Eraser: Reborn - Blu-ray

[Michael Scott]

Eraser: Reborn



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I’m not gonna lie. I saw the initial press release for Eraser: Unborn and just LAUGHED in my chair. Who was asking for a sequel to a 1996 Arnie film, without Arnie, and done by the director of Deep Blue Sea 3. At first I sort of begrudgingly wanted to see how bad it could be being that it starred Emile Hirsch, only to realize that it was NOT Emile in the lead role (that front poster really looks like him at first glance) and that this was going to be a travesty. To put it lightly, I would gladly have it be erased from my mind.

Going into the film I was completely sober, but by the end I really wished I had taken a couple fingers of bourbon to make the ride a little less painful. The story pretty much mirrors the 1996 film in SOOOOOOO many ways. A woman named Rina Kimura (Jacky Lai) has to go undercover when she betrays her “Syndicate” husband and is put into witsec under the protection of Mason Pollard (Dominic Sherwood) who is lovingly known as “The Eraser” (including him saying “you’ve been erased” nearly half a dozen times in the movie). Like usual, he’s betrayed by his mentor Paul Whitlock (McKinley Belcher III) and has to go on the run with Rina as they try to stay alive.

The rest of the film mirrors the original just as much too. There’s the plucky comedic Latin sidekick Sugar Jax (Eddie Ramos) instead of the Italian mobster, There’s even an entire end battle at the docks, on top of a floating shipping container. I mean, you literally couldn’t steal anymore of the 1996 film if you tried. It’s just missing all of the fun, the charm, the Arnie enthusiasm and one liners, and of course rail guns, that made the 26 year old first film actually, you know, fun.

I wish I was making this up, but no. Eraser: Unborn is a shameless rip off of the movie that came before it, with Director John Pogue gleefully taking the entire framework of the previous film and super imposing a new character into the role. Just with awful dialog, horrible action sequences that use CGI blood and CGI muzzle flashes (I was laughing so hard at the obvious CGI muzzle flashes in the bank shootout), and a Rhino death scene at the end that looked like it came out of Max Headroom for quality.

No, there’s nothing redeeming about Eraser: Unborn in any way, shape, or form. It’s hamfisted, cheesily directed, lazily acted, and simply an embarrassment in every aspect it could be. It’s not even a “so bad that it’s good” type of film either. I honestly can’t fathom why anyone would create a DTV sequel to a movie that was only good because of Arnie some 26 years later. Well, they made a sequel to Kindergarten Cop and A Cop and a Half 20-30 years later, so I guess this was only a matter of time. Now where is that drink, I really need it now.




Rating:

Rated R for violence throughout and language




Video:

Probably the best part of the package is the video encode. Formatted in 2.39:1 on the Blu-ray, the image is crystal clear for the most part, with neutral skin tones and crisp colors. There’s a slight warmth added to the picture in daylight sequences, and even with the digital nature of the film we really don’t see much noise in the darkness. There’s some minor minor noise spikes if you look for them, but nothing wild. Fine details are excellent, and the only really negative thing to say about the film is that it can be slightly soft with CGI heavy sequences, which in turn robs the image of detail during the battles. A simple film, but a good image at least.







Audio:

Much like the video score, the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is good, but does suffer from a low budget. The movie has a surprising number of heavy front end scenes, even during some of the chases. Bass can get really punchy during the gun battles, butt the score feels just a little light and thin. Surrounds get used pretty heavily due to the copious action, and while this track does everything quite well, it just never seems to really push the envelope into greatness. Satisfying, but not really adventurous.












Extras:

• The Warrior and the Witness: The Making of Eraser: Reborn

Final Score: ​

It doesn’t take much to realize I wasn’t a fan of Eraser: Reborn. It’s a lackluster sequel to a movie that no one asked for. However, it’s here and there’s nothing we can do about it besides simply skipping it. The Blu-ray looks and sounds solid but has only a single extras on board. Don’t let that lone extra tempt you into watching this gem though. Much like that taco bell at 1:30 in the morning, I know it’s tempting, but it will leave you crying in pain later. Just run.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Dominic Sherwood, Jacky Lai, McKinley Belcher III
Directed by: John Pogue
Written by: Tony Puryear, Walon Green, Michael S. Chernuchin
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, German, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Spanish, Dutch
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: R
Runtime: 102 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 7th, 2022

Recommendation: Skip It

 

[NBPK402]

Thanks for the review... I will also skip it.