City, his mission to save the city from the corruption that led to his father's death (Along with Ollie being stranded). This story is complicated by a group of characters--many of whom we're familiar with from the DC Universe--being slightly "shifted". We know, because of the comic storyline, who they're "supposed" to be; but Berlanti moved them slightly off-kilter throughout the first season. Sometimes the moves seemed haphazard, but for the most part the moves worked. In this storyline, we're left with a situation of not knowing who to trust--clearly and early on, we're not certain at all of the motivation's of Oliver's mother, Moira. Nor are we certain of the motivations of Oliver's best friend, Tommy Merlyn; especially when it comes to Queen's former girlfriend, Dinah Laurel Lance. For that matter, we can never be certain where Ollie and Laurel stand with each other through much of the first season, since Ollie took Laurel's little sister onto the Queen's Gambit, and she was lost when the boat went down.
The whole of the Season One storyline plays almost as a Shakespearean tale--there's the action, and the introduction of the names and antagonists known to DC readers, though not in familiar situations; but they're all being applied in a tale of secrets and double-crosses, with larger scale plans being played out through the season.
The one interesting addition I found in the first season--which will obviously be a part of this series through it's run--is Berlanti's co-opting of the great ABC series "LOST" by using Oliver's time on "The Island" as a touchstone to his modern-day story; how the skills, talents and lessons he learned marooned for five years are applied to his present-day activities while that part of the series has it's own tale to be told.
The performances are overall good. Amell co-ops Christian Bale's time in The Dark Knight Trilogy somewhat in his portrayal of Oliver Queen. I've always said that Bale's Bruce Wayne was more a case of a person with multiple personalities known to each other. In the case of Amell, he takes the much more classical take on the person with the secret identity; the person with surface charm hiding deeper issues. David Ramsey's John Diggle--Oliver's bodyguard who his brought into the mission to save/protect Starling--takes on the persona of a rough-hewn tactical specialist, adviser and (eventual) partner to Queen. Susanna Thompson's Moira Queen--Oliver's mother--seems to want to play her role within The Initiative, but as an ultimately unwilling participant. I've liked Thompson since her "NCIS" days, but there's a discomfort with Moira, which may be intentional--after all, we aren't supposed to be comfortable with Hamlet's mother in the play. Willa Holland seems mostly underutilized in the season, not really gaining a storyline for Thea Queen until the introduction of Colton Haynes' Roy Harper late in the year. Paul Blackthorne's turn as Quentin Lance--the Starling City Police Detective determined to take down "The Hood"--is very good, if a little frustrating at times. For "The Island" storyline, enough couldn't be said about Byron Mann's Yao Fei...but Manu Bennett's Slade Wilson was fantastic. Obviously, Slade is the one character whose DC storyline cannot be avoided in this series--we KNOW he's going to be Deathstroke, the question being after this season becoming how the relationship between Slade and Oliver evolves and then devolves--most likely having something to do with Celina Jade's Shado...
I wanted to save the last two paragraphs...first of all, I wanted to discuss the Merlyns. Colin Donnel was fantastic as Tommy, the trust-fund playboy and best-friend to Oliver who ends up going through some serious changes throughout the first season. Donnell swung through the changes very smoothly. Again, this was a character that--because of his name--was expected to end up one way (At least, to those who know the DC storyline), but ended up another. John Barrowman was brilliant as Tommy's father, Malcolm--the season's main antagonist, The Dark Archer. Having not seen Barrowman outside of The Whoniverse the past few years, he gave equal parts of menace and ethos to Malcolm, and did so magnificently. This was a vicious Big Bad, but over the season--again, a credit to the storyline--we understood what was motivating Malcolm Merlyn; and that was a credit to Barrowman's performance (As a side note--Alex Kingston showing up as Dinah Lance for two episodes??!? Nice, but Berlanti obviously has some Doctor Who fanboy in him in his casting decisions...).
Last, but not least...Katie Cassidy was cast as the female lead for this series, Dinah Laurel Lance. I've always tried to be neutral about the way her season played out. Part of my rationale was figuring Greg Berlanti was going to eventually have Laurel don the leather and fishnets of Black Canary...but the character played unevenly, which I wasn't sure was the fault of the writing or Cassidy's performance and looks--clearly, she wasn't a favorite in a lot of the blog sites about the series. But Episode 2 in this series introduced Emily Bett Rickards and her wonderfully gifted take on the computer genius/hacker Felicity Smoak. Let's be blunt--EBR was adorable throughout the season, with Felicity's mouth sometimes going places it shouldn't...moreover, EBR is just GORGEOUS. When Felicity lost the ponytail and glasses in "Dodger", that was the "WOW!!!" moment of the season.
Overall, the first season of this series drew the comic-book fans with a story that hewed to its origins, but that comic-book origin was used to lead to a deeper, and occasionally more disturbing tale; and in turn to an expanded fan base. This was a good start to this iteration of the Oliver Queen story.
Highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

