Roofman 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Roofman 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 18, 2026

Reality sometimes makes for the best fiction, and that certainly is the case with Roofman, a surprisingly well crafted and curiously tender film about an escaped convict who moves into a Toys R Us store. The poster art (see the Blu-ray cover above) really doesn't do the movie's tone justice. Rather than a humorous mix of action and off-kilter comedy, which the image (at least to me) suggests, this is more of a human interest story with a blend of peculiar dynamics meets everyday environments that sees an antagonist become a protagonist while navigating life behind the veil, literally, within the cozy confines of a toy store hideaway. While the film has its moments of humor and action, the dramatic center drives it forward, and credit Channing Tatum for engaging with a role that allows him to stretch as an actor beyond the more hokey and hunky roles for which he's arguably best known.

Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum) is a military veteran without many life skills and a long list of bad life choices. One thing he does have, however, is a keen sense of observation, which he begins to use to break the system. In order to desperately try to reconnect with his family, including his ex-wife Talana (Melonie Diaz) and his daughter Becky (Alissa Marie Pearson), he begins a string of brazen rooftop robberies of fast food establishments -- primarily McDonalds -- where he orders the employees into the freezer (and often making sure they will stay warm until help arrives) before taking the money and running. He manages to maintain his freedom for some time until the law finally catches up to him -- which it usually does -- and he suddenly finds himself with a decades-long prison sentence.

But that is just the beginning of Manchester's story. Not one to sit idly by while this life slips away, he begins to methodically plan his escape. In prison, he keeps his head down, does what he is told, and fades into the background. He knows that the guards don’t pay attention to those who are falling in line. But he is secretly watching them. As the days go by, he hatches a simple but daring plan to get away on a truck as it's pulling away from the loading docks. He thinks of everything, and the plan is a success. Before anyone knows he's gone, he's far, far away. His journey eventually leads him to a Toys R Us store in Charlotte, North Carolina where he manages to make a life for himself hiding practically plain site: behind a dividing wall that holds a row of bicycles. He builds a nest for himself and lives off of various foodstuffs in the store that he gathers at night. But his goodhearted nature leads him to keep an eye on various employees working under the strict nose of the story's manager, Mitch (Peter Dinklage). One of the employees who catches his eye is Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a single mom of two and a churchgoer. Manchester almost accidentally begins a relationship with her, which blossoms even with his secretive nature and the truth about his fugitive status lingering in the back of his mind as he takes a shot at making a life for himself while the whole world is looking for him.

If I had to describe Roofman in a word, I might use the word “refreshing.” There are a lot of “prison escape” movies out there, and some of them are quite good, but none of them are quite like this. Roofman focuses more on the human side of the escaped convict. It’s not so much about the process of getting out or the pursuit that follows, but rather about how the escapee manages to both remain in hiding while opening up more and more into the world as time goes by. It doesn’t hurt that his “living conditions” are just about the most insane thing anyone could even fathom — hiding inside a toy store for months on end — and that plot point certainly gives the movie a level of novelty and interest in and of itself, but Roofman really works because of the evolving story that follows the escape over a period of time.

As time ticks by, and Manchester remains at large, his world begins to expand rather than shrink, which I think is the real draw of this movie. He, and the audience, almost seem to forget, at least at times, the realities of his situation: an escaped convict who needs to keep his head down and his head in the game of surviving, not drawing ever more into the life of an ordinary man trying to live an ordinary life. With every new trip out of the store, into church, into Leigh’s arms, and into the world-at-large, Manchester risks more and more, and the question ultimately becomes: will this one extra push push him over the edge and lead him to capture? It’s the combination of easing into his story and life both inside and outside the store, all the while remaining on edge for his capture, that makes the film so constantly compelling and emotionally stimulating.

Roofman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Despite the toy store setting, where lots of colors and textures live, Roofman isn't exactly eye candy sort of UHD fodder. It's a good looking movie, but it merely translates to a good looking UHD. There's nothing here that really leaps off the screen in terms of visual pizzaz or anything that screams "demo worthy," but there is something to be said for "stable" and "accurate." And those are probably the best descriptors of this 2160p resolution UHD. The picture is solid, perfectly sharp, and well defined. Skin and clothing textures are appropriately complex, and those toy store environments (and other places, too, including home and church interiors and various outdoor locales) are crisp, allowing viewers to really see that the production team did their homework and put up a stock of 90s toys and video games. The film doesn't offer an explosion of eye-gouging color, but the Dolby Vision grading delivers suitably bold hues that are -- and here are those words again -- "stable" and "accurate." No complaints here, and no complaints with skin tones, white balance, or black levels. A little bit of source noise can trickle onto the screen here and there, but no other source or encode maladies are in play.

Roofman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Roofman's soundtrack doesn't go to the roof...literally. It's a bit surpassing to find a new release UHD of a major studio production absent a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, but that is the case here. Rather than reach for the top, Paramount settles for a perfectly adequate Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The audio is, much like the video, "stable" and "accurate" with no real sonic bells and whistles at play. The sound design is pretty simplistic, with some tugs to greater intensity in a few places, such as a robbery in the final act that features some slams and crashes and blaring alarms, and a singular blast of high usage surround activity at the 111-minute mark. Otherwise, everything is relatively straightforward with the fronts carrying the bulk of the information. Clarity is fine in all areas, including the centered dialogue.

Roofman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Roofman contains a handful of extras. A Blu-ray copy of the film an a digital copy voucher are included. This release also ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Based on Actual Events and Terrible Decisions (1080p, 13:49): Looking at the film's real life inspirations, the film's tone, project origins, connecting with the real individuals from the story, casting and performances, and more.
• Chasing the Ghosts: The Director's Method (1080p, 11:36): Exploring Director Derek Cianfrance's work on the film.
• A Good Place to Hide (1080p, 9:22): A closer look at the abandoned Toys R Us store used in the film and rebuilding it practically from scratch.
• Driving Lesson (1080p, 2:59): A conversation about making the used car sequence.
• Choir Practice (1080p, 1:20): A look into rehearsals for the church choir scenes.
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes (1080p, 8:27 total runtime): Included are Duane Interview (Deleted), Long Timers and Lifers (Deleted), Jeff Puts on His Costume (Deleted), Jump (Deleted), Punch the Turkey (Deleted), John Agrees to Cut Dee's Bangs (Deleted), and Leigh Calls John (Alternate).

Roofman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Roofman won't sweep awards season, but it certainly swept me away into its characterization and story, and that counts for a lot these days. Tatum and Dunst are solid in the movie and share good chemistry, and the story flow and feel are right on the money. Paramount's UHD is solid, too, in all three areas: video, audio, and supplements. Recommended!