The Reunion Blu-ray delivers stunning video and audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
The Cleary brothers, Sam, Leo and Douglas take dysfunctional families to a new level: Sam and Leo have grown up hating each other and neither likes their juvenile kid brother, Douglas, to whom they've only recently been introduced. The three boys share the same father, but all have different mothers. Their father died a rich man and when they're brought together by their sister Nina to learn which one of them will inherit the old man's fortune, they are handed an unpleasant surprise. A requirement of the will is that the three estranged siblings go into business together as bail bondsmen. Their first job takes them into the mountains of Mexico where they encounter a drug lord and uncover a kidnapping plot, masterminded by an embittered entrepreneur.
Guns and musclemen don't necessarily mean big action, and The Reunion is proof-positive of that observation. The WWE's latest film stars
John Cena as one of three estranged brothers tasked with working together if they are to collect a hefty inheritance from their late father. The
premise is fine, but the execution will leave Action fans thirsting for more and Drama aficionados turning to other sources. The problem isn't limited to
the fact that
The Reunion doesn't take the guns-blazing approach, though certainly a little more might have elevated the movie another notch if only as a
means of keeping things moving a little more quickly. The problem is that the film attempts to be a Character drama with a little action and light
comedic motifs, which doesn't really fit the profile or satisfy audience expectations for a movie of this sort. Add that the drama is dull and the
characters largely unmemorable, and the movie never really finds its stride, try as it admirably may to do something other than fill some studio
quota for trigger pulls, explosions, and deaths per minute.
Come together, right now, over me.
Nina Cleary (Amy Smart) is handling her late father's affairs. The Clearly household was never a model of togetherness, love, or respect. Dad had
several wives and three estranged sons. Nina's mission: reunite the brothers. One, Sam (John Cena), is broad-shouldered, hard-nosed cop on
suspension. The
second is a slimy bail bondsman named Leo (Ethan Embry). The third, Douglas (Boyd Holbrook), is a young criminal and lady's man just out of the
joint. Nina
manages to corral all three of them for the funeral -- of which they are the only four attendees -- and the reading of the will. It turns out their late
father
has left them each a substantial sum of money: three million dollars apiece. But there's a catch. The boys must work together in business for two
years in order to collect the money. They're not sure how to proceed, and the personality clashes and sudden rewriting of their family history has
them at odds and on edge. When Leo takes notice that one of his clients may be behind the kidnapping of a billionaire, the brothers join together to
track down the men responsible and free the hostage, so long as they don't kill one another first.
The Reunion plays with surprisingly little life, and it's not just for a lack of action. The plot may be sound but the movie plays slowly and
even without much purpose, even considering the stakes for which the brothers are fighting and the whole hostage angle. Those scene in which the
kidnapped businessman speaks to his family over the Internet lack feeling and dramatic tension. The sense of danger is negligible, either for the
hostage or for
the brothers. As far as most of the other characters go, they're of the throwaway variety, present only as plot advancement pieces and not anyone
with whom the audience may relate or come to know and love. But even the primary characters lack a bond with the audience. They're awfully
eccentric, but not playfully so. There's a severe lack of chemistry that only tightens up marginally by the end of the movie. They're nearly
unbelievable as half-brothers, never mind estranged brothers who had either previously never before met or had long since separated. Even as
the movie angles to grow them together and show a
tender underbelly, the picture does so routinely and with only enough verve and purpose to advance the plot.
Ultimately, the problems with The Reunion do come back to the absence of action. When a movie does this poorly in character development
and paints the picture of a plot that doesn't really go anywhere, viewers expect a little gunplay to pick up the slack. The Reunion features
one extended shootout that's nicely staged and executed, but aside from a few punches and roughhousing there's just not much else here of any
note. The pacing suffers greatly, and even at just a little over ninety minutes the movie feels a good thirty longer. Audiences will be twiddling their
thumbs when characters should be pulling triggers and punching holes in bad guys. The cast isn't strong enough to carry the story through its
dramatic
elements, and Michael Pavone's direction routinely captures the story with little verve or purpose. The movie does enjoy a highly polished and
professional veneer, but it sadly just never gets out of the gate, and by the time it circles all the way back, audiences will wonder if it ever really
left.
The Reunion's 1080p Blu-ray debut sparkles. WWE's 1.85:1-framed image delivers crisp details and vibrant colors. The image is defined by
razor sharpness (there's only a handful of softer distance shots), solid crispness, excellent clarity, natural brilliance, and a quality sense of depth. Fine
detail is consistently natural. Whether standard faces and clothes or rough pebbly terrain, rocks, woods, and bricks, there's nary an object in the film
that doesn't look fantastic. The image even picks up the finest little nuances of horsehair in appropriately up-close shots. Colors are equally splendid,
appearing bright, natural, and even. Whether the brightest clothing shades and paints or the flattest earth tones, the transfer delivers every shade with
appreciable ease. Likewise, skin tones are even and black levels are strong. Banding, blocking, and other unwanted elements are largely absent. This is
a first-rate transfer from WWE.
The Reunion explodes onto Blu-ray with a high quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation yields a consistently strong
presence and precision balance. All sorts of sound effects are handled masterfully. Clapping and chanting prisoners as heard at film's start come through
cleanly and authentically, placing the listener in the middle of the crowd. Gunfire proves remarkably precise, playing with a sharp crispness that's clear
enough to distinguish between different calibers and platforms. Explosions rock the listening area with great power and fine clarity. Subtle natural
ambience plays evenly and naturally, whether outdoor elements or the sounds of a restaurant in chapter two. Music plays with realism, enjoying
suitable spacing and a positive low end. Dialogue flows naturally and efficiently from the center channel. This is a very good, high energy, crisp and clear
sonic presentation that never lets the movie down.
The Reunion contains seven featurettes and a photo gallery.
The Three Amigos: John, Ethan & Boyd (1080p, 8:18): This supplements examines the cast camaraderie that's apparent both on and
off screen. It also looks at the work schedules and processes, the qualities the men brought to the film, stories from the set, and more.
Saddle Up 'N Giddy Up (1080p, 10:21): A lengthy look at the equine elements involved in the making of the movie.
Rough Takeoff...Smooth Landing (1080p, 11:24): A detailed examination of shooting a major helicopter stunt that appears near the
end of the movie.
Brothers in Action: The Reunion Stunts (1080p, 8:51): A piece that examines the process of crafting the film's more complex
stunts and action scenes.
Get (Amy) Smart (1080p, 2:33): A look at the actresses' personality and work in the film.
New Mexico Mystique (1080p, 4:38): Shooting in the Land of Enchantment.
Soul Patch Mates (1080p, 1:38): The crew all grew mustaches in the name of camaraderie.
The Reunion fails to elicit any tangible response. It fails as a pure Action movie, falls short of a high-end Drama, and never really catches fire as
a Character Study.
The potential is here for a better movie, but as it is The Reunion does little more than plod along through the script, failing to go anywhere and
do much of anything, all the while cutting back on explosions and gunshots. Kudos for trying to make an Action movie that's more than the total of its
body count, but The Reunion goes a little too far to the extreme, sacrificing too much gunplay for too little dramatic payoff. WWE's Blu-ray
release of The Reunion does feature excellent video and audio to go
along with a handful of extras. It's no so bad to recommend a skip, but it's also nowhere near good enough to warrant a purchase unless one finds it on
a very good sale. In a general sense, this one's best enjoyed as a rental.