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Number Six

DC Superheroes Done Right

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2014

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As much as I wanted the Smallville series to be better than it was, I didn't even want to view this series when first announced. In spite of Tom Welling's input, Smallville left me feeling unfulfilled for my favorite DC Comics characters. Having said that, I'm glad the show runners for Arrow have learned the lessons well from what came before re: Smallville and have turned out a quality product that I'm glad to be the owner of and am looking forward to the Season 2 Blu-ray discs all the more. This is a well acted and written show which is respectful of the material's origins and takes them forward in exciting directions. The clever use of both DC characters and original characters (to my knowledge anyway - I'm talking about Diggle - a nod to former DC writer Andy Diggle perhaps?) is a good mix. Stephen Amell sells the character and it's clearly his show, but that's not a slight of the other actors involved because they interact really well with one another. I'm glad they've hired really good actors like the former Captain Jack Harkness from the Dr. Who BBC series also known as John Barrowman. They've even hired Alex Kingston (River Song from Dr. Who as well) and they're only just starting. This is geeky fan fun all the way around with a compelling story about the Island and what's going on currently that all ties back to that island. This is a good show and I recommend it to comics fans and adventure fans alike. There's something for everyone with this show, it's too bad they killed off...ah...but that would be telling and even then there's more to say. Bought this at a great Amazon price $16.99 whereas other vendors still had it going at a full bore $39.99. All of that Arrow goodness and a great price. Tanam Shud!

2 people found this helpful

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Jade Emporium

So glad to have finally bought this Great show!!!

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2014

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I've been watching this series since the very beginning and knew it had the potential to be a quality show. For those who have never watched this series before and like comic book heroes, this show should satisfy you. I won't go into detail about the show as I don't want to spoil it for people who have never watched it but the first season has Oliver Queen returning to Starling City after surviving being on an island for 5 years but coming back a different man. He has a lot of anger in the first season and is determined to cross off names on a list that his father had put on a booklet. He is just considered a vigilante by everyone in the first season. There's moments of flashbacks to the time when Oliver was on the island which helps to explain what happened to him while he was there. Unlike Agent of Shield, this show was strong from the beginning and just continued to improve as the season progressed. Arrow has less corny lines than AOS and better cast IMO. The Nielsen ratings has never seemed accurate to me as only a select number of households have the boxes and the ones who do tend to be family households who watch shows on NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox. People who usually watch shows on CW are single/couples that are into superhero, supernatural type shows. I highly recommend The Arrow as it has already been renewed for a 3rd season!! I like the show so much that I decided to get it on bluray to have in my personal library. I bought the discs instead of instant video because of the data caps imposed by ISP, so I want to limit the amount of streaming and downloading I do. Bluray is better anyway as it is in 1080p as opposed to the 720p instant videos.

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D. Carter

Great show, okay DVD set

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2014

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The first season of Arrow was great. I'll go ahead and state that I am not a comic book aficionado so I don't compare it to the original comic books. I think the writers have created a great show with interesting characters and story lines, so I judge the show on what happens week to week. And I do think they are respectful of the comic book origins but I like that they are not tied too much to "cannon" and are telling their own great story. While the first season of course took time to really find its footing, it still made for great week to week stories. Towards the end of the season the island flashbacks really started to tie into the present day stories which made for dynamic story telling. And I love the pace of the show-it really is an action show with a great pace to the development of stories and characters.
As for a review of the DVD set, its really nothing special. There are some deleted scenes, but no actor/director type of commentaries, which I love, and therefore nothing really special about the discs. I bought it on sale, so I'm not too bummed, but I really hope season 2 DVDs have a lot more. Generally, I prefer buying tv shows on DVD since I think buying digital versions overpriced. Overall, I definitely recommend watching the show and if you really want to own the DVD try to find it when its on sale as the DVD set is not that great…unlike the show..the show is AWESOME!

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C. Hegg

A strong adaptation of a loved DC Comics character and an excellent well-written show

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2014

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When I first saw this show come out, I was skeptical, since it was going to be produced by the CW. However, the CW has produced "Smallville" which overall was a pretty solid show. Plus the early images looked like this would be a far-cry from the lighter tone of "Smallville". Despite my reservations, I decided to give it a shot. After the first episode I was blown away. I was hooked. The framing of the story of Oliver Queen and his story was engaging and incredibly well-written. As the progressed, you saw Queen turn into this vigilante, out for justice, but there were so many interesting arcs throughout that blended into his story. It was very much like "Batman Begins" but turned into a show. It allowed for stories to expanded upon and characters to be developed. It was incredible. The show takes a really great DC Comics character and creates a really interesting story and world. Plus, other DC characters make appearances throughout the show and their interpretations for TV are really well done.

I definitely recommend this show. While it does have your typical CW fair, specifically young and pretty people, but it makes up for it by being gritty, fun and action-packed. Heading into its third season, the first season is a great place to start it all. It is enjoyable for DC fans as well anyone who loves good storytelling and characters.

Check it out.

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