Strike Back: Season Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Strike Back: Season Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Diplomacy is overrated. So is realism.

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown August 5, 2013

Between Banshee and Strike Back, Cinemax has been aggressively staking its claim on an as yet unsettled stretch of original programming wilderness. Rather than competing for the same viewers that frequent parent network HBO or rival Showtime, though, Cinemax has chosen a different demographic, offering the sort of brash, ballsy, unadulterated action series the more serious, Emmy-minded cable networks (premium or otherwise) tend to avoid. Sadly, declining ratings suggest the network's brazen, blood-soaked counter-programming strategy may be irrevocably flawed, or at least in need of some tweaks. Strike Back's second-season numbers dropped by almost 50%, which doesn't bolster confidence in Cinemax's creative vision or bode well for the gritty military actioner's future. The fact that Season Two is a more agile, battle-hardened soldier makes the dwindling ratings that much more disheartening. With strong performances, explosive action and enough riveting drama to make the nonstop carnage and casualties feel as if they amount to something more substantial, Strike Back deserves a few more seasons, beginning with a third U.S. season in August (Strike Back: Shadow Warfare), and hopefully earning several more after that.

Philip Winchester and Sullivan Stapleton are back as unlikely MI6 special ops duo Michael Stonebridge and Damien Scott, with Charles Dance coming on board as shady billionaire Conrad Knox, who acquires four nuclear triggers in an inverted Bondian plot to bring prosperity to Africa. The ten-episode, globe-trotting hunt that follows is chock full of all the Strike Back staples -- guns, girls and international hotspots -- and staging convincing incursions and missions aren't exactly priority one, despite the obvious effort that's gone into each one. The sex and violence that ensue are a tad gratuitous, although much less so than in Season One, and the series is top to bottom an action-packed thrillride that renders shows like 24 and its ilk positively tame. Some of it is a distraction, particularly the near-invincible heroes motif, so be warned. Most episodes would be better served with less skin and fewer firefights, and the never-ending shootouts, chases and general shock-and-awe would resonate more if it were more contained and less unruly summer blockbuster. All the same, Strike Back goes big and rarely looks back, with enough military hardware and battlefield authenticity to keep debilitating implausibility at bay. The smart, sexy cast, scene-chewing baddies, bullet-riddled set pieces and high-dollar action scenes only help, of course, delivering the goods and then some.

Strike Back: Season Two episode guide:

• Episode 11: Militants loyal to notorious Somali warlord Huseyin Waabri (Anthony Oseyemi) attack a routine embassy escort, kidnapping a British diplomat (Tim Pigott-Smith) and an undercover operative posing as a junior attaché (Rhona Mitra). The pressure is on Scott (Stapleton) to retrieve them as he's sent into Mogadishu solo. Back in the UK, Stonebridge (Winchester) struggles to adjust to his new career outside of Section 20.
• Episode 12: Stonebridge and Richmond's (Michelle Lukes) unsanctioned mission to break Scott and the hostages out of Waabri's lair may have succeeded, but the group must now find a safe evacuation point, with the warlord's militia and local bounty hunters in hot pursuit. Over in the crib, Sinclair (Rhashan Stone) pays the price for sending his men in to Somalia without official approval.
• Episode 13: On the tail of the missing nuclear triggers, Scott and Stonebridge travel to Nigeria, where they learn that an al-Qaeda operative, Othmani (Saïd Taghmaoui), is transporting the weapon components across the Algerian desert. When Othmani is kidnapped by Tuareg warriors, the duo must find a way to get him back.
• Episode 14: Trapped in a badly fortified farmhouse in the middle of the desert, with scant ammunition, and surrounded by two different enemy squadrons, it's not looking good for Scott and Stonebridge, who have to stay alive long enough to discover the location of the missing nuclear triggers.
• Episode 15: Section 20 is puzzled when Karl Matlock (Vincent Regan) goes to great lengths to kidnap the family of Peter Evans(Paul Freeman), a seemingly harmless retired schoolteacher. Getting to Evans first, Section 20 soon realize that his hidden past is the key to understanding his value to Matlock, not to mention who the mercenaries are working for.
• Episode 16: With Evans now in Knox's (Dance) custody, Section 20 desperately scrabble to locate both men and shut Knox's illicit nuclear program down. In a race against the clock, they strive to find and rescue Evans before Mossad assassinates him.
• Episode 17: Walter Lutulu, a charismatic political prisoner, is broken out of a Zimbabwean prison by Matlock and his men. Section 20 now has the lead they need to discern Knox's grand plan, but trouble brews because their continued presence in South Africa hasn't gone unnoticed.
• Episode 18: Stonebridge is caught in the heart of a mob as Walter's (Eamonn Walker) assassination sparks outbreaks of violence across the Zimbabwean township. Meanwhile, Scott fights to ensure that Walter's daughter Lilian (Tracy Ifeachor) doesn't suffer the same fate as her father.
• Episode 19: The potential devastation of the nuclear capability is brought home when one of Knox's devices leaks in a small South African town. Through Knox’s connection with a corrupt lawyer, Section 20 learn that he’s joined forces with a deadly group of Nigerian freedom fighters willing to advance their cause whatever the cost.
• Episode 20: An increasingly desperate Knox strikes a deal with a Nigerian terror group to detonate the nuclear weapons and annihilate Johannesburg. Time is of the essence as Section 20 race to discover the bombs’ locations and disarm the nukes before Knox changes the face of Africa forever.

