20th Century Fox | 2008 | 89 mins | Not rated
After four successful seasons, Fox decided to bring the curtain down on Prison Break with a two part series finale. They were originally produced as separate episodes titled “The Old Ball and Chain” and “Free” and later transformed into a standalone feature, titled The Final Break. The events take place before the last scene of the series finale, and are intended to wrap up “loose ends,” which The Final Break does rather well.
For those not familiar with Prison Break, the story revolves around two brothers– Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), who is accused of a crime he didn’t commit and structural engineer Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), who formulates a plan to get him out of jail. But now, Michael found himself in trouble with the law.
As The Final Break begins, Michael has finally tied the knot with longtime love Dr. Dr. Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies). With his brother Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) at his side and the two men now exonerated, all is well until the authorities crash the wedding reception and arrest Sara for murder. Placed in the overcrowded Miami-Dade Women’s Penitentiary while she awaits trial, Sarah faces brutal treatment from guards who still despise her new husband for his escape from Fox River Penitentiary. To make matters worse, Sarah has been marked for death by one of Michael’s sworn enemies. Desperate, Michael must hatch one more escape plan to get her out. He has only the help of his brother, Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) and disgraced FBI agent Alex Mahone (William Fichtner).
Though it’s a bit of a shame that longtime fans are forced to buy (or rent) the Blu-ray to see this fine series wrapped up, it likely won’t be a disappointment. The final breakout is fairly impressive and the planning, scouting and ability to improvise when things went wrong that made the series so exciting are all here. In addition, director Brad Turner and writers Nick Santora and Seth Hoffman do an excellent job of conveying the menacing atmosphere of the prison Sara finds herself in.
Sarah Wayne Callies deserves some praise for her work in The Final Break. Her character has some very emotional moments throughout the film and she is very convincing. Wentworth Miller makes his scenes count even with his understated approach to his role (a climactic recorded coda is beautifully performed) but Dominic Purcell seems underused. Both Leon Russom and Robert Knepper seem to relish their villainous roles as prison movers and shakers. Lori Petty proves a threatening presence doesn’t have to come in a big package as the menacing “Daddy.”
If Prison Break: The Final Break has a flaw, it’s the film’s need to wrap things up. With only an 89 minute running time, some things feel rushed and a lot of details are glossed over or simply forgotten. As any fan knows, Prison Break was always a stickler for details, so that revelation is a bit of a disappointment. Nonetheless, it’s nice to have some loose meds tied up, when so many series in the past have just been canceled and left fans dangling.
Prison Break: The Final Break debuts on Blu-ray with a satisfactory 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Detail is adequate throughout; a prison cafeteria scene early on doesn’t offer much to look out outside the white-and-red prison uniforms and drab, monotone concrete walls, but the few odds and ends scattered about on inmate’s trays — a small carton of milk — stand out rather nicely against the otherwise pedestrian imagery. Colors are okay; the palette is rather drab. Flesh tones look slightly red and blacks occasionally drown out detail. Overall, Prison Break: The Final Break looks adequate for what it is, a direct-to-video title.
Prison Break: The Final Break contains a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Much of the track seems disproportionately loud; sound effects and music often compete with dialogue for the position of dominant sound in any give scene. The Final Break does offer up a fairly robust rear-channel presence — for instance serving up the clanking of silverware, the chatter of inmates, and the slamming of doors — but many of the effects that flow from the back overpower the listener. All of this keeps the soundtrack from sounding natural.
Prison Break: The Final Break doesn’t offer much in the way of special features.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 4:09) there are just two.
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