Padre Pio (2022) Blu-ray Review

Shia LeBeouf started his career as the breakout star of Disney Channel's sitcom Even Stevens. He would movie to films in the Transformers film series, DC comics film Constantine, and he would appear in the Indiana Jones film series in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls movie.

Then just when it seemed he was on tap to be the next big Hollywood star his star crashed to Earth and crashed hard. Little bit by little bit Shia has been trying to climb back into the limelight. On 2022 Shia took the lead in the drama entitled Padre Pio. This film now arrives on Blu-ray.

Inspired by true events, Padre Pio's appearance in the remote Italian village known as San Giovanni Rotondo coincides with the end of the First World War, and the community's men are coming back from duty in pieces or not at all. Immediately they are put back to work, where they are exploited by brutal local landowners, which is the cue for a group of free-thinking students to try to galvanize the locals into forming unions and voting for their nascent socialist party in the forthcoming elections (historically, the first free elections to be held in Italy). This does not go down well with the status quo, however, and Padre Pio's fiery quarrels with his faith act as a kind of mood music, creating an ominous tone for the final showdown when the election results come in.

Shia LeBeouf really puts everything he has into this role of Padre Pio. A man that is tormented by satanic visions. His struggle is so real and raw, Shia makes you really care for Padre Pio. I was hoping that the film would follow more of the life of Padre Pio, but what comes forth in this film about the horrors that took place during World War I. Padre Pio's story seems somewhat buried in this film.

Padre Pio is not a film for the faint of heart. This film has a fair amount of adult language, there is some nudity and some graphic violence. So, this is not a film for the whole family, far from it. 

The film has been transferred in 1080p and presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The soundtrack is a Dolby Digital 5.1. There are also English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. The film looks and sound pretty good on this Blu-ray disc. But it should be noted that there are no bonus features at all! 

This Blu-ray is manufactured on demand in the BD-R format. It should be noted that the Blu-ray disc will play in nearly all leading Blu-ray players that have the latest firmware updates, but Microsoft Xbox One does not currently support BD-R playback.

While the film seems a bit muddy in the story, Shia LeBeouf's performance is the shining light through the mud! I wish this Blu-ray release had some bonus features. An Audio commentary, interviews, trailer. These would have made this release a whole lot better.

So, if you love Shia LeBeouf and want to see a great dramatic performance by him. Check out Padre Pio. Just realize that the story itself may be a bit hard to follow. Head over to MovieZyng and order your copy today.

Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) Padre Pio receives....