With the ongoing, continuously exhausting debate that goes on in physical media/cinephile circles about streaming vs. owning a movie and that whole conversation, it is *always* a win when a movie, regardless of anything about the movie, gets a release because it will never be considered “lost” media. However, the argument is hard to maintain when a title gets a release and it’s a standard amray release with no digital code, no other format disk included, no special features in any way shape or form or even a choice of language (on an English language feature in this instance). While it’s great to own the movie so one can revisit it whenever they please, asking consumers to spend money on this new release without a slipcover, any accompaniments, or a singular feature is a hard ask no matter *how good* the movie itself is.
Riz Ahmed as Tom in RELAY. Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street.
David Mackenzie (Hell or Highwater) and screenwriter Justin Piasecki (making his feature writing debut) bring a conspiracist’s worst nightmare come true in the gripping and fantastic, Relay. The movie focuses on Ash (Riz Ahmed), a sleuth of sorts, who helps his clients, potential whistleblowers, by ensuring their safety from the companies that are threatening them to hand back the information they have on those companies. Ash keeps a copy of the whistleblower files while his clients give the originals back to the company and he takes a percentage of the settlement funds, for lack of a better term. It’s not an easy job and, honestly, it would be questionable if one could ever relax after their lives were threatened, but the hope is that this all remains behind them, but, in this world of cat and mouse, anything is truly possible.
Lily James as Sarah in RELAY. Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street.
Sarah (Lily James) gets Ash’s contact method from a lawyer who tries to help her as she’s having her life threatened, has moved houses already, and is tired of feeling stalked. The way Ash works is he uses New York Relay, a service which helps people use the phone to “communicate effortlessly with people who are hearing, deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or who have a speech disability.” Nothing is saved; it’s completely untraceable and safe. Ash clearly uses this to protect himself and his clients, but there is something particularly disturbing and different about this case with Sarah. Dawson and Rosetti (Sam Worthington and Willa Fitzgerald, respectively) are on their tails, constantly break the agreement, put Ash’s identity in danger, and, moreover, risk Sarah’s life.
What works here is the brilliant direction from Mackenzie whose best work is consistently incredibly tense thrillers and Relay is no different. He executes new screenwriter Justin Piasecki ‘s script to life with so much precision that it’s is executed nearly flawlessly, but that is and effort that cannot be done without his magnificent cast, as well. Ahmed (Sound of Metal) and James (The Iron Claw) are perfectly cast respectively as the savior in the shadows and the terrified person who wants to do right but becomes genuinely fearful for her life.
Sam Worthington as Dawson in RELAY. Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street.
This 2024 taking-place-in-modern-day release was a smaller movie, so let’s be collectively happy we have a Blu-ray we can keep and are no longer subjected to digital licenses which can change hands, expire, or be removed. That is a win, and a win is a win. However, the complete lack of features in any way shape or form is disheartening. The movie is the disk, subtitles, and scene selection, and that is it. There are no alternative audio tracks, there is not a singular feature; this is solely a movie and nothing else. Some other brands do this, as well, to ensure the disk with the movie can be fully uncompressed, but then there is a bonus disk; this is not that case. There isn’t even a trailer for the film on the disk. Is this a determent? Yes — asking consumers to drop $20-25 for something that is going to be no different if you buy it in a year or two or six months down the road begs the question of why buy it now and not wait.
A scene in RELAY. Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street.
The on-disc presentation is great, presented in 1080p HD with a DTS HD 5.1 audio track, bringing to life the tense action thriller. Would a 4K UHD disk been preferred? Yes. Would it have done anything more than offer a marginal difference in any way shape or form? Absolutely not. There is no extensive, blatant CGI, there is no animation, this is just pure filmmaking at its core and it doesn’t need a 4K disk to look great. A good 4K player will upscale, as well, making this the best way to watch Relay at home. Overall, Relay may not be worth the initial release date MRSP, but utilizing a sale down the road to get one of Mackenzie’s best movies in your collection is certainly a no-brainer.
No bonus features included with the release.
Available on VOD and digital September 16th, 2025.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD October 28th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Bleecker Street Relay webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Video, Reviews, streaming
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