Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Daddy's Home 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Dolby Vision's Home.

Paramount's agreeable family Comedy 'Daddy's Home' arrives on the UHD format with a new 2160p/Dolby Vision video presentation. It's a stunner, particularly regarding the film's boosted, refined coloring. The studio has simply carried over the Blu-ray's DTS:X soundtrack, and the bundled Blu-ray includes all of the previously released extra content.

Daddy's Home 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.

Who would have thought that a basic Comedy could be a hallmark for Dolby Vision color? Daddy's Home 2 was, and remains, a standout on the format. Its predecessor, Daddy's Home, released on the same day and yields just about the same results; it's a stunner of a UHD and one of the best pure examples of what the format can do for a movie, particularly considering its color improvements, which are dramatic. Under the 12-bit Dolby Vision color parameters, this movie appears significantly brighter overall compared to the excellent Blu-ray. It's a fairly stark contrast by which the BD looks comparatively dark, even as it boasts a solid enough SDR color palette. But Dolby Vision takes things to a radically higher new level. On the UHD, the Whitaker house appears lit with tons of beaming natural light. In an early scene in which Brad is standing at the bottom of a staircase (the scene introducing Sara), he's surrounded by white walls on both sides and above him and a rich Mahogany (speaking of Ferrell) floor below and behind him. It's obviously intense on the UHD prior to a comparison, but the difference is almost literally night and day when looking at the scene on both formats. The UHD has that bright natural light look to it where the BD just looks like dull lightbulbs are effectively, but lifelessly, illuminating the house. In the kids' bedroom at the 15-minute mark, Megan's bed is slathered in pink and Dylan's covered in Lakers purple and yellow. Not only do the various bedsheets and blanket fabrics see a very nice textural boost, but the colors are out of this world more intense and natural, much more vibrant and more intimately saturated. Such holds true throughout the film. This was not simply a crank to the brightness settings but an accompanying add in overall color depth and richness. That translates to skin tones, shiny bright reflections on Dusty's motorcycle, green grasses, accents around the home, balloons at a dance, anything and everything that has color benefits from the Dolby Vision format. Black levels, too, find highly impressive depth and density, whether nighttime blacks or dark attire. Both hold firm and never swallow an ounce of detail.

The UHD's textural bump is obvious, but not as dramatic as the boosted color palette. Textural efficiency and clarity are both increased, even as the film was digitally shot and is apparently an upscale from a 2K digital intermediate, unsurprising considering its roots as a basic family Comedy. Skin textures are better defined, clothes sharper and more revealing of fine fabric details and stitching, and environments -- whether plants and a walkway outside the Whitaker home or the many accents within it, including rugs, that mahogany floor, odds and ends around the kitchen, decorations on the walls in the living room and the bedrooms -- are all impressively complex. So too are they on the Blu-ray, but even a mild increase in sharpness and textural robustness goes a long way in improving the image, and in concert with the superb Dolby Vision coloring, it's really no contest that the UHD makes for a marked improvement over the Blu-ray. There are no source or encode flaws of note. Light noise is even and never intrusive, in fact appearing a little flattering in almost a grain-mimicking presentation. This is a triumphant example of Dolby Vision; both Daddy's Home films are reference material for that color format.

Daddy's Home 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Daddy's Home released to Blu-ray in March 2016, about two years ago, with a DTS:X soundtrack. Paramount has simply ported that over for this UHD release. Note that the studio has added a few additional dub tracks and subtitle options to the UHD disc. For a full review of the DTS:X soundtrack, please click here.

Daddy's Home 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Daddy's Home's UHD disc contains no extras, but the bundled Blu-ray, identical to that released a couple of years ago, of course carries over all of that bonus content. For a full review, please click here. For convenience, below is al list of what's included. This set also contains a fresh UV/iTunes digital copy code.

• The Making of Daddy's Home
• Daddy-Off
• Daddy Daughter Dance
• Halftime Stunt
• Tony Hawk: Skater Double
• Child's Play
• Hannibal Buress: The Perfect Houseguest
• Blooper -- Jeet Kune Do
• Deleted and Extended Scenes

Daddy's Home 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Daddy's Home is a solid Comedy that has earned a first-class UHD. The 2160p image, even as an upscale, delivers a solid boost in textural qualities and general image sharpness, but the winner here is the Dolby Vision coloring that blows away the Blu-ray, making it look comparatively dim and dull. Audio and supplements remain unchanged. Recommended, and highly so for Dolby Vision-capable buyers.