Siberia Blu Ray Review (Lionsgate)
Siberia is a 2018 crime thriller directed by Matthew Ross (Frank & Lola). It was produced & developed by star Keanu Reeves. The film had 23 additional producers on the project. It was handled by various production companies including Saban Films, Elevated Films,The Fyzz Facility, Ingenious Media, Global Road Entertainment, Summerstorm Entertainment, Film House Germany, & Company Films. An American diamond merchant Lucas Hill (played by: Keanu Reeves from John Wick 1/2, The Matrix franchise, Point Break, Speed, & Constantine) is trying to escape his domestic life & wife Gabby (played by: Molly Ringwald from The Stand, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, & Pretty in Pink) so he travels to Russia to sell rare Blue Diamonds to the mob lead by the sadistic Boris Volkov (played by: Pasha D. Lychnikoff from Deadwood, Shameless, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Star Trek, & A Good Day to Die Hard).
His partner is missing when he arrives & he tries to find him in a unknown world full of shady characters. As his search continues, he runs off some goons at a diner ran by Katya (played by: Ana Ularu from Inferno, Serena, Emerald City, Anacondas: Trail of Blood, & Werewolf: The Beast Among Us). After dealing with these business problems, Lucas distracts himself with the mysterious Katya. They start to connect pretty quick & learn more about each other. Their relationship gets deeper but the deal with the diamonds gets more complicated & it ends up being a deadly situation that puts both of their lives in danger. Is this a new beginning or is this the end for the two lovers????
Siberia kinda comes across from the promotion like it could be a John Wick 3 or some crazy Russian crime film but it’s honestly neither one of those things. Keanu Reeves actually put this whole feature together so it wasn’t some gun for hire or quick cash type of deal. It’s a personal project for the action star. It’s a definitely one that you need to go into not expecting any specific genre because as far as marketing goes this one is very misleading. It’s a very slow burn especially when it comes to the crime elements & the action towards the end. When I say towards the end, I really mean there’s no action in this feature until the last few minutes so be prepared for that. It’s more of a love story & exploration of a new relationship in a questionable situation. That’s why I said do not assume or have anything in mind before viewing this because it’s a completely different approach than you expect from what’s been promoted for this production. I thought the chemistry between the two leads were a little awkward at times & didn’t mix well.
It did have a solid cast & that helped this be much better than your typical direct to video release. The script focuses too much on the meeting of these strangers rather than the unique atmosphere that Russia provides especially when it comes to the criminal world. Keanu has been on fire lately when it comes to action & crime flicks so this feels like a missed opportunity to me. Siberia tries to be two different films at the same time but it forgets about one of them for the most part so it ends being underdeveloped & feeling incomplete when finished. It would have been much better if they actually decided what it wanted to be rather than mixing two genres that didn’t work together here. It had so much potential but it just didn’t deliver. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was decent & it helps if you are patient but it’s nothing special. You should probably rent this before considering a purchase. RECOMMENDED for Keanu Reeves, Russian cinema, & unique love story fans.
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation & special features from Lionsgate! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks great on blu ray! The cinematography captures the beautiful atmosphere & Russian setting, it almost becomes it’s own character in the feature. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is very clean, this is a dialogue heavy film so the track is appreciated. The action scene at the end has a nice boost to it. It also has English SDH & Spanish subtitles. It has various trailers before the film starts. “Passion and Intrigue: Bringing Siberia To Life” is almost 7 minutes. It features interviews with star/producer Keanu Reeves, director Matthew Ross, & various people from the production. It talks about the development of the project. Keanu Reeves was very hands on with this feature. He mentions why he picked the director for this & getting everything ready for it before they went into production. It has some interesting behind the scenes footage & information about Siberia. It’s available everywhere right now!!!!
