STRIKE BACK: Season Five Hits Hard on Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

This week on Bluray/DVD and Digital from Cinemax is a new team with a new attitude with the hard hitting series STRIKE BACK: Season Five.

The men are sent in to be a part the transfer of terrorist Omair Idrisi (Don Hany) but his wife Jane Lowry (Katherine Kelly) has other plans. Putting an escape plan together, the attack on the entire convoy kills many men but Sgt. Mac McAllister (Warren Brown) survives.

Determined to re-capture Isrisi, Sgt. Brown is assigned to Section 20 and the first thing they have to do is find undercover soldier Sgt. Wyatt (Daniel MacPherson). He is also working to get information on Idrisi. The group includes Grace Novan (Alin Sumarwata) and Captain Natalie Reynolds (Roxanne McKee).

But they have to deal with prince who may or may not be giving money to the terrorists. What Haptaini does tell them is who he deals with for arms and that’s Morgan Ives (Trevor Eve). Finding him turns out to be a hard mission when they find themselves in the middle of a sand storm.

Lowry seems to be on a different path as the group works on what her intentions are. Rosa Varga (Kelly Gough) and her brother Josef (Mark Strepan) and now a part of an already confusing mix. Quickly they discover Lowry’s hideout and are shocked to see photographs of missions Section 20 has been a part of.

McAllister has put himself in serious danger and set for hanging when he is taken to Zaryn’s training camp. Rosa is also wanting to change sides when Josef starts to become unhinged and she wants safety. General Lazslo (Attilla Arpa) is trying to put Section 20 down but Col. Adeena Donovan (Nina Sosanya) isn’t going to stop. Especially when she discovers who Zaryn really is Dr. Markov (Daniel Cerqueira).

The Russians are putting their hands in everything and now having to deal without military back up, Donovan makes a serious decision. The group has also discovered who is dealing with Lowry’s money and another player is in the mix. Milos Berisovich (Peter Firth), is a mob boss who ends up with Markov. He isn’t happy about what went down and sends his own message for Section 20.

Apparently Berisovich doesn’t know who he’s dealing with as Reynolds gives him a lesson. They also learn that Markov has a lab in the Ukraine that makes the Novichok but Berisovich is one step ahead of them. Reynolds is exposed to the gas but it is Lowry and Berisovich that go head to head for revenge.

Lowry learns her husband is still alive and arrives in Germany to learn a company called Octagon is where he is. Owned by Johannes Krieger (Adrian Bouchet), she forces him to tell her that the only person who knows is Rachel Sheridan (Dervia Kirwan). Section 20 skips the trip to Germany and finds Krieger but not before another assault rains down on the team as Rachel is taken.

Wyatt discovers what is on the black site and sees that Idrissi plans to release other terrorists. When things go horribly wrong with that plan, McAllister actually has to work with Idrissi to regain control. That partnership is short lived and it becomes clear that Corp. Jensen (Phil Dunster) has proof that Lowry and Donovan are working together.

It becomes even more harsh when someone high up has given Donovan orders that put Section 20 in jeopardy. Wyatt and MacAllister pull a meeting in Croatia between Ives, Idrissi and Lowry. That too goes awry and when Novan is close to capture, she is surprised to see two familiar faces.

The two familiar faces are after Idrissi from getting their hands on Atlas but Russian special forces are also wanting to get their hands on him. Novan grabs the server as the team once again comes under fire with another group trying to kill them but this is Section 20 – they might want to rethink that.

Brown as McAllister is a strong character who knows that every step they take could be their last yet he goes in hard. He doesn’t flinch at all when it comes down to the grit and has a stare that can freeze anyone in its way. MacPherson as Wyatt is equally as intense and knows that the mission is becoming more and more complicated as the players shift. Even with that he isn’t distracted from the goal that is plain – stop the spread of terror.

Sumarwata as Novan is strong, fast, clever and doesn’t hesitate in the slightest. She also doesn’t hesitate and makes it clear she is an intense force of nature.  McKee as Reynolds communicates everything with such ease and I have to say that the scenes she shares with Sumarwata makes them such a powerful duo to watch. They are pretty awesome gals I have to say.

Gough as Rosa is a complicated character with a history that drives her to do things that would make me want to run in the opposite direction. I don’t do messy!  Strepan as Josef has a magazine rack full of intensely crazed issues and he isn’t about to let anyone from Section 20 get what he wants.

Sosanya as Donovan has a role that is strong and she knows when its time to break the rules to get the job done. Dunster as Jensen is a whiz with the technology that the crew needs to stay one step ahead of the shut down. Cerqueira as Markov seems to have something everyone wants and now we wait to see who gets it. Firth as Berisovich is a character that comes out of no where but isn’t going to go quietly!

Kelly as Lowry may only be the wife in all of this but trust me when I say she isn’t baking cookies or doing the laundry for her family – she’s got a plan and a twisted reason for it. Hany as Idrisi is the terrorist who started it all and may not realize that someone knows a little more than she does.

HBO and Cinemax have an extensive array of critically-acclaimed and groundbreaking programs found on Bluray, DVD and Digital HD. They have provided viewers with some of the most amazing programs with huge fan bases that include the shows BANSHEE, OUTCAST and THE KNICK. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.cinemax.com.

The Bluray includes all ten episodes of the action packed series with the Bonus Features STRIKE BACK Season 5: Declassified: Get an inside look at each episode and THE NEW TEAM: Section 20’s new team and tactics they employ to fight terrorism around the globe.

What I love best about having the entire fifth season is grabbing season four and doing a two season binge watch! This series is filled with action and suspense always leaving you guessing who is who and why trust is tough for Section 20. This may be a new team but it certainly slides right in and doesn’t miss a beat.

The chase leads all over Europe and putting the pieces of the puzzle together isn’t about to be easy. It is warfare from start to finish and Section 20 isn’t going to go away knowing there are people out there who want to do global damage.

Good guys, bad guy, cat and mouse – it’s all here for the watching. What has made this season even more interesting is the swap around of the female characters never really knowing who is all in and who is playing the game. I loved watching it all unfold three bags of popcorn later!

In the end – it’s a new time with the same attitude!