Just Mercy 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Just Mercy 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

To serve and protect.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 16, 2024

Destin Daniel Cretton's Just Mercy is the kind of steady, self-assured adult drama that's easy to take for granted, and doubly so for its unwavering commitment to optimism in the face of cruelty. Although it bears the dreaded "based on a true story" badge, at least this is a good one: it focuses on lawyer/activist Bryan Stevenson and the early years of his Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization that offers pro bono legal assistance to wrongly imprisoned men and women in the state of Alabama. It's a somewhat predictable and clichéd but emotionally resonant film, one that is so morally tied to its outstanding real-world cause that Just Mercy is worth watching for the subject matter alone.

Warner Bros. release Just Mercy on Blu-ray back in 2020; in my review of that disc, I rightfully complained about the lack of a UHD option given the film's 4K roots. Now more than four years later, Warner Bros. has finally decided to give fans the visual upgrade option they should've had in the first place. All other facets of this disc are identical, however, from the Dolby Atmos audio to the familiar handful of extras. As for the film itself, I stand by my original linked review: this is a predictable yet sturdy human drama that's certainly worth watching if you haven't see it yet.

Just Mercy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These screenshots are sourced from the 2020 Blu-ray, not included with this release.

Just Mercy's native appearance is the product of a 4K digital intermediate, so I was as disappointed as anyone when Warner Bros. only offered a Blu-ray option in 2020; it was a great-looking disc that holds it own, yet I'm glad the film has finally been given its due on UHD. And from the looks of things, WB has attempted to make up for lost time with a nicely-authored triple-layer (100GB) disc that runs at a supportively high bit rate from start to finish -- it largely seems to stay within the 60-65Mbps range with occasional dips and peaks about 10-20Mpbs in either direction.

For the most part, the jump to native 4K won't necessarily reveal a night-and-day improvement on small to mid-sized displays (65" or less), as the largest leaps arrive in the form of fine detail and overall stability seen on dense textures and smaller background details. Whereas the Blu-ray falters a bit in these instances -- only in direct comparison, not accounting for format limitations -- the 2160p/HDR10 (Dolby Vision compatible) transfer absolutely stays on course with razor-sharp accuracy. The HDR grade is fairly subtle, often times even dialing back saturation a bit to reveal more natural and nuanced color variations rather thank blanketed warm or cool tones. This adds a renewed level of depth to particular scenes, as do the heightened contrast and black levels afforded by its high dynamic range. (Some displays may handle this better than others, as always, since its effectiveness depends on local dimming capabilities.) So while this may or may not offer a transformative change for some, those with higher-end setups or especially projectors will be summarily pleased with the improvements on display here. It's a great effort overall and, if nothing else, makes me hopeful that other semi-recent catalog titles will get a bump to UHD in the near future such as The Goldfinch, The Way Back, Motherless Brooklyn, and The Wolf of Snow Hollow, and Night of the Animated Dead (kidding).

Just Mercy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Just Mercy's Dolby Atmos audio sounds identical to what we got on the 2020 Blu-ray; feel free to read my linked review for more details, but it's a potent and dynamic track that overwhelmingly gets the job done. Please note, however, that this 4K disc drops a number of foreign audio and subtitle options from the Blu-ray, which is not included.

Just Mercy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Speaking of similarities to the Blu-ray, this MOD (pressed, not burnt) 4K release ships in a keepcase with identical cover art and menus to the 2020 Blu-ray; not surprisingly, all on-disc bonus features are exactly the same too. They're listed below in name only, but more details about each one can be found in that linked review.

• Making Mercy (4:06)

• The Equal Justice Initiative (8:10)

• This Moment Deserves (6:07)

• Deleted Scenes (8 clips, 14:31 total)

Just Mercy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Just Mercy is a decently durable, down-to-Earth drama that will likely hold up well enough over time, even though it was only a modest hit at the box office in 2019. It's well-acted and evenly paced with great music, along with plenty of other solid fundamental strengths... and despite the somewhat predictable plot and a few related speed bumps, there's plenty to like about this emotionally resonant production. Warner Bros.' belated UHD package finally gives fans the 4K visual upgrade they should've gotten more than four years ago, but all other facets of this MOD release are exactly the same as the 2020 Blu-ray which may limit wide appeal. As such, I can't imagine anyone but the film's most enthusiastic fans shelling out full price for this, but it's nonetheless solidly Recommended to the right crowd.