Customer Reviews

Prison Break Season 4

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I have enjoyed this last finale season 4, it's as good as the three seasons only more twists and turns, more drama, more action, more characters, Iam really shocked with the shocking ending, I am not expecting that, but still a very good season, I just wish it's not the last season, but oh well, it made me entertained all these years. The only thing I have hated and not fair about this dvd release is, it does not have subtitles of any kind, unlike the three other seasons, this is too bad for the hearing impaired followers and all those that needed at least an english subtitles.

I hate all the people that are just talking [...] about prison break and how it should have ended after the first or third season... this is the last season of prison break and the writers went all out with a GREAT last season! full of twists and turns! this is really great to watch and enjoy... dont pay attention to the people that give this a 1.. this is a great buy and its worth it!!(best price you'll get.. I've tried to find a better offer but I couldnt!)

Please ignore ALL negative comments posted here. Prison Break season 4 is as good as the other 3 seasons, if not BETTER! I am heartbroken that they took it off the air!!! Season 4 is a MUST BUY!!!!!

The Fox series Prison Break debuted in 2005 and had a first season that was intelligently written, intelligently executed, and endlessly exciting. The series miraculously had two more seasons (with season three being cut short due to the writer's strike) and Fox announced the fourth season would be the final season. I absolutely love this show, but the idea to end it was a good one. Prison Break was a one-season concept that made two seasons work but just got more and more ludicrous as it went on, while never failing to be entertaining. With that said, the fourth season is very entertaining. It's this season that the writer's throw all logic out the window. Character's who were dead return, character's who were forgotten come out of nowhere; the writer's of this season seem to have had one rule for writing; if it can go wrong (no matter how implausible), make sure it does.

We've followed these character's as they escaped from prison (season one), ran from the law (season 2), and had to escape from another prison (season 3). In season 4, they have to break in to a building. Sounds interesting, right?

Everyone has escaped from Sona, the prison in Panama that housed the characters for the third season. Now in Los Angeles, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), his brother Lincoln Burroughs (Dominic Purcell), girlfriend Sarah Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies), Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), Brad Bellick (Wade Williams), and former FBI-agent Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner) are recruited by Homeland Security agent Don Self (Michael Rappaport) for a top-secret operation to help take down The Company for good. With an offer of immunity for everyone on the table, the group agrees to help Self retrieve Scylla, the Company's little black book.

All of the characters are back, including everybody's favorite villain T-Bag (Robert Knepper), who (as usual) has a different agenda than the rest of the group. Also, in a much larger role, is Leon Russom as General Jonathan Krantz, but more on that in a moment.

Season four will have you shaking your head several times throughout simply because of how completely ridiculous many of the plot twists are, but it ranks high on the excitement scale. As for how it ends...Well, those who have followed this show and these characters for years will be divided, but how else could they have ended it? The ending works, but could have been executed a little better.

Now, on another note...I'm not the first person to complain about the weak, anything goes-style of writing on Prison Break, but I wish to mention that the writer's never failed to write strong main characters. It's hard to deny this is a show with strong characterization that has a knack for establishing characters for us to care about and establishing characters for us to hate only to trick us into liking them later. But, I will not let the actors escape without credit.

Prison Break, during its run, was never honored for the actor's it had on its show. One doesn't have to even watch this show very long to see that this was a shame. Wentworth Miller, for example, is the only person I can see as Scofield. He's quietly menacing, committed, and charismatic...Not to say he doesn't overdo it sometimes, but he balances the tough and emotional in a way most actors would not. If one denies the range of Wade Williams as Bellick, watch all four seasons of this show and tell me how Bellick goes from one of the most unlikeable characters on the show to a very sympathetic one in such a short span of time. Even Purcell, who never had to do much in the series besides look tough and be intimidating when needed, embodies Burroughs. That description of his acting is pretty much all the character needs to do, so it all fits. Finally, we have Robert Knepper whose performance as T-Bag only got better with each season. If this had been a theatrical film as opposed to a TV series, Knepper would have received an Oscar nomination. If not for fan-reaction to Knepper's portrayal of the devious, depraved T-Bag he likely would've been killed off at the end of season one. Knepper takes a relatively simple character and just molds him into one of the most memorable characters I've ever seen on a television series. It's no easy task to take a character that frequently betrays and hurts the character's you care about and make him likeable and every moment Knepper is onscreen, he'll keep your attention focused there. Finally, Russom as the General has a very menacing look coupled with a deep, foreboding voice...He makes a great antagonist for Scofield's gang. All of the other actor's are great too, but this has already taken up a large majority of my review.

