Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Hot Fuzz 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Universal has released Director Edgar Wright's 2007 film 'Hot Fuzz' to the UHD format. The new specifications include 2160p/HDR video and DTS:X audio. No new supplements are included but the bundled Blu-ray, identical to that which was released a decade ago, carries over a bunch. See below for reviews of new content.

At time of writing, this release is only available as part of a bundle with The World's End and Shaun of the Dead; the film has already been announced for individual release at a later date.

Hot Fuzz 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

This is probably the least attractive of the three films in the so-called "Cornetto Trilogy" as they appear on UHD. That's not to say it looks terrible, but it appears a bit off. Of note is a general flatness to the picture and sporadic examples of edge enhancement. Even with the 4K resolution at its disposal (albeit reportedly sourced from a 2K digital intermediate), and even as there's definitely a mild improvement to overall clarity and sharpness compered to the aged Blu-ray, one cannot help but feel that the picture could have been so much more: sharper, more texturally robust, more organically filmic. Grain has not been wiped away but the flat details certainly seem to be wanting improved clarity. Close-ups are without the sort of tight-knit, intimately detailed luxuries the format usually provides (though admittedly, none of the three pictures in this series on UHD ascend to absolute visual reference quality). This is a fairly pedestrian UHD image, texturally, anyway, a bit of an improvement over the Blu-ray but struggling with command and in the delivery of the sort of exquisite beauty one might expect.

The HDR color spectrum does add to the image and yields a marked improvement over the SDR Blu-ray. The improvements to basic depth and color density are appreciable. The Blu-ray has a brighter look to it; the UHD is not just "darker" but more natural and solidified. The UHD boasts some pleasantly deep but more very natural colors across a good spectrum of essentials, from boldly blue masks to crisp white attire, from various colors around Stanford shop exteriors to warm woods in bars (a common theme through this series). Natural greens are pleasantly deep and dense as well. White balance is improved, boasting a crispness, clarity, and stability missing from the Blu-ray. Black levels are of a good, deep quality. Flesh tones appear natural and accurate to any lighting condition, from bright exteriors to warmly lit interiors. The picture looks fairly good -- source flaws and encode anomalies are not readily apparent -- but there certainly seems to be some room for improvement.

Hot Fuzz 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hot Fuzz's DTS:X soundtrack isn't cold and never fizzles. The presentation is prolific, offering regularly occurring explosions of power and intense surround engagement. Action scenes are dynamic and exceedingly big, but never overpowering. The track's scope and depth is a compliment to the movie, a perfectly refined extension of the film's over engineering that toys with the Cop genre and amplifies convention for comic effect. The track is intense, taking full advantage of the low end's capabilities, ensuring constant dynamic support of the large-scale sound details, including music and action, that push hard through the entire stage. Clarity is excellent even in the track's abundance; no corner is ever left uncovered and no sound anything less that perfectly implemented. Dialogue is clear and detailed with good, natural front-center placement. It is always well prioritized though the madness.

Hot Fuzz 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Hot Fuzz's UHD disc contains five commentary tracks, which also appear on the bundled Blu-ray. Below is a list of what's included on that disc. For full supplemental content reviews, please click here. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Inadmissible: Deleted Scenes
• Outtakes
• The Evidence Room
• The Fuzzball Rally -- Uncut Commentary by Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost & Joe Cornish
• The Man Who Would Be Fuzz
• Hot Funk
• Danny's Notebook: The Other Side
• Additional Video Blogs
• Trailers
• Storyboard Gallery
• Audio Commentary: Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright.
• Audio Commentary: The Sandford Police Service: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Kevin Eldon & Olivia Colman.
• Audio Commentary: Edgar Wright & Quentin Tarantino
• Audio Commentary: The Sandford Village People: Kenneth Cranham, Timothy Dalton, Paul Freeman & Edward Woodward.
• Audio Commentary: The Real Fuzz: Andy Leafe & Nick Eckland.

Hot Fuzz 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hot Fuzz's UHD is pretty cool. The picture quality falls into that iffy middle gourd where it looks pretty good at-a-glance but seems to have some room for improvement. The audio is fantastic, though. There's a heaping helping of extras, including no less than five commentary tracks. Couch potatoes and armchair cops rejoice! Recommended.