Allegiant 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Allegiant 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

The Divergent series has kind of seemed like an “also ran” in the so-called dystopian YA sweepstakes, engendering little of the hysteria that greeted The Hunger Games 4-Film Complete Collection and (at least based on recent box office returns) failing to even muster the relatively tamped down response afforded to The Maze Runner franchise. Despite what appears to be the writing on the wall with regard to these multi-film roll outs involving young folks speaking truth to power (whether that be in the form of The Man or The Woman or simply The Monolithic Government), Lionsgate has brought the first three Divergent films out in 4K UHD.

Allegiant 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Allegiant is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. This is the first of the Divergent series to be finished at a 4K DI (as opposed to a 2K), and the results are often quite ravishing, especially when compared to the first two films in the series. Detail levels are notably more precise and sharp looking throughout this presentation, and at least some of the anomalies I noted in the reviews of the other two 4K UHD releases in the franchise are either nowhere to be seen this time around or at least are largely absent. This includes some of the image instability, notably the really bad judder that afflicted brief scenes of the scaffolding in Divergent 4K, which here look solid as a rock. This film's exploitation of some "alien" (almost The Martian-esque) landscapes provides much more pure visual impact than the first two films did, and Allegiant's similar reliance on more "science fiction-y" items like flying globes or pods that enclose the characters provides a lot to look at here, most of it delivered with crystal clarity and really great levels of detail. There are several long dark (or at least dark-ish) sequences, like the one that starts at circa 50:00, and shadow detail is incrementally increased in this new 4K UHD iteration. Some of the CGI can still look fairly soft, and the CGI rendered landscapes don't provide the same authentic depth of field that some of the (admittedly tweaked) "natural" photography does. Black levels are also more consistent in this third film than they were in the 4K UHD versions of the first two films.

Allegiant 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This release contains the same Dolby Atmos track detailed in our original Allegiant Blu-ray review. (As with Insurgent 4K, the Spanish track included on this release is lossy Dolby Digital 5.1.)

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

The 4K UHD disc contains no supplemental material, and the score above reflects that lack. The 1080p Blu-ray contained in this package features the same supplements detailed in our original Allegiant Blu-ray review.

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

Though it may not make much sense in terms of joining the story "already in progress", for early adopters of 4K UHD looking for an enticing video and audio experience, I'd actually suggest beginning with this film rather than the first two in the franchise. The eye candy is more consistently on display here, and the 4K DI provides a noticeable uptick in detail levels throughout this presentation. The film may actually be no great shakes, but there is at least a lot to look at and listen to, and technical merits on this 4K UHD disc are generally excellent.