There's not much to write about the fourth season of a television show. If you're reading this, you've likely seen the previous three seasons or you've already seen all four. If you're a fan, this season is definitely worth checking out if only to see the last hurrah of these character's you've watched for so long. While Prison Break lost some IQ points along the way, it never lost its ability to keep your heart racing and keep your affection for its main set of characters. With that said, if you're a fan of the series...This is essential.

GRADE: B

Okay, this review has some *spoilers* in it. You've been warned.

Oh, Prison Break, season four. What happened to you?

I'll be honest. Season four of Prison Break was excellent...until about halfway through. The first half of the season was on par with seasons one and two (let's just pretend season three never happened, okay? We'll all be happier for it). The writing was tense, economical, and interesting. The acting was quite good. The plot was, surprisingly, attention-grabbing. Everything was firing on all cylinders.

If the show would have just wrapped itself up around episodes twelve to fourteen, it all would have been a terrific ending to a fairly decent series.

However, it just went on...and on...and on, and it just became more ridiculous and insulting with every episode. By the time the show shifted location to Miami everything had gone to hell. Sure, Prison Break has always acquired a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, BUT...oh, hey, Michael and Linc's mother isn't dead and, hey, not only is she not dead, she's a completely one-note, evil villain pulling all the strings...and, oh sure, why not, Michael and Lincoln aren't really even brothers. Introducing plot elements like these needs WORK to have them overcome their obvious soap-opera-ish roots, but the work and thought just aren't placed into them. So, Mike and Linc's mom is alive. What are the repurcussions of this? None, really, she's just instantly another villain. No subtleties are explored, nothing new about the characters is learned, it's just a cheap gimmick. So, Lincoln was adopted and he and Michael aren't true brothers...what does introducing this idea accomplish? That would be nothing. The story isn't changed. The relationship between the two characters isn't changed. It, too, is just a cheap gimmick.

And the re-introduction of long-gone characters? C-Note? KELLERMAN? Jesus. They added absolutely nothing.

However, I must say that throughout the entirety of the season (both good and bad) two absolute stand-outs are William Fichtner and Sarah Wayne Callies. Fichtner's Mahone never once ceases to be an absolutely interesting and, more importantly, believable character. Fichtner is one actor that truly has the goods. As for Callies' Tancredi...well, she undergoes quite the makeover to strong-willed, capable woman in season four and the transtition really suits her. Sarah Tancredi really comes into her own this season and Callies pulls off the evolution of the woman very well.

If you start watching this season, just turn it off around episode fourteen and write your own ending in your head. Your opinion of the show will be better for it.

I have been a fan of Prison Break from the begining and this last season is a great way to end the show! Almost perfect in everyway.
The only thing I didnt like was that in season 1 they said that Mike's mom died of liver cancer, while in this season they say a brain tumor.
And the fact that they removed all of Mike's tatoos in about 15 seconds was a little angering too.
Besides those minor things Season 4 brings all the action and adventure from past seasons back in full force!

In conclusion: there are a couple of mediocre episodes but nothing to really complain about. Its a great season with a great cast and you gotta see how it ends!

This has been one of my favorite TV shows ever! I didn't like the ending though. It's to bad the show has ended.

Prison Break returns for its fourth and final season, a season filled with the kind of high-octane action and wonderful characters that this show is known for. Prison Break is one of the best shows FOX has aired in a long time, and it was sad to see it go.

The season opens with Michael (Wentworth Miller) tracking down Mahone (William Fichtner), Whistler (Chris Vance), and Gretchen (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) to avenge the death of his beloved Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies). However, once he finds Gretchen, the truth isn't what it originally seemed. Partial secrets are revealed, and a mysterious new player appears.

Soon after, Michael and Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) are pursued by a Homeland Security agent, who wants to blackmail them into doing his dirty work for him. Michael and Lincoln agree to the agent's demands. The majority of the season then tells about the intricate operation they work on for the agent, and Michael and Lincoln's attempt to avoid being returned to prison.

The show slowly grows to a thrilling climax, where many familiar Prison Break faces return. However, Michael's story doesn't end as perfectly as many fans would have liked.

