Blu-ray Review: 'Prison Break: The Final Break'

The back side of the Prison Break: The Final Break Blu-ray packaging states that you should “brace yourself for the electrifying final chapter of the Prison Break saga.” However, this recently made available DVD and Blu-ray release can best be summarized as an unnecessary and redundant final chapter in the series.

Just like the show’s premise was stretched beyond recognition, Final Break gets its footing from yet another ridiculous scenario. A pregnant Sara Tancredi, who was previously exonerated of all charges associated with the original break out, is now being incarcerated for killing Michael’s mother. And, you guessed it, Michael takes it upon himself to break her out. Add in the fact that The General has ordered a hit on Sara and you’ve got yourself another impossible predicament for this gang of characters.

With only 90 minutes of run time, the film becomes a light speed rehash of things we’ve seen before (in fact, it plays like a Cliff’s Notes version of Prison Break).  Gone is the intricate planning that Michael Scofield once used. In its stead, we have a plan that is 10 percent planning and 90 percent luck. Of course, there are the requisite betrayals, twists and red herrings as well, all ineffective at creating a sense of doom since we already know where the story is going.

It suffices to say that this movie provides little closure to the series. For the casual viewer, you must have been a fan of the show to remotely get what’s going on in this flick. For those familiar with the show, I can’t say that this adds anything you didn’t know after you watched the Season 4 finale. Probably the best development this movie has to offer up is in the very beginning, where we [finally] get the happy moment that Michael and Sara have been fighting for: their marriage. It was also good, however, to see Lori Petty play the role of the prison bully.

The Blu-ray release itself doesn’t come with much other than the movie - you’ll get some deleted scenes.

It’s a shame that Prison Break wore out its welcome. It arguably had one of the best first seasons of any drama in the last 10 years. But the legacy of that amazing season will forever be tarnished by the fact that it was kept on the air too long and the producers also released this lame attempt at closure. Not recommended.