THE PATRIOT, ERASER, and More Action-Heavy Arrivals to Home Video

With Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey kicking off its presumably long journey in theaters, some people's favorite pastime of criticizing films over historical inaccuracies is once again back in the news.

It's arguably one of the dumber hobbies enjoyed by keyboard warriors, but hey, whatever floats your boat. And if nothing else, it's a good introduction for the recent 4K UHD debut of Roland Emmerich's much-maligned The Patriot.

The American Revolution is underway, and Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) wants nothing to do with it. He agrees with the cause, but his fighting days are behind him. That changes, though, when a cruel British colonel kills one of Benjamin's sons in front of him. Fueled by anger, Benjamin helps lead a rebel force against the imperial forces, en route to American independence.

For reference, The Patriot is my second favorite Emmerich film after only White House Down. My tastes aside, though, this is big, bloody cinema exploring a pivotal moment in American history with very little interest in history itself. The details are far removed from the truth, but you just need to remind yourself that it's a narrative film and not a documentary. It never claims to be accurate, and anyone taking its events and historical representations as such is a putz.

What it is, is a thrilling, engaging, and frequently bloody romp through a pivotal time in America's history, as told by a German with two Australians in lead American roles. It's earnest and sincere, just as it's goofy and gory -- especially in the unrated version of the film, which is also included here on 4K UHD. It's an epic, the likes of which we rarely get these days outside of a handful of filmmakers (which brings us full circle back to Nolan).

Sony's new two-disc, steel book re-release of The Patriot includes 4K transfers of both the theatrical and the unrated cuts, both with Dolby Vision. (The previous release included the unrated version on Blu-ray only.) The film looks fantastic with incredible detail, a lush, colorful presentation, and terrific contrasts. The extras are plentiful, as well -- director's commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes -- but all of them were previously available on the earlier 4K release.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had a great run as a big-screen action star that saw him take the lead in action gems like Commando, Predator, and True Lies. Things started winding down for him as a solo star in the late 1990s, and his penultimate box-office hit -- again, as a solo lead -- was 1996's Eraser.

John Eraser (Schwarzenegger) works for the U.S. government as a Witness Protection expert, and he spends his days helping to relocate people who've given life-ruining testimony against very bad dudes. His latest case sees him offering his specialized services to a young woman (Vanessa Williams) who's blown the whistle on her employer's high-tech weapon sales overseas. Things get complicated when John discovers that some of his fellow agents are dirty traitors.

Eraser is a good enough time despite itself, thanks to a fun supporting cast -- James Caan, James Coburn, James Cromwell, John Slattery, and others whose first names don't start with J. They pair well with the film's variety of action set pieces, ranging from shootouts and brief brawls to a ridiculous jet-set sequence and some cool railgun antics. It's never dull, and while the CG effects haven't aged well, the whole is still an entertaining-enough ride. A zoo-set sequence involving hungry crocodiles is probably the film at both its best and its worst.

Schwarzenegger is his usual reliable self with both the action beats and the dialogue delivery -- a bit where two kids witness him fall from the sky and then tell him welcome to Earth is delightful -- but Caan is stealing the show at every turn. He's in full villain mode here, and it's highly enjoyable to watch.

Warner Bros. brings Eraser to 4K UHD for the first time, and the results should be more than pleasing for fans of the film. It's a definite improvement over the previous Blu-ray release, and the transfer, particularly with Dolby Vision, captures all of the film's colorful, explosive, night-time antics with sharp detail and vibrancy. Two new extras are included, both featuring a handful of talking heads exploring the film's star and genre, and they're mild diversions.

While the two films above are both more than a couple decades old, They Will Kill You is an action romp that exploded onto screens earlier this year. It's a different kind of action film, one that tightens in the proceedings to one single hotel, but don't let the scale fool you -- the action here is bloody, creative, and plentiful. Oh, and it's also a horror film...

Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz) takes a new live-in housekeeper job at a mysterious high-rise building, and after settling in for the night, she's attacked in her room. She kills them all, only to see them rise from the dead, and this certainly complicates her mission -- she's there to find her sister, whose last known residence was this building.

Director Kirill Sokolov previously wowed with 2018's Why Don't You Just Die!, and he brings that same chaotic bloodletting and action to They Will Kill You. The action choreography is beautifully shot and executed with endless style, and the faceoffs are never afraid to get bloody. There are some very cool beats throughout.

As cool as those action encounters are, though, the plotting ends up getting buried beneath the genre. That's less of a complaint than an observation. Beetz is just so damn charismatic and entertaining here that you can't help but be happy watching her unleash hell on the dozens and dozens of baddies stalking her through the building's halls.

It's a new film, and the 4K release captures the exquisite carnage with fantastically sharp detail. The film is visually striking, and the disc captures that beauty. Extras include four featurettes exploring the film's production from conception to production design to crafting the fights and bloodletting.

The Vestron Video Collector's Series has seen a steady stream of genre gems finding new life on Blu-ray for a few years now, and the spine-numbered releases have gone through a few changes along the way. New transfers, new extras, and slick packaging were perfectly priced for a while until they realized they could bump it up some (too high, arguably). And now they've merged, at times, with the Lionsgate Limited Series, too. That's not a bad thing, as the titles are still beautifully produced efforts for a studio label.

1996's The Substitute is their latest release, and they've given it the 4K UHD treatment. My tastes run closer to the Treat Williams-starring sequels, but this is still an enjoyable enough action romp.

Shale (Tom Berenger) is ex-military and enjoying some downtime when his girlfriend is attacked by a gang of teenage thugs. Worse, they're her students at the tough school where she teaches. Shale decides to go undercover as a substitute teacher, and it's not long before he zeroes in on the troublemakers.

This is the kind of film that would soon be relegated to direct-to-DVD releases -- as the sequels were -- but it was a theatrical title back in 1996. There are shades of the superior The Principal from the decade before, but while that focused on an actual educator, this drops a warrior into the school with the expected results. It's never flashy, but if you're looking for a perfectly fine meat and potatoes genre effort, look no further.

The new 4K release leaves the film looking sharper, more colorful, and denser than it's ever looked. I may not love the movie, but I love seeing these smaller genre efforts given the love usually reserved for higher profile titles. New extras include featurettes detailing the film's production.