Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Gamer 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 26, 2022

Lionsgate's "strategy" with regard to its 4K UHD releases continues to, um, dazzle (if that's the right word, which it may very well not be). I joked repeatedly when the 4K UHD "revolution" started moving into high(er?) gear that Lionsgate seemed to have an employee assigned to throw darts (while blindfolded) at prospective titles for release in the "new, improved" format, with preference given to older titles where there might be piles of "remainder" 1080 discs that could be included in the package. I'm frankly not privy to how well Gamer sold on (1080) Blu-ray back in the veritable dawn of that "revolutionary" format, but rather interestingly if perhaps annoyingly, this is just one of several new 4K UHD releases from Lionsgate which does not include a previously released 1080 disc in the package.

For those wanting a plot recap, Martin Liebman wrote his Gamer Blu-ray review way back in 2010, which is some indication of just how old the 1080 release is/was. Marty's thoughts on the film align almost completely with mine, and so the only divergence in our scores is with regard to the supplements.

Gamer 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 Blu-ray.

Gamer is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. I've long stated my preference for Red captures as opposed to Arri captures, and in that regard, it's kind of fun to watch the Red-centric supplement on this disc for some information on the relatively early days of this technology. Marty gets into quite a bit of detail in his assessment of the 1080 disc's video on some of the stylistic quirks employed in the film, and my general feeling is that despite an almost ADHD approach to things like lenses, skewed perspectives, obvious tweaking in terms of distressed imagery and a sometimes blanched, sometimes oversaturated, palette, this 4K UHD presentation improves things noticeably, if subtly, at least in terms of general detail levels if not necessarily that much in terms of palette nuances. Unless my players are misrepresenting things, this does not have HDR10+ or Dolby Vision (this listing had been incorrectly set to show those), and while I got a "standard" HDR prompt when I booted this disc, the info page actually showed SDR. All of this said, there may at least occasionally be the perception of slightly added nuance to a palette that is literally all over the place, something that kind of ironically I found to be at least as noticeable in some of the black and white (now at times almost sepia toned) imagery as in the more over the top color moments. Considering the amount of intentional tweaking of the imagery at times, detail levels are also very good to excellent throughout. I found that the increased resolution might not be overly "kind" to some of the material that is supposed to look like video. Red technology has obviously improved over the years, and 4K DIs are now becoming almost commonplace, but with an understanding of context and intentional stylistic choices, this offers generally secure detail levels and a decent if not exactly "new, improved" accounting of the film's often outlandish palette.

Gamer 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This is the first time to my immediate recall that a 4K UHD release of a previously released 1080 version gets a "downgrade" in its audio, albeit relatively minor in this case, from the 1080 Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track to this 4K UHD disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This is frankly another kind of headscratcher for me in terms of how Lionsgate has been rolling out these releases, but the good news is the 5.1 track is impressive on its own merits, even if it doesn't quite have the discrete placements that the 7.1 track can offer. There is immersion literally from the get go, with what almost amounts to a cacophony of effects, layered and at times almost overwhelming, which swirl around the listener with a good deal of energy. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout and dynamic range is very wide. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

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

It looks like Lionsgate has commendably ported over the supplements from the 1080 Blu-ray Marty reviewed with the exception of what sounds like were some now quaint sounding "bells and whistles" from the early days of the Blu-ray format, including a quasi-Maximum Movie Mode supplement. Unless I'm misunderstanding Marty's review, this release also includes some Extended Deleted Footage that doesn't look like it made it to 1080 Blu-ray. . For more information on everything else, please consult Marty's Gamer Blu-ray review.

• Audio Commentary with Writers/Directors Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine and Actors Amber Valletta, Alison Lohman, and Terry Crews


• Inside the Game: Controlling the Gamer (HD; 1:19:42)


• First Person Shooter: The Evolution of Red (HD; 16:45)


• Extended Deleted Footage (HD; 12:52)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:33)


• Trailer #2 (HD; 2:30)

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

For visual allure and sonic wonderment, Gamer provides an interesting 4K UHD experience. As an actual film with a comprehensible story, results may not be quite as definitive. Technical merits frankly seem as perplexing as Lionsgate's choices in 4K UHD material on this particular disc, with video that doesn't take full advantage of the 4K UHD format and audio that is weirdly downgraded from the 1080 release. The supplements have made it over from the 1080 release mostly intact, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.