“Prison Break: The Final Break” DVD Review
After a must-see first season, Prison Break eventually fell to the wayside as the idea of them breaking out of multiple prisons got to be a bit ludicrous. The writers of the show knew this fell well, of course, so the series was immediately given a target number of seasons to wrap the story the writers wanted to tell. While the fourth season mimicked the third season in terms of pacing and story, it did throw in some new characters to the mix…and end quite mysteriously. Not to worry, however, as The Final Break looks to remedy the vague ending by adding more to the story.
Synopsis
The federal government can’t touch Michael Scofield, so they’re going after the woman he loves. When Sara is arrested for murder, only Michael can rescue her — and their unborn child — from an impenetrable women’s prison. With a price on Sara’s head and time running out, Michael must rely on his deadliest enemies to help attempt the most daring breakout ever. Combining white-knuckle intensity with jaw-dropping action and suspense, this is Prison Break like it’s never been seen before. Don’t miss a chance to make The Final Break!
Yes, that is really the plot of this “movie.” It’s really nothing short of ridiculous and I had a hard time even fathoming why they would even come up with such a plot. Sure it kind of makes sense, but still—haven’t these people been through enough? On top of that it’s like a little mini-reunion of everyone, as several of our cast mates from season four are in prison with Sarah (with a few male members in the male side of the prison). Plus we get some new characters here as well, but it’s ultimately all moot because we’ll never see any of them again—thankfully so, as there just isn’t enough in this movie to sustain your attention for much more than the time it runs.
Not to say the film itself was entirely horrible, but even for Prison Break standards, it was really pushing the envelope a bit. I can see how Sarah got sentenced to prison because of what she did, but…really the whole idea behind the movie and all of that was just a wee bit ridiculous. Not to mention it came off of them killing Michael in the season four finale, so to have him back and alive again was slightly depressing…though we did at least get to see that it wasn’t his brain thing that caused his death and that he went out saving those he loved. Still a rather cheap way to end the series, however; unexpected, sure, but this isn’t 24.
It’s hard to talk much about this movie as it really just feels like an epilogue to the fourth season; nothing about the story feels like a movie and as a result it could really just be a couple of episodes of the series. Not that that’s a bad thing, as however ridiculous the story and action is, it still manages to put you on the edge of your seat in a way that only Prison Break can. Even if you roll your eyes at what’s happening, the way the show takes breaks and makes you wait for the next scene is really quite unprecedented. Utterly cheap at times to be sure, but still a worthwhile popcorn ride.
Overall the season four finale was a perfectly adequate end to the series with the questions it left behind, but The Final Break is a fair wrap up if you’re a fan and demanded more. After watching the fourth season I couldn’t wait to see more, but after being saddled with this…I really could’ve done without it. For one thing we knew how it would turn out so it seemed kind of pointless…but, I digress. Recommended for fans, but casual viewers will find it worth a Rental and nothing more.
The DVD
The Final Break arrives on DVD and Blu-ray and for this review I’ll be tackling a test disc of the DVD edition. As a result I can’t comment on packaging or video quality, although I can add a few quick comments about the other elements of the release. First off, the menus for the film look identical to the season four release, only there is no text to identify that this is The Final Break–only the video clips playing from the movie are any indication as to what is contained on this disc. Kind of weird; it’s almost as if this disc was meant to be included in the season four set. Audio is a decent DD5.1 mix, but aside from a few explosions and whatnot, this really isn’t anywhere nearly as aurally exciting as the series itself was.
Extras include Deleted Scenes (4:14) and…wait, that’s it. What? This is the absolute final footage we’ll ever see of Prison Break and there isn’t as much as a commentary? How strange…and disappointing. The pair of deleted scenes isn’t even really worth checking out as they add nothing to the story…although we do see more of Malone, if you care about such a thing.
Overall a fair film but there aren’t even any extras here to check out. Skip It.
Prison Break – The Final Break is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.