Playing With Fire Blu Ray Review (Paramount)

Superintendent Jake Carson (played by: John Cena from WWE, Blockers, Bumblebee, & F9) is the commanding officer of a group of smokejumpers in remote California woodlands. Carson is capable in a crisis & takes tremendous pride in his work. Always diving into dangerous situations to rescue civilians alongside his team which includes Mark Rogers (played by: Keegan-Michael Key from Key and Peele, Let’s Be Cops, Keanu, & The Predator), Rodrigo Torres (played by: John Leguizamo from Spawn, The Pest, Carlito’s Way, & Kick-Ass 2) & “Axe” (played by: Tyler Mane from the Halloween franchise, X-Men, The Devil’s Rejects, & Joe Dirt). After rescuing three children from a burning cabin, Carson is contacted by the universally admired division commander Richards (played by: Dennis Haysbert from Heat, 24, Major League franchise, & The Unit). Richards praises Carson’s work & shortlists Carson for his replacement, Carson’s dream job.  Rogers advises Carson that they are responsible for the welfare of the children Brynn (played by: Brianna Hildebrand from Deadpool 1/2, Tragedy Girls, & The Exorcist), Will (played by: Christian Convery from Venom & Legion), & Zoey (played by: Finley Rose Slater) under the “Safe Haven Laws”. Carson gets stressed with the bad kids plus he runs into someone from his past environmental Doctor Amy Hicks (played by: Judy Greer from Jawbreaker, Ant-Man 1/2, Jurassic World, & the Halloween franchise) who he once had a failed date with. After some time, the crew starts bonding with the children. They found out that they lost their parents & have been living alone for awhile now. The crew is surprised by Richards & child protective services during a party which puts them at risk for their future. The kids run off after the incident & get in a bad situation. Can they save these lost kids? & Will Jake finally grow up after all this????

I wasn’t expecting much from Playing with Fire but it was actually better than expected. It’s a entertaining family film with a funny moments here & there. It started out like it was going to be an action film which cracked me up. John Cena is pretty smart when it comes to picking his roles, he knows his acting ability & what he can do. He is hilarious & comedy always brings out the best performances from him. The best thing about Playing with Fire is the cast, that’s what got my attention for it. The supporting cast is great here which includes Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo, Tyler Mane, Dennis Haysbert, Brianna Hildebrand, & Judy Greer. They definitely boosted the overall quality of the production, without them this would have went a completely different direction. It’s something different & it’s a movie you can enjoy with the whole family. Plus it had lots of heart towards the end. I had fun with it, it’s worth checking out sometime.

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Paramount! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer looks great especially during the brief action scenes here. It has a nice variety of audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, & French: Dolby Digital 5.1 on the blu ray. The audio is solid, the highlights is when the action takes place. It has a nice boost there but besides that it’s not really that type of movie. The dialogue is very clean & the music is elevated on those tracks. It’s loaded with various subtitles which includes English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hindi, Korean, Malay, Mandarin (Simplified), Norwegian, Romanian, Swedish, & Turkish. As always, Paramount delivers another impressive Technical release!

Let’s discuss the special features from Paramount! Almost 15 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” which includes Get This Depot Ready, Don’t Take It Personal, You Should Be the Next Division Commander, Starboard Side, Let’s Try This Again, We Gotta Find a Way Outta Here, Please Stop Crying, Is That Your Girlfriend?, You’re a Real Hero, ATV Escape, Jalapeño Chocolate Cake, This is a FUPA, & I Got You Something Too. A little over 2 minutes of “Bloopers” from the set featuring some hilarious moments. “Storytime with John Cena” is a little over a minute. The actor does his own version of Three Little Pigs. ” Lighting Up the Laughs” is a little over 3 minutes. It asks questions to the director & cast about the movie. They chat about their experience. They talk about the comedy, cast, & favorite scenes. “The Director’s Diaries: Read by Star Cast” is a little over 5 minutes. John Cena & Keegan-Michael Key have some fun by reading the director’s emails from the production. “What It Means to Be a Family” is a little over 4 minutes. It has interviews with the cast & crew. They chat about working together. They talk about the family atmosphere on the set. They bring up the future of the future of their characters & this world. “The Real Smokejumpers: This Is Their Story” is a little over 2 minutes. John Cena chats about the real life heroes & shows his appreciation for them. It also includes a slipcover, a digital code, & a DVD copy of the release. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!