Dredd 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Dredd 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Maybe there’s a parlor game someone can create to explain the linkage between a trifecta of catalog items Lionsgate has chosen to release in tandem in the 4K UHD format. Dredd 3D, Snitch and Ex Machina (the links point to the original 1080p releases) would seem to have relatively little in common, but for 4K UHD aficionados, there are both visual and aural pleasures to be had.

Dredd 4K + 3D 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.

Dredd is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. Assumedly sourced from the film's 2K DI, the uptick in detail is noticeable and HDR provides arguably even more of a difference from the 1080p Blu-ray version, but this still doesn't quite have the sheen and precision seen in Ex Machina 4K, and so I'd grade this as the second most effective of the three 4K UHD re-releases Lionsgate is bringing out in tandem. Some of the coolest changes involve the intentionally hallucinatory "point of view" shots of various drug users scattered throughout the film. Note, for example, the really weird, psychedically tinged, orange and yellow colors in the van carrying the drug runners in an early chase sequence, and the more nuanced yet incredibly bright and vivid tones are immediately apparent when comparing them to the 1080p Blu-ray version. The film is filled with a lot of stylized photography, with some scenes shorn of virtually all color, and other moments offering a really dramatically saturated palette. Detail levels on Dredd's chin stubble are impeccable in close-ups, while some of the CGI still has a slightly soft ambience at times. The film, much like Ex Machina, has a lot of dimly lit material, especially once things get inside the squalid apartment house, and while not quite at the improvement levels seen in Ex Machina, shadow detail is at least marginally improved throughout.

Note: While I couldn't see any explicit mention of this on the packaging, the 1080p Blu-ray disc included in this package is the same 3D/2D hybrid disc as was offered as a standalone and which is covered in the above linked review.

Dredd 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dredd's audio on the 1080p Blu-ray was flawless in my opinion, and was one of the major selling points to that presentation. That assessment only continues with this 4K UHD's incredibly vigorous Dolby Atmos track, one which provides near constant immersion (beginning with the old school "gear" Lionsgate logo, as well as the other production mastheads, all of which offer really interesting surround sonics). There's wonderfully rumbling but still rather subtle LFE in the opening sequence, where Dredd's narration now seems to hover overhead more. Panning sounds are a regular feature courtesy of the motorcycles the judges ride, and as expected fight scenes, especially those with machine guns, offer a splatter of discretely placed effects that may make some listeners flinch in startle responses at times. As commendable as the video component of this release is, I'd say that audio is again one of the stronger standouts and will really give the discerning audiophile's system a nice workout.

Dredd 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc ports over all of the supplements detailed in our Dredd 3D Blu-ray review.

Dredd 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I hadn't rewatched Dredd since I did the original review several years ago, and I have to say I rather enjoyed revisiting it, as dystopian and often hyperbolically violent as it is. Lionsgate has provided excellent technical merits and has smartly ported over the Blu-ray disc's supplements to the 4K UHD disc. (By the way, for those wanting some interesting background information on Dredd, you might want to check out a Severin Films documentary release I recently reviewed, Future Shock! The Story of 2000 AD.) Highly recommended.