Reagan Blu Ray Review (Lionsgate)

Reagan is a 2024 Docudrama film directed by Sean McNamara (Casper: A Spirited Beginning, Casper Meets Wendy, Even Stevens, The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold, Aliens Ate My Homework, and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain). It was written by Howard Klausner (Space Cowboys, The Last Ride, The Identical, and Weird Science). It’s based on real life and the novel “The Crusader” written by author Paul Kengor. It was produced by Mark Joseph (Last Three Days, Shooting Heroin, The Vessel, No Safe Spaces, and Doonby). The original cut was around 220 minutes. The budget was $25,000,000 and it grossed $30,107,173 at the box office. From his small-town roots to his Hollywood career where Ronald Reagan (played by: Dennis Quaid from Jaws 3-D, The Right Stuff, Great Balls of Fire!, Wyatt Earp, Any Given Sunday, Traffic, and Dreamscape) meets actress Jane Wyman (played by: Mena Suvari from American Beauty, American Pie franchise, Six Feet Under, Domino, Spun, and Kiss the Girls) and works with the legendary Warner Brothers’ president Jack Warner (played by: Kevin Dillon from Platoon, The Doors, The Blob, A Midnight Clear, No Escape, and Entourage). Reagan goes from the big screen to politics where he becomes the president with the support of his dedicated wife Nancy (played by: Penelope Ann Miller from Carlito’s Way, The Freshman, The Relic, The Shadow, and Kindergarten Cop)!!!! Ronald Reagan was always an interesting president especially since he was an actor before he really got into politics. Apparently, the original version was 220 minutes and it got edited down to 141 for it’s theatrical cut. You would think with that much change, it would have missed all kinds of important moments in his life but it works just fine. Honestly, I think it could have been around 10 minutes shorter for a slightly better flow to it. The script gives all his different experiences a fair amount of screen time and it balances his entire career in Reagan. Dennis Quaid is amazing as Ronald Reagan, he gives one of his best performances in this. He’s the reason to check out this biopic. It’s crazy how much he actually resembles the former president here. It’s great to see actresses Mena Suvari as Jane Wyman and Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan. Both of them are very talented and underrated, they haven’t really been in that many bigger films in the last few years so it’s a nice return for each one. Reagan is loaded with so many familiar faces in it. The all star supporting cast includes Kevin Dillon, Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy), Robert Davi (The Goonies), Amanda Righetti (Friday the 13th), Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds), Olek Krupa (Burn After Reading), Jennifer O’Neill (Scanners), Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years), Lesley-Anne Down (Death Wish: The Face of Death), Xander Berkeley (Heat), C. Thomas Howell (The Hitcher), Derek Richardson (Hostel), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys), Pat Boone (Journey to the Center of the Earth), Nick Searcy (Justified), David Henrie (How I Met Your Mother), Trevor Donovan (90210), and Elya Baskin (Spider-Man franchise). I really enjoyed that they showed more than him just being the president. That’s what most people remember about Ronald Reagan but he was much more than that. It focuses on his upbringing as a young man, his movie career doing smaller lower budget features, and his beginning in politics as an ambitious governor before all that happened. It flew under the radar when it was originally released in theaters and it barely made it’s budget back. It’s much better than it’s reputation, hopefully it gets more attention on home video. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Lionsgate! This 1080p (2.38:1) transfer looks fantastic on blu ray. Reagan takes you several different stages of the former president’s life as he finds himself. It has stylish cinematography and beautiful locations that shine here. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the disc. The audio is better than expected especially during certain moments for all his complicated experiences. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the drama is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH and Spanish subtitles. There’s no special features on the disc. It comes with a digital code and a DVD copy of the release. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!