Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Criminal Minds: Evolution - Season 16 Blu-ray Movie Review

I was just thinking we need more crime procedurals on TV...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown August 13, 2023

Cards on the table. Despite being the 16th season of the beloved, long-running series, Evolution is my official introduction to Criminal Minds. We tried to find someone more familiar with the show to review Paramount's Blu-ray release, just so fans could have a clearer insight into the quality of the procedural's latest season, but no one else on staff was any more in tune with the series than I was. Rather than fake it till I make it, or skip a review altogether, I decided on a less disingenuous approach. 1) I sampled numerous episodes, enough to get a solid sense of the highs (or lows) of the AV presentation. 2) I utilized Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes to score and review the show itself, believing fan consensus was far more valuable to the casual reader than trying to hobble together an impression of a series I'm coming to far too late. And 3) I had my review checked and double-checked by a personal friend, one who's followed Joe Mantegna and his BAU criminal profilers from the beginning. My hope is this will help you make an informed decision on a purchase. Apologies if it comes up short. Feel free to send hate PMs accordingly!

The Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is back with ten new episodes! The FBI's elite team of criminal profilers faces their greatest threat yet, an Unknown Subject of Investigation (UnSub) who has somehow managed to build a network of serial killers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Let the mind games begin. Returning cast members Joe Mantegna (playing Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi since the series' third season), A.J. Cook (Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau), Kristen Vangsness (Penelope Garcia), Aisha Taylor (Dr. Tara Lewis), Adam Rodriguez (Luke Alvez) and Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss) return, joined by Zach Gilford as Elias Voit.

Even a cursory scan of audience impressions reveals a clear consensus: Evolution is a welcome return to Criminal Minds form sure to please fans of the series. As a reinvention, it's been hailed by average joe viewers as an improvement on its procedural predecessor, and as a continuation, it's been praised as "accomplish[ing] a difficult feat for any long-running procedural: [finding] a way to add new (and somewhat surprising) layers to characters who have graced the screen for more than a decade." (Max Gao, AV Club) Opinions vary, though, the further you dig into critical coverage. Variety's Joshua Alston calls it "a lively and competent extension of a recently ended series but little more, and certainly not a leap forward." While Entertainment Weekly's Kristen Baldwin is far less kind in her Thanksgiving review: "fans who wish to have their turkey with a side of torture porn can give thanks for this comfortably familiar revival, which delivers Criminal Minds in all its upsetting, formulaic, cheesy and weirdly gratifying splendor. Plus," she adds cheekily, "there are f-bombs."

From my limited viewing experience, I wouldn't consider Evolution to be the best entry point for the series. If there is enjoyment to be had, the convoluted and improbable premise of the 16th season strains credulity. The Big Bad is Charles Manson for the internet age; an antagonist whose ability to wrangle serial killers creates a network of villains of the week to challenge the sharpest brains in the BAU. But despite the heavy self-seriousness of it all, there's a comicbook silliness at the core of the season that requires a tremendous suspension of disbelief and an even bigger, probably longer term investment in the show's puzzle-solving heroes. It's easy enough to adjust to the colorful cast of characters but there's a specific style of pursed-lip network TV acting (that I can't quite put my finger on enough to describe adequately) that feels both irritatingly artificial and comfortably familiar, particularly if you were weened on CSI and other ancestors of Criminal Minds.

Episodes include:

• 1. Just Getting Started: When a teenage girl is abducted and her parents are killed, the Behavioral Analysis Unit suspects it to be the work of a perpetrator who also killed a family of four in Virginia. Meanwhile, Lewis investigates a number of bodies that were found in a storage container as developments in the abduction case bring former analyst Penelope Garcia back into the fold.


• 2. Sicarius: When two men in the Washington, D.C. area are killed, their spinal cords severed, and both men are found to be "bulls" in cuckoldry, the team is on the case. In the midst of the investigation, it's discovered that this case and the last are connected to a serial killer network led by a man dubbed "Sicarius". Lewis's girlfriend also informs the team that the Department of Justice is trying to disband them.


• 3. Moose: As the Behavioral Analysis Unit attempts to find the remaining kill kits, they race to locate a former army specialist who they believe is planning to detonate an incendiary device in a Washington, D.C. park. Their actions bring the team into conflict with the FBI's domestic terrorism unit.


