Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Cliffhanger 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Sony has released the Renny Harlin/Sylvester Stallone Action flick 'Cliffhanger' to the UHD format, replacing a Blu-ray that released in 2010. The UHD features a new, and often pristine, 2160p/HDR picture and a stellar, reference-quality Atmos soundtrack. The included Blu-ray is identical to that which Sony released years ago and carries over all of the previously issued supplemental content.

Cliffhanger 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

Cliffhanger is a photographically challenging movie. Sony's native 4K UHD reveals many of its inherent limitations and a few other flaws along the way. The good news is that the bulk of the movie looks terrific. The level of clarity is often breathtaking. Beautiful natural vistas extend to infinity. Natural formation detail is often impeccable, with up-close, nearby, and distant mountaintops; high elevation terrain; snow; rocks; trees; and the like revealing a level of sharpness and clarity that rival any other UHD release on the market. Nearly every character close-up is a portrait, a visual symphony of the human condition revealing pores, moles, hairs, and lines with a level of complexity that pushes the film medium and the UHD format to their respective limits. Grain is finely rendered. There are some fluctuations in density and intensity form time to time, but the field is largely stable, very fine, and highly complimentary to the movie's visuals and tone. The HDR color enhancement brings the movie to new life almost as dramatically as the 2160p resolution. White snowcapped mountains are brilliantly clean and pristine. The rescue helicopter's red coloring is bold and remarkably deep, a much more stable, vibrant, and deeply saturated color that the aged Blu-ray cannot dream of revealing. An intense fireball in chapter 11 is one of the other standout colors in a movie that is comprised primarily of whites, grays, and blues with those few bold colors (including some natural greenery and selected clothes, particularly that worn by the pair of teen BASE jumpers) able to stand apart with impressive contrast.

While much of the movie is a sight to behold, there are a number of shots that are in some way less than perfect. A few softer backgrounds appear here and there, several optical effects and establishing shots struggle with clarity, a handful of edge halos are leftover in some of the more contrasty shots, and some smooth, pasty, and plastic-y shots appear from time to time, the latter boasting the resolution increase but not the fine and finessed cinematic texturing enjoyed by most of the rest of the presentation. The final score is probably a 4.25, but the image's generally excellent presentation earns it a notch up to 4.5 on the Blu-ray.com scale.

Cliffhanger 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Cliffhanger's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is the perfect compliment to the largely impressive new video presentation. Helicopter rotors sound -- and feel -- as if they are slicing through the theater as the rescue chopper maneuvers through the mountain range and settles onto an adjacent peak to secure the other end of the rescue line in the film's opening moments. It's the first of many fully engaging sonic extravaganzas that take full advantage of every speaker in the configuration and every square inch of theater real estate afforded to it. Whirring machinery inside the Treasury department in the next scene offers a compelling immersion into the environment. The Treasury plane rumbles through, and above, the stage at the 19-minute mark, followed by wonderfully balanced but very prominent din from inside, including jet engine hums and rattling compartments that are the perfect sonic signature for the jet as it lumbers high above the earth. Action scenes are many and each is a delight. There is full stage engagement as a plane crashes in chapter five. Debris and snow are flung to and fro, the scene a symphony of chaos that begins the bloody and relentless pursuit for the three missing cases full of cash. That scene, and many others, deliver some prodigious, seat-rattling bass that's amongst the deepest and most intense one will find in an Action film. Gunfire is punchy and authoritative, too. The overhead channels support a number of the film's most prominent effects, including an avalanche in chapter seven and immersive reverb in a cave later on in the film. Musical fidelity is terrific and, like every other sonic component, there's no shortage of stage stretching length and depth. Dialogue is perfect. This is a reference Atmos track.

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

Cliffhanger's UHD disc contains no extras, not even the "cast and crew" photo tab found on so many Sony UHD releases. The included Blu- ray is identical to that released back in 2010 and of course contains all of the supplemental content from eight years ago. Below is a list of what's included. For full supplemental reviews, please click here. This UHD does ship with a Movies Anywhere digital copy code and a non-embossed slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director Renny Harlin and Actor Sylvester Stallone.
• Audio Commentary: Technical Crew including Editor Frank Urioste, Co-Visual Effects Supervisors Neil Krepela and John Bruno, and Production Designer John Vallone.
• A Personal Introduction from Renny Harlin
• Deleted Scenes
• Stallone on the Edge: The Making of Cliffhanger
• Special Effects
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

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

Cliffhanger is a delight of an Action movie that Sony has given new life through this must-own UHD release. Picture quality is not perfect start to finish but most of the imperfections appear to trace back to the source in some form or fashion. The Atmos soundtrack is absolutely of reference quality. Even with a few less-than-perfect visuals, this reviewer couldn't stop smiling. Highly recommended.