Every performance this season is amazing, as it is in the previous seasons. The characters leap off the screen with their lush, realistic feel. Every actor in this show completely embodies their character. Miller is a hard-edged, driven actor who draws you into the character's world. His chemistry with Purcell is amazing. The two characters show strong bonds of brotherhood and help get another through the crazy happenings in their lives.

This DVD set includes a decent collection of extras, such as two featurettes on the series and its ending and commentary soundtracks for some of the episodes. While I really enjoyed the commentary tracks that exist, it would be far better to have them on all the episodes. I know that there are 22 episodes here, but surely there could be more commentary for the final season? It is also a little surprising that there aren't any deleted or extended scenes from the season. Really, that's part of the reason for getting your favorite TV shows on DVD -- to see more of what was originally filmed for each episode.

The biggest issues I have with this release is actually the packaging. I know that sounds a little picky, but the transparent, thin plastic seems cheap and tacky to me -- not to mention it doesn't seem like it will protect the discs very well in the long term. Of course, this new packaging does make the set considerably thinner and lighter, but I somewhat miss the look and feel of the older packaging styles (call me old-fashioned).

Season four of Prison Break didn't make every fan happy -- in fact, some fans thought that the series should have ended after the third season. I think that this season was a good ending to the series, filled with edge-of-your-seat intensity, and amazing performances. I definitely recommend it.

Despite what many others have been saying, season 4 of Prison Break is packed with many plot twists and turns. This season is just as good, if not better then the previous seasons. A lot more action in this season. I reccommend paying very close attention when watching the fourth season. I still think they should continute the Prison Break series, but they ended it with a bang!

Season 4 was necessary because Season 3 appeared to be far from 'the end'. As such, I am not unhappy for buying it but...

As in its precursor seasons, Prison Break 4 is still mostly about male bonding, explosive violence, extreme brutality (they are not the same), torture, betrayal, barehanded fights to the death, stabbings, humiliation, desperation, blackmail, blood, mud, sweat, deception, self-sacrifice, mystery, misery, execution-style killings, loyalty, fear, starvation, drug addiction, sweat, pain, torture, cannibalism, just to name a few of the included attractions. Not a lot but, in this final season there are SOME: romantic kisses, still not too many bedroom scenes or shower scenes and a few beefy cars, and some critically important electronic gadgets.

I wish I could discuss the plot in more detail but that would not help those who've watched the episodes on TV already. As for those who haven't, I know that I would not want to read any spoilers. Suffice to say that just about everyone who didn't completely die in prior seasons is back, including one who was actually presumed to be completely and irreversibly dead. Season 4 starts very much like a super extended and quite exciting Mission:Impossible plot with some McGuyver and it ends... no I'm not going to talk about how it ends, especially since this is not the final end anyway. Other than that, it's the major adrenaline rush, the substantial body count, the betrayals, the narrow escapes, the surprises - in other words, it's Prison Break the way we learned to love it BUT...

But it's not really what some of us expected. Yes, it's true, there are 3, 4 or more 'totally unexpected' turns and betrayals per episode, the bad guys are badder than ever and fists and bullets connect with their intended targets but... there is a difference between stretching a thrill to the limit and going beyond. And, in Season 4, what used to be an implausibly, totally crazy action and thrills show has crossed 'the line' into 'too much'. How many times can the same character betray and fight 'team A' to the death, then join 'team A', only to betray it again and then re-join it? It's just a little bit too much. As for the exciting grand finale, the word 'unimpressed' is only a very polite way to say that it disappointed.
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Briefly, this is what you get as part of this almost no frills DVD offering:

- 6 DVD disks nicely packaged in a case not much thicker than a single DVD case, so it's a thumbs up for packaging - why did it take them 10+ years to figure this out?
- 22 episodes, a big improvement, lengthwise over the abbreviated Season 3
- 2 featurettes
- commentary sound track on some but not all the episodes
- 5.1 surround sound
- 16x9 picture format
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This is the last season for Prison Break but, interestingly, the final finale is a 'movie' item never aired on TV and available on DVD or Blu-ray as "Prison Break: The Final Break" in July.

I have The Final Break on order and I can only hope that watching it would make me better understand and accept the excesses and the disappointments that Season 4 created but I am not very optimistic at this time.