Major Payne Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Major Payne Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 23, 2026

Nick Castle's "Major Payne" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by Nick Castle, moderated by filmmaker Douglas Hosdale; new program with actor Michael Ironside; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The new Aristotle

The Wayans Brothers peaked during the 1990s. It is not because this was the decade when they did their best work. Rather, it is because it was the decade where they were cast to do the right type of films. After the 1990s ended, the Wayans Brothers lost steam. It is exactly the fate one of their best friends and fellow comedians, Sinbad, suffered. Sinbad was in many good films during the 1990s, and for a while, it looked like the sky was the limit for him. Then, as the 1990s ended, Sinbad drowned in a sea of mediocre films.

Nick Castle’s Major Payne is not the best film Damon Wayans appeared in during the 1990s. Major Payne is a one-dimensional comedy that rehashes a lot of cliches and ends exactly where it looks like it would, just a few minutes after its opening credits disappear. However, it produces plenty of good laughs, making it pretty much impossible to dislike. It is a ridiculous reimagining of The Private War of Major Benson, which is exactly the project for which an actor like Wayans is ideally suited.

Wayans plays a loopy veteran Marine who is told that his services are no longer needed because he has killed all the bad guys in the world. While battling severe depression, however, the Marine gets a surprising offer to teach a group of children at a ROTC school. Realizing that the job is his only opportunity to avoid going permanently mad, the Marine packs his bags and arrives at the ROTC school, where he instantly begins confusing everyone who comes in contact with him.

As the Marine begins transforming the children into mini-soldiers while treating them like adult soldiers, he unexpectedly melts the heart of the single and ready to mingle school counselor (Karyn Parsons), who finds his odd personality unusually attractive. The two then begin spending time together and even have a proper date, and the Marine gradually begins evolving into a normal human being.

Some critics have passionately argued that Major Payne produces a lot of painfully bad material. They are not entirely wrong. A lot of the material in Major Payne is bad. However, it is of the it-is-so-bad-it-is-funny kind, which is a very, very important detail. The other equally important detail is that Wayans is pretty good at playing a ridiculously bad character.

What makes Major Payne vulnerable to criticism has virtually everything to do with the support Wayans receives from everyone else around him. Other than a few of the kid actors who occasionally look equally ridiculous in a very funny way, Wayans does all of the heavy lifting, which is a tricky gig when he is the only one who is supposed to be legitimately loopy. The screenplay should have introduced more loopy characters to complement Wayans and help him create more of the funny mayhem that makes Major Payne worth seeing.

The always excellent Bill Hickey appears in a wonderful sequence, but then disappears without a trace. However, Bam Bam Bigelow is completely wasted in another sequence. Michael Ironside is not right for his largely meaningless part, either.

Major Payne Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Major Payne arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Major Payne made its high-definition debut with this Blu-ray release, produced by Universal in 2017. The original release was sourced from an old and quite shaky master. This release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master, struck from the film's original camera negative.

The 4K master produces gorgeous, often strikingly beautiful visuals. On my system, delineation, the clarity, and depth of these visuals were enormously impressive, and if needed, I would enthusiastically argue that the 4K restoration of Major Payne looks every bit as good as Universal's recent 4K restorations of The Great Outdoors and Uncle Buck. Color reproduction and balance are outstanding. All primaries and supporting nuances are properly set and look gorgeous. A few of the outdoor sequences looked particularly impressive, but the darker footage from the bar, where Damon Wayans dances, looks fantastic as well. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. Image stability is outstanding. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Major Payne Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This track can be seriously aggressive at times, which is a bit unusual because Major Payne is a not lavish action film. I think that the music very effectively enhances the aggressiveness, too. I did not test the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, but I suspect that cannot open the film as nicely because the surround movement I heard was pretty great. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Major Payne Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by director Nick Castle and is moderated by filmmaker Douglas Hosdale. Castle reveals that he agreed to do Major Payne after Damon Wayans had already given the film a particular tone and identity, and after meeting Waynes who sold his character to him very effectively. (Apparently, at first, Castle did not think that he was the right man for the job because he did not get Major Payne). Later in the commentary, Castle also has interesting comments about the quality of the jokes and Wayans' ability to dominate the film.

• There is Not Much You Could Do - in this exclusive new program, Michael Ironside discusses the character he plays in Major Payne, an alcoholic, and recalls his interactions with Nick Castle and Damon Wayans. Ironside also discusses the strong bond his family has with the military. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Major Payne. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Major Payne Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

More loopy characters, like the one Bill Hickey plays, consistently complementing and helping Damon Wayans would have made Major Payne a better film. Parts of it are still quite entertaining, but Wayans does too much without proper support, which is a tough gig in a film that aspires to be very funny while being ridiculously bad. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release presents a gorgeous new 4K restoration of Major Payne, with an exclusive new audio commentary by its director, Nick Castle, and a very nice new program with Michael Ironside. RECOMMENDED.