If Warning doesn’t offer the most banal movie title of 2021, it belongs in the discussion. At least the cover art you see to the left offers hints that we’ll get a mix of science-fiction and action.

In the not-terribly-distant future, technology completely dominates all aspects of life. This comes under threat when a major storm forces electronics to go amiss.

In this circumstance, people find themselves left astray and unsure how to cope. We follow a mix of characters as they adjust to this calamity.

At the start, I alluded to the lousy nature of the film’s title, but that doesn’t become its sole promotional misstep. As I noted, the movie’s art and plot summary imply that Warning will deliver a sci-fi/action flick in the Armageddon vein.

Nope – nope nope nope nope nope. Warning couldn’t have much less in common with Michael Bay’s popcorn epic if it tried.

Instead, Warning will more likely remind viewers of ensemble flicks such as Crash or Magnolia. Despite the big picture of Thomas Jane as “space janitor” David on the Blu-ray’s cover, that role acts as only one of a mix of characters we find here.

Because he goes adrift in space, David’s journey echoes the plot of Gravity, but that’s about as close as Warning comes to “action flick” territory. Despite the promise of the movie’s promo materials – and the exceptionally misleading trailer we find elsewhere on this disc – the flick stays largely in the character drama realm.

All of this can seem disjointed and confusing for a lot of the flick’s running time, as it doesn’t seem readily clear who most of these folks are, much less what their tales have to do with each other. Honestly, my plot synopsis doesn’t offer a great summary, as the movie casts such a broad net that it becomes impossible to summarize in a concise manner.

In theory, this should give us a rich, involving tale. However, Warning bites off far more than it can chew in a mere 86 minutes.

Warning plays as a potentially intriguing mix of sci-fi concepts and social commentary. The film packs a bunch of narrative elements that easily could’ve each sustained an entire flick on their own.

And the filmmakers probably should’ve followed that path and given the various plot points such an expansion. As seen here, the different story beats receive such modest exploration that they seem likely to cause frustration instead of satisfaction.

Warning really does fly all over the place. Parts feel like satire – mainly via the way a Siri-like figure literally called “God” dominates life – whereas others go into deeper emotional domains and others really find no obvious home at all.

Some of these offer such simple concepts that the movie gets into them as much as it needs – particularly Claire’s (Alice Eve) troubled relationship with “God” – but too many feel shortchanged. Even if Warning ran twice as long as it does, it would lack the space to adequately explore the subjects, but 86 minutes really seems ridiculously brief for such an ambitious project.

Warning also comes with a real kick-in-the-pants ending. I won’t reveal it, of course, but it seems needlessly dark and hopeless.

On Monty Python’s Flying Circus, they sometimes struggled to figure out how to end a sketch. In these cases, they would literally drop a cow into the proceedings just to wrap up the scene.

Warning doesn’t feature a falling bovine at any point, but its finale feels reminiscent of this Monty Python technique. I get the impression the filmmakers couldn’t figure out a satisfying way to finish the movie so they conclude it as they do out of semi-desperation.

Or perhaps the ending boasts some deeper meaning that escapes me. At this point, though, it feels like a gratuitous finale that the movie uses to avoid the need to tie things together in a more coherent manner.

Which feels like a shame, as Warning comes with some interesting notions, and it packs a surprisingly good cast. In addition to Eve and Jane, we find folks like Rupert Everett, Alex Pettyfer, Annabelle Wallis and James D’Arcy. No, that doesn’t become an Ocean’s 11-style roster of “A”-listers, but we nonetheless find a solid roster of actors.

Too bad they wind up in such a scattered project. With a little massaging and extra space, Warning could turn into something special, but as it stands, the movie feels like a missed opportunity.

Warning appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie gave us a strong transfer.

At all times, sharpness worked well. Only a handful of slightly soft shots occurred, so most of the flick came across as accurate and concise.

No issues with moiré effects or jaggies emerged, and edge haloes failed to mar the image. I also didn’t see any signs of source defects.

Like most modern movies, Warning opted for the usual orange and teal palette. Though uninspiring, the hues showed appropriate reproduction.

Blacks seemed dark and dense, while low-light shots – of which we found many – appeared smooth and well-defined. This became a satisfying presentation.

When I examined the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Warning, I thought it was moderately active and involving, as the mix used music and atmosphere to nice advantage. These elements created a good sense of place and movement that brought us an engaging soundscape, with the best material found in the smattering of action sequences.

Audio quality was fine. Speech was reasonably crisp and natural, and effects showed good punch.

Music was also clear and full. The soundtrack didn’t excel but it connected with the story in an appropriate manner.

The disc includes a trailer for Warning but it includes no other extras.

With its social commentary and metaphors for modern existence, Warning comes with a slew of intriguing ideas. Unfortunately, it cannot remotely service all of them during its brief running time, and this leaves it as sketchy and frustrating. The Blu-ray offers very good picture and audio but it lacks bonus materials. Warning deserves an “A” for ambition but it doesn’t come together as a satisfying end product.