This Week in Blu-ray / DVD Releases: X-Men Apocalypse, Preacher, Purge 3

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

This Week: X-Men hit a rough patch with Apocalypse, the painful letdown of Preacher, and farewells to Banshee and Penny Dreadful.

► It’s like all the good will Bryan Singer brought back to the X-Men franchise with the last two movies got squandered with X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. Too many characters, a ho-hum script and a boring villain bring the series back to its ‘The Last Stand’ days, a fact the movie itself acknowledges when Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) cracks “the third one’s always the worst” after leaving a theatre showing ‘Return of the Jedi.’ Where the past two movies brought something genuinely new to the table, this feels like a retread – I can’t bear one more scene of Magneto (Michael Fassbender) looking tormented or mutants looking miserable at their lot in life. It already feels like it’s time to wipe the slate clean again, or at least take a long break. The brief-but-awesome Wolverine scene ends up being the highlight, and the ending hints at The Dark Phoenix Saga – the greatest X-Men story of them all – up next. Extras include Singer commentary, extended scenes and a behind-the-scenes documentary.

► Despite initial optimism, AMC’s PREACHER was just what fans of the beloved comic feared – a butchered version of a story pretty much impossible to tell without the free reign of an HBO or such. What’s most frustrating is that they didn’t even try. By the fourth or fifth episode, the show was a confusing mockery of the comic, with characters and events making no sense. Even watered down, the original ‘Preacher’ story is brilliant – why mess with it? It’s right there in the books, just follow it. Unlike ‘The Walking Dead,’ which still hangs most everything on the original storylines, ‘Preacher’ decided to go its own, frustrating way. What a massive disappointment. Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes, filming the ‘unfilmable’ pilot, and a look at the stunts.

► If you’re hoping for the ‘Purge’ series to quietly go away, you’ll be waiting awhile. THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR was the most successful of the three, and got some grudgingly respectable reviews with its satiric look at an America devouring itself with violence. For this one, a presidential candidate looking to end the 12-hour purge (in which all crime is legal, including murder) becomes a target herself when the NFFA (New Founding Fathers of America) abolish the protection of government officials. Blu-ray includes deleted scenes and ‘Inside The Purge’ feature.

► On the shortlist for weirdest flick of the year, SWISS ARMY MAN has Paul Dano as a man marooned on an island trying to reach civilization again via a flatulent corpse that washes up on the beach (Daniel Radcliffe). Plenty of bizarre dialogue, erections and epic farts follow.

► Third and final season of PENNY DREADFUL finds our gang of monstrous misfits separated across the globe to start as Vanessa (Eva Green) prepares to deal with her demons for the final time while finally confronting Dracula. Ambitions horror series irked fans by announcing the show was finished after the Season 3 finale, but that’s better than prolonging things like ‘True Blood’ did. Blu-ray extras include character profiles and a look at The Dead Zoo.

► For whatever reason, Season 4 of VIKINGS will be two 10-episode blocks, with seven months in between. Here’s the first, with Ragnar recovering from his wounds after that ass-kicking raid of Paris last season. As he heals, the backstabbing begins anew, with his brother Rollo once again plotting to kill him (didn’t he learn the last time?). Nowhere near the quality of ‘Game of Thrones,’ but the History Channel’s flagship show has been a durable hit boasting some of TV’s best action. The second half of Season 4 starts Nov. 30.

► BANSHEE’S shortened final season bugged plenty of fans with its serial killer storyline, which seemed petty for a show this over-the-top to begin with. It’s part of an overall arc that nicely brings closure to the characters and ends one of TV’s craziest shows in satisfying fashion. Basically, everyone gets what’s coming to them, good or bad. Eliza Dushku joins the cast as the FBI agent hunting Banshee’s serial killer. Blu-ray includes commentaries and cast retrospectives.

► ‘It,’ the book, is one of Stephen King’s all-time greats. IT, the TV mini-series, is one of the all-time duds based on his work (it’s a long list). Cheap-looking and restrained by early ‘90s broadcasting, it never really stood a chance – despite its many scares, a lot of King’s book was cerebral. The movie ends up being King-lite, as even the most iconic character, Tim Curry’s Pennywise the Clown, feel undercooked. That’s the problem when you’re working from an 1,100-page book. Still, this has gained a huge fanbase over the years. Blu-ray comes with a cool Pennywise t-shirt.

Also out this week: