Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Brawl in Cell Block 99 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

North of OK.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 9, 2024

RLJ Entertainment's ongoing expansion of catalog title Steelbooks continues with S. Craig Zahler's Brawl in Cell Block 99, a well-made thriller first released on 4K all the way back in 2017 and reviewed here. This is a very modest upgrade overall, retaining similar design elements to the wide release, identical disc content, and a Blu-ray copy of the film. It's a low-risk purchase for packaging collectors as well as a decent jumping-on point for newcomers.

For a synopsis and appreciation of the main feature, please see Martin Liebman's 2017 review of the standard 4K edition. I'll echo Marty's sentiments that Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a brutal and even unconventional but still effective production that shares a bit of DNA with the director's earlier Western Bone Tomahawk (which was likewise recently reissued in Steelbook packaging), yet still feels different enough to stand on its own two feet. And speaking of Marty's earlier review: while the film's modestly-rated 4K presentation doesn't exactly stand head and shoulders above its 1080p counterpart, it may be appreciated a little more on today's generally larger displays.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I'll keep this one short and sweet... but I'll also expound a bit, rather than just post a link to Martin Liebman's 2017 review of the standard 4K edition, which actually goes into fairly good detail about its preparation for UHD and why the end result may not look as impressive as expected. Truth be told: yes, this 2160p/SDR (yup, SDR) transfer is identical to that previous 4K disc and yes, I can certainly agree that it's far from a night-and-day improvement over the Blu-ray. But by today's standards (general expectations and average screen size), the notably stronger compression of UHD -- meaning both the efficiency of its HEVC codec and the larger storage capacity of this BD-66 disc -- results in fewer compression artifacts and other visual hiccups that RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray discs are occasionally tripped up by. While those hoping for a huge increase in resolution, better colors, or deeper black levels may be disappointed, the clearly tighter encoding of this UHD makes it a presentation deserving of decently higher marks.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For details about the included DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, please see Marty's review of the standard 4K edition.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in exclusive matte-finish Steelbook packaging with front cover collage artwork identical to the standard 4K edition, albeit with a nice reflective sheen on the logo. The back cover features a mug shot of Vince Vaugh's character showing off his head tattoo, while the interior image spread is a cool blue image of his character identical to the Blu-ray disc artwork. Both discs sit on overlapping hubs on the right side.

The limited extras are listed below in name only; for more details, see Marty's review linked above.

• Journey to the Brawl (15:10)

• Beyond Fest Q&A (31:31)

Brawl in Cell Block 99 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

S. Craig Zahler's Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a well-made thriller first released on 4K back in 2017 and worth a look for newcomers as well as those who enjoyed (stomached?) his earlier Western Bone Tomahawk. RLJ Entertainment's new 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook simply repurposes that earlier release, warts and all, but ups the ante with Steelbook packaging. It's obviously aimed more at newcomers and collectors... so if that's you, this one's worth looking into.