• 4. Pay-Per-View: After learning that army specialist Tyler Green was not a member of the network but rather an undercover vigilante trying to find his sister, Lewis and Garcia try to convince him to help them find Sicarius. Meanwhile, the team investigates a pair of home invaders who lure security guards to residences with home security systems, before forcing the homeowners to watch their murders over security cameras.


• 5. Oedipus Wrecks: The discovery of the bodies of two women employed by the government forces the team to confront the UnSub, Benjamin Reeves; however, his position as the son of a prominent senator brings forth major political implications. Deputy Director Doug Bailey joins the investigation to keep the situation from imploding but, in the process, it's discovered that one of the victims was a former girlfriend he met on a dating site for government employees.


• 6. True Conviction: The aftermath of the explosion threatens to end the Sicarius case unless the team comes up with a legitimate reason to keep it open. The search brings them to a prisoner on death row.


• 7. What Doesn't Kill Us: As the investigation into Sicarius escalates, the team is forced to look into an UnSub in West Virginia who killed one and kidnapped two others.


• 8. Forget Me Knots: The team becomes closer to finding Sicarius after uncovering surveillance footage of him at a hardware store, while also investigating how a recently deceased North Carolina man could be involved. Their search leads them to a missing California real estate agent who they believe was kidnapped by Sicarius and a local follower of his.


• 9. Memento Mori: Rossi will go to any lengths to prove that his prime suspect is Sicarius - and Voit is prepared to turn Rossi into his worst enemy in an effort to survice. The entire ordeal puts his future at the Behavioral Analysis Unit in jeopardy.


• 10. Dead End: Rossi finds himself in the deadly clutches of Sicarius just as the villain, whose personal life is slipping through his fingers, goes on the run. The team is forced to confront Voit at his most volatile with multiple lives hanging in the balance.

Criminal Minds: Evolution - Season 16 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount's 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation is standard TV fare, although there's nothing more than that to be disappointed in. Criminal Minds has the defacto digital look of a network show but the 2.35:1 aspect ratio bumps it up the cinematic ladder a bit. Colors are often pale and washed out, with skintones bouncing between pasty and natural, primaries only pop on occasion, and black levels are heavy enough to drown out shadow details. That said, it's all within keeping with the series' source. Textures are crisp and refined, edges are sharp and free of halos, and overall fine detail is solid (minus the darkest moments where noise increases significantly). I also only spotted hints of banding here and there. Otherwise no serious issues to report.

Criminal Minds: Evolution - Season 16 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the Blu-ray release of Evolution includes a good -- not great -- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. There's nothing wrong with the mix per se. However, it's often quiet, conversational and front-heavy, without much in the way of rear speaker engagement. There are occasional scenes when Criminal Minds earns its keep. Drawn guns, agents yelling, booby trapped lairs exploding, helpless screaming and other acts of violence and heroism open up the soundfield and take advantage of every channel, the subwoofer especially. Keep in mind, though, that these moments are few and far between, as the vast majority of Evolution finds the BAU staring at computer screens, trading theories in hushed tones, and scrambling to piece together evidence in tight office spaces.

Criminal Minds: Evolution - Season 16 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Fresh Start: The Rebirth of a Hit (HD, 19 minutes) - A trip behind the scenes proves to be a decent glimpse into the production. Interviews with the cast and showrunners and plenty of B-roll footage fill out the featurette.

• Unfolding Evolution (HD, 11 minutes) - EP Erica Messer and other cast and crew discuss the story.

• Rising from the Ashes (HD, 6 minutes) - Messer, fellow EP Breen Frazier and a number of cast members chat about the return of the series.

Criminal Minds: Evolution - Season 16 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Criminal Minds isn't my cup o' tea. Or joe. Or whatever suits you. Apologies that we didn't have a fan on hand to offer a more in-depth review but, from all signs, those who love the show will continue to love the show. An affection and familiarity with the central characters certainly will help, so enjoy the series' entry onto Blu-ray. Just don't expect much in the way of noteworthy accessibility for newcomers. Thankfully Paramount's AV presentation is solid and true to its source. More special features would have been welcome but there's enough here to entertain longtime viewers for over a half hour.