Manifest: The Complete Series Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros.)

Manifest is a 2018 suspense television series created, co-written, and produced by Jeff Rake (The Street, The Practice, Hawthorne, Bones, The Mysteries of Laura, The Tomorrow People, and Boston Legal). It was directed by Romeo Tirone (Dexter, True Blood and Constantine), Michael Smith (Suits, Burn Notice, and White Collar), Dean White (The Shield, The 100, and The Unit), Craig Zisk (Scrubs, Las Vegas, and Weeds), Joe Chappelle (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Phantoms, The Skulls II, and The Wire), Nathan Hope (Lethal Weapon, Gotham, and Titans), and 27 others including some cast members. It was executive produced by filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (Used Cars, Trespass, Tales from the Crypt, Bordello of Blood, Demon Knight, House on Haunted Hill, Thir13en Ghosts, Ghost Ship, House of Wax, and Death Becomes Her). It was originally cancelled by NBC after 3 seasons but Netflix saved it for it’s final season to end properly. During a transoceanic journey, Montego Air Flight 828 mysteriously disappears. They are all presumed to be lost at sea. Five years later, the plane lands safely. For those passengers that were on board which includes Michaela Stone (played by: Melissa Roxburgh from Star Trek Beyond, Leprechaun: Origins, Mindcage, and The Hunting Party), Ben Stone (played by: Josh Dallas from Once Upon a Time, Thor, and The Descent: Part 2), Saanvi Bahl (played by: Parveen Kaur from The Strain, Beyond, and American Hangman), Cal Stone (played by: Jack Messina from Over/Under and played by: Ty Doran from American Crime), Adrian Shannon (played by: Jared Grimes from Swing Kids and Boardwalk Empire), and Angelina Meyer (played by: Holly Taylor from The Americans, Rogue Hostage, and The Unsettling) only five hours have passed. Supernaturally fractured bonds between the survivors. Plus their loved ones which includes Jared Vasquez (played by: J.R. Ramirez from Jessica Jones, Power, and Arrow), Olive Stone (played by: Luna Blaise from Jurassic World: Rebirth, Deltopia, and We are Gathered here Today), and Grace Stone (played by: Athena Karkanis from Saw franchise, Survival of the Dead, and Repo! The Genetic Opera) who’ve spent years moving on without them cause all kinds of potentially dangerous situations. As the government investigates lead by Robert Vance (played by: Daryl Edwards from The Many Saints of Newark, City of Hope, and Daredevil) what really happened on their flight, the survivors begin to ask themselves why it happened and what it really means to be back from it. While the mystery of Flight 828 unfolds and these broken souls try to repair themselves while getting back to their own reality. Their intersecting lives and connections which includes the mysterious Zeke Landon (played by: Matt Long from Mad Men, Private Practice, Ghost Rider, and All the Creatures were Stirring) bring them closer as they search for an ultimate purpose that may be their destiny after all this chaos!!!! I’m not going to lie, I completely slept on Manifest when it originally aired on NBC plus it’s revival on Netflix. I knew about it but I honestly never gave it a chance until it now. It kinda blew me away because I had no real expectations going into this but it was a pleasant surprise. I see why so many compare it to Lost, it has more than a few similarities but it’s still it’s own show. The scripts and story lines do try a little too hard at times to make everything actually connect and make more sense but I do appreciate them trying to pull that off. I fell in love with the Michaela Stone character from lead actress Melissa Roxburgh. She is a very fascinating person. She’s a detective that trying to delay a serious relationship with her partner before she went on vacation which made her reality so complicated. She uses her profession to help others dealing with her strange scenarios after coming back. She gets in a love triangle with someone that’s in a difficult spot like herself in Zeke and her former lover Jared that moved on while she vanished off the face of the earth. She’s strong and always fights for what she believes in. Lead actor Josh Dallas is a natural leader as educator Ben Stone. He goes through trying to keep his family when he appears. His wife is in a new relationship and his daughter has really grown up since he last seen her. He hasn’t changed at all just like his son Cal who’s very important to the events later on. Parveen Kaur is great as Dr. Saanvi Bahl from the bizarre flight no one can explain. When she settles back into the world she uses her talents and knowledge to find out more about the unexplained time that her and the other passengers can’t seem to remember. She is very brave as she risks her important job to figure what happened while she continues to save lives. She becomes beyond trustworthy and a strong source to them all. Matt Long as Zeke Landon is the heart of Manifest and he’s willing to sacrifice everything for the good and to help the final result. J.R. Ramirez as Jared Vasquez is the force and muscle during the investigations for this unknown mystery that everyone is living. These two have an interesting relationship considering they both love the same woman here. Holly Taylor steals the show as the evil Angelina Meyer. I’ve really heard of her before Manifest but she shines as the delusional and crazy passenger that ends up being their biggest threat. There’s so many major roles for this television series which features Cal (Jack Messina / Ty Doran), Adrian (Jared Grimes), Olive (Luna Blaise), Grace (Athena Karkanis), and Vance (Daryl Edwards) that all have their specific additions to this insanity. The rest of the supporting cast includes Ellen Tamaki (Charmed), Garrett Wareing (The Long Walk), Ali Lopez-Sohaili (Didn’t Die), Malachy Cleary (The Sopranos), Ed Herbstman (The Big Sick), Mugga (The First Purge), Brendan Burke (Fallout), Frank Deal (Non-Stop), Elizabeth Marvel (Presumed Innocent), and Marc Menchaca (Ozark). I’m so glad that Netflix saved Manifest after NBC shut it down because that would have been a super disappointing finale. They were able to tie everything up and end without a crazy cliffhanger. It happened so fast so they didn’t really lose any longtime cast members from it either. Manifest is loaded with twists and surprises which always made it very interesting. It has a good balance of science fiction, action, suspense, drama, romance, crime, and even some comedy. This is heavy on relationships, trust, and just sticking together to achieve a goal. There’s so much heart to this and it has the audience invested into all of the main roles. It keeps your attention and you never know what’s going to happen next. It gets addicting once it all settles in and I found myself binging the entire TV show faster than expected. Each episode had you wanting more. It’s a highly entertaining and so much fun atmosphere. It’s currently streaming on Netflix if you want to check it out, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Warner Bros Pictures! These 1080p (1.78:1) transfers look stunning on all 62 episodes. It’s never looked sharper, I compared to some original airings and it’s even an upgrade compared to those. Manifest has so much going for it when it comes to the visuals. It has English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks on all 13 discs for this complete collection set. The audio is top notch for this home video release. It’s packed with plenty of wild moments and situations that really highlight the sounds of this. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the mystery is elevated, and the music has a big boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles on every episode. I’m kinda surprised but there’s no special features on this set at all. That probably explains it’s respectable price. If you haven’t seen this yet, give it a shot as soon as you can because it’s worth your time. It’s in DVD packaging so it’s a little bigger than your normal blu ray set. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!