Strike Back: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like the Blu-ray edition of Strike Back: Season One, Season Two hits center mass with a pinpoint 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video presentation. With just ten episodes spread comfortably across four BD-50s, there's little in the way of compression mishaps or encoding issues, and the few anomalies that do crop up from time to time -- crush, spiking noise, cagey delineation and uneven contrast leveling -- are inherent to the series' style and the showrunners' intentions. Scorched colors, searing desert heat and heavy shadows are part of the aesthetic assault but thankfully don't undermine the presentation's finer qualities. Detail is terrific, with exacting edges and razor-sharp textures; primaries pack serious kick, blacks are nice and deep, and skintones are relatively lifelike (sun-bleached contrast notwithstanding); and the series' cinematic touches, the grain et al, are perfectly intact. Suffice it to say, the second season couldn't look any better than it does here.

Strike Back: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

HBO's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track knows exactly what the series is and never deviates from its action-driven roots. Explosions erupt and expand, gunfire pierces the soundscape, bullets ricochet from all angles, and directional effects are convincing and precise. The rear speakers never relent, regardless of how fierce the action gets or how restrained more subdued scenes may be. Dialogue is intelligible and carefully prioritized as well, even in the middle of an intense firefight, and the LFE channel boasts punch and power. Moreover, dynamics are excellent, pans are slick and smooth, and the series' score makes the already immersive soundfield that much fuller and enveloping.

Strike Back: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Season Two includes just four audio commentaries, decent as they are: "Episode 14" with actors Philip Winchester (Stonebridge) and Sullivan Stapleton (Scott); "Episode 15" with Winchester, Stapleton, co-actor Lyne Renee (Rebecca) and director Julian Holmes; "Episode 18" with actor Shane Taylor (Craig Hanson) and director Michael J. Bassett; and "Episode 20" with Winchester, Stapleton and Taylor.

Strike Back: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Strike Back doesn't back down in the face of dwindling ratings, or shortchange its fans in the slightest. Season Two hits harder, deals out more damage, and resonates longer than its predecessor, and the series is stronger than ever. It still indulges in too much out-of-place sex and over-the-top ultraviolence -- to the point of distraction -- and Cinemax would do well to take more cues from HBO and Showtime, even while providing a different breed of original programming. Story first, gentlemen. If it serves the greater good, the guns-n-girls gimmick can be a useful dramatic tool. Deployed for mere effect, or worse, to constantly remind viewers they're not watching network television, it can roadblock the one thing audiences really crave: substance. Fortunately, Season Two bests Season One (and Banshee) in that regard, although further refinement wouldn't be a bad idea. As to the second season's Blu-ray release, a rather slim supplemental package is the only disappointment to be had thanks to a precision-guided AV presentation. All in all, fans will be thrilled.