Kingsman: The Golden Circle 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Kingsman: The Golden Circle 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton) is front and center, at least for a little while, in this second Kingsman film, one whose invigorating visuals and stupendous sound design might excite 4K UHD aficionados even if the film itself doesn't.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. This is another 4K presentation of a 2K DI that shows at times rather considerable upticks in detail and (especially) fine detail levels, with some of the natty suits and other finery (like some of Elton John's feathered costumes) looking noticeably more precise than on the already excellent looking 1080p Blu-ray presentation. Shadow detail is also at least somewhat improved in some of the darker sequences, as in the underwater moment when Eggsy's cab becomes a virtual Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or when Eggsy and Merlin confront each other in a bombed out ruin. Some of the most interesting visual differences in this 4K UHD presentation are the changes to the palette. The entire presentation on 4K UHD is pretty significantly better saturated than the (again) already excellent 1080p Blu-ray version, and the film's candy colored production design pops extremely well throughout. At certain times in this presentation there's a perhaps appropriate golden undertone to several scenes, something that tends to make some of Poppy's red infused scenes tend to look just ever so slightly orange. Some forest scenes have appreciably better detail in elements like foliage, and even some of the manic set pieces look at least a bit sharper in the 4K UHD version. As I evidently seem prone to do, I experienced some minor judder in quick lateral pans, typically in fight or chase scenes.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I gave top marks to the 1080p Blu-ray version of Kingsman: The Golden Circle's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, and while I can't up a perfect score, the Dolby Atmos track included on the 4K UHD disc offers the same riot of surround activity and forceful LFE that the other track does, while also introducing at least few moments of overhead placement. Kind of surprisingly, one of the first of these is when the radio gets pushed on during the calamitous battle between Eggsy and Charlie that opens the film, but there are some other key moments, notably the arrival of missiles at various Kingsman locations, that also offer some new "hovering" effects. As with the "standard" 7.1 mix, fidelity is superb throughout, offering crystal clarity and extremely wide dynamic range.

Note: As often tends to be the case with these Fox releases in multiple formats, the audio and subtitle specs are different on the 4K UHD and 1080p Blu-ray discs. The specs above are for the 4K UHD disc. See the review linked above for specs on the 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Perhaps a little surprisingly, Fox hasn't included any supplements on the 4K UHD disc. The 1080p Blu-ray disc also included in this package of course contains all of the supplements detailed in our Kingsman: The Golden Circle Blu-ray review.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is simultaneously weirdly over padded and underdeveloped, and it flits from plot point to plot point like a former spy with attention deficit disorder, but this 4K UHD version offers sterling video and (especially) audio, for those considering a purchase.