Expired Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Expired Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 26, 2022

Why do films change their names, especially when that change doesn't especially help to elucidate anything about the film? Expired evidently began life under the title of Loveland, a moniker which still shows up in the closing credits roll, but which was excised somewhere along the way. Musical theater trivia buffs may recall that "Loveland" was the name assigned to the big "breakdown" sequence that capped Stephen Sondheim's memorable musical Follies, where the very names of both the musical itself and the sequence were fairly drenched in irony and/or subtext. One assumes that same sense of irony was supposed to attend the film's original title, since "love" is a largely forgotten concept in a (slightly?) futuristic world which is populated by what are either robots or human-robot hybrids (despite one of the most florid screenplays in recent memory, certain foundational "facts" are left weirdly unexplained). Hitman Jack (Ryan Kwanten) is tasked with eliminating these "machines", though the reasons again are never really very well disclosed. There are all sorts of plot sidebars that get mentioned either in ponderous dialogue or even more ponderous voiceover that would suggest that people have been able to literally "sell their souls" which may have then been replaced with computer chips, but, again, this perception of somewhat obscure(d) plot points may admittedly be incorrect, since writer and director Ivan Sen seems deliberately ill at ease with providing too much overt information. The result is a moody, often quite lushly cinematic, film, but one which never makes a ton of sense and which certainly never touches the emotions, which may be appropriate given the fact that Jack himself is, well, rather robotic most of the time (and I don't think that's a spoiler).

While my sense is many may want to compare this film to outings like Blade Runner courtesy of its futuristic neon lit urban setting and ambiguities surrounding who is human and who's not, or even John Wick, due to its focal character being a hitman and the presentational aspects featuring a palette drenched in purples and teals, I'd actually argue that the film is in essence revisiting one of the central tenets of 1984, where being "in love" can be detrimental to your health (figurative in the Orwell classic, actually literal in this film). Unfortunately, though, Sen posits what might be thought of as Big Pharma in the place of Big Brother, with a black ops organization called the Masuka Corporation, in yet another plot point that could have arguably benefited from more overt delineation.

When Jack meets with a kind of singing prostitute (I'm not kidding) named April (Jillian Nguyen), his sudden attraction to her leads to a relationship which, if not actually forbidden, is not the norm in this futuristic emotionless society. When Jack is then soon beset with a litany of health issues, some of which affect his "work", he attempts to track down a mysterious scientist named Dr. Bergman (Hugo Weaving), who may be able to provide answers and who unsurprisingly turns out to have a shrouded history with both Jack and the Masuka Corporation. Despite a glut of supposedly explanatory narration (done to help elide gaping holes in the narrative?), Expired comes off as a stylish but often nonsensical science fiction tinged drama. Things are probably not helped by the fact that the human protagonists are shown to be almost genetically incapable of emotion, and that description is chosen for a screenplay based reason. One way or the other, it's hard to root for characters who don't seem especially prone to rooting for themselves.

In the brief making of featurette included on this disc (which I have to say provoked outright laughter from me since its "making of" title includes the "a film by Ivan Sen" imprimatur), the three principal cast members wax poetic about how the film is really about love, despite any number of presentational flourishes. Speaking of waxing poetic, that's something that Sen's screenplay does in veritable droves, and some may feel some good, old fashioned prose may have been at least intermittently of use.

Expired Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Expired is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. There's no technical information online that I could find (including at the IMDb), but an Arri camera can clearly be seen in the "making of" featurette included on this disc. I'm assuming the DI was 2K, but if anyone can point me to authoritative data confirming a 4K DI, I'll happily update the review. From a purely visual standpoint, Expired is often quite interesting, and its high definition presentation features a really gorgeously suffused palette and typically excellent detail levels. A number of textures, like the weird, rubbery "strawberries" that are placed on a table next to Jack when he goes to listen to April sing offer a kind of bizarre look at times. More "mundane" items like fabrics on costumes reveal good fine detail, and despite a number of pretty aggressive stylistic quirks, including off kilter lighting and grading regimens, fine detail generally tends to look very good. As an aside, Ivan Sen handled a number of duties on this shoot, including the actual shooting as Director of Photography, as well as editing chores.

Expired Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Expired features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Sen also contributes the score to this feature, which is often mixed with washes of sinister, booming LFE to create an almost unavoidable angst. The urban setting provides good engagement of the surround channels, though that may be undercut slightly by the reliance upon narration and/or voiceover. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.

Expired Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Expired: An Ivan Sen Film (HD; 15:56) is a decent EPK with interviews with Ryan Kwanten, Jillian Nguyen and Hugo Weaving.


• Expired Trailer (HD; 2:01)

Additionally a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Expired Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

So, why exactly did the marketing geniuses (?) behind this film decide to change its name from Loveland to Expired? Neither would seem to be especially evocative, at least when considering the world Sen is ostensibly attempting to create in the film. Sen is obviously an extremely talented "multi hyphenate", as industry rags are prone to describe such people, and Expired has some really interesting elements, even if it can often feel like a retread of other, better remembered, science fiction outings. Stylistically the film is almost always captivating, and that visual (and sonic) allure may please fans enough that they'll be willing to overlook some of the more head scratching aspects of the actual narrative. Technical merits are solid for those who may be considering making a purchase.