Kong: Skull Island 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Kong: Skull Island 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

More Monkey Business

As recently discussed in my review of the 4K version of Batman and Harley Quinn, Warner's UHD strategy has often been baffling, but the choice to release Kong: Skull Island ("K:SI") in 4K was a no-brainer. Not only does the film number among the small handful of recent Warner tentpoles to be favorably received by both audiences and reviewers, but it's also visually spectacular, offering magnificent landscapes and intricately engineered CGI creatures, all of which might benefit from 4K/HDR treatment. The principal limitation on K:SI's UHD rendition is the already-excellent Blu-ray. How much better could the film look? (Answer: Not that much.)

Kong: Skull Island 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

(Note: Screenshots accompanying this review have been captured from the standard Blu-ray. Additional captures from that disc can be found here and here.)

Kong: Skull Island was completed on a digital intermediate at 2K, thereby imposing a now-familiar limit on the ability of UHD presentation to reveal increased detail. Indeed, with K:SI there's even less room for improvement, because the standard Blu-ray is so superbly sharp and detailed. The benefits to be found on Warner's 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHD are attributable more to HDR encoding than to 4K up-conversion, and the CGI creations are a prime example. Kong's delicately rendered fur is more subtly shaded and finely textured, although he has to be standing still for the differences to stand out. The giant spider creature with snapping crab claws that attacks the expedition from above the tree line is noticeably more detailed and defined—and even gooier when it's finally brought down. The massive squid that attacks Kong (and discovers what a mistake that is) features more variegated shades of brown on its tentacles and body, and the tentacle suckers are more individuated. The reptilian skin of the Skull Crawlers exhibits more variations in texture (and it's even more repellent).

Creatures aren't the only HDR beneficiary. Superior contrast renders many of the film's expansive tableaus noticeably sharper, especially those that have been extended with CG. Prime examples include the fog-shrouded mass grave of creatures killed by the Skull Crawlers and the interior of the wrecked ship where the Iwi record their history in a mosaic of totems. An occasional scene jumps out with added highlights, e.g., when Weaver is knocked into the river during Kong's battle with the Skull Crawler queen; the daylight above the water is brighter and more intense on the UHD. As for the extraordinary location photography, that was already breathtaking on Blu-ray, and there's little the UHD can add to make it more so.

[System calibrated using a Klein K10-A Colorimeter with a custom profile created with a Colorimetry Research CR250 Spectraradiometer, powered by SpectraCal CalMAN 2016 5.7, using the Samsung Reference 2016 UHD HDR Blu-ray test disc authored by Florian Friedrich from AV Top in Munich, Germany. Calibration performed by Kevin Miller of ISFTV.]

Kong: Skull Island 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 4K disc of K:SI contains the same excellent Dolby Atmos track previously reviewed here.

Kong: Skull Island 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K disc of K:SI contains the same director's commentary that has been previously reviewed. The remaining extras can be found on the included standard Blu-ray; they are listed here.

Kong: Skull Island 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The UHD of Kong: Skull Island is a capable presentation, but as has often been the case with 4K discs sourced from 2K DIs, the improvements are sufficiently subtle and minute as to beg the question of whether an upgrade is worth the extra investment. Far more dramatic visual improvements are achieved by K:SI's 3D rendition, but those come at the cost of a lesser soundtrack, since Warner inexplicably continues to omit Dolby Atmos from its 3D discs. Buyer's choice.