Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

With the release of the rebooted 'Tomb Raider' film (distributed by Warner Brothers), Paramount has dug into the archives to release the pair of Angelina Jolie Lara Croft films to UHD. This one boasts an upscaled 4K/Dolby Vision presentation but does not include an Atmos soundtrack, featuring, instead, a more basic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 presentation, the same from the 2013-issue Blu-ray. The bundled Blu-ray, identical to that same 2013 disc, carries over all previously released supplements. It's also available separately in SteelBook packaging.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life arrives on the UHD format with a 2160p transfer that is, per Paramount, an upscale from a 2K DI and, by the looks of it, sourced from the very same master as the 2013 Blu-ray; a few warts that are present on the BD appear on the UHD (notably a stray fiber on the top-right corner of the screen seen during a seconds-long shot at the 47:43 mark, though it appears the UHD is shifted upwards a few pixels as there is more of it visible on this new disc). It's also 12-bit Dolby Vision enhanced. The image is pleasantly filmic. Grain retention is constant, and it's much lighter compared to the more dense and intense and occasionally fluctuating field seen throughout the first movie. This is a slightly better looking film by its nature, and the UHD certainly offers a necessary textural boost over the Blu-ray, which itself is fairly sharp and enjoyable but, after a compare, clearly lacking in terms of pure textural richness. Faces enjoy a nice jump in complexity, revealing finer lines, hairs, and pores with improved clarity and greater inherent sharpness. Environments, clothes, all of the usual suspects across the board enjoy a similar upward boost in pure complexity and clear visibility. It's certainly a little flat in places and visual effects shots lack the same inherent clarity. There are some scattered, but never really intrusive, very small speckles. But overall this makes for a very good increase in detail and clarity over a still good, but aging, Blu-ray.

The Dolby Vision color offers an even bigger step forward compared to the Blu-ray. Whites are a highlight, notably on a sun-drenched dress and dress shirts seen at a wedding at film's start. This is much brighter image overall compared to the BD, but colors are a match for the increase in brightness. They're more dense, accurate, and brilliant. Even something as seemingly mundane as a map seen in sunlight in the film's first minutes dazzles, the whites popping and the blue and yellow markings dazzling, both appearing far superior to what's on the BD. And what the Dolby Vision coloring does so well, particularly in a movie like this, is find a very agreeable balance between contrasting light and dark in the same scene. When Croft meets with Sheridan about half an hour into the movie, the Dolby Vision proves its worth by lighting its characters remarkably well -- boosting skin tones on both while also highlighting Croft's white feathery jacket -- while still presenting the dank, dreary, gray-and-black prison cell with remarkable dark depth and shadow detail. More warmly lit scenes find improved color saturation, neons are more brilliant during an action scene in chapter 14, skin tones are nicely enhanced, and blacks, as noted, hold very deep and accurate. This is another high efficiency and very enjoyable UHD release from Paramount.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life contains the same DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack as its Blu-ray predecessor. For a full audio review, please click here.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life's UHD disc contains no extras, but the bundled Blu-ray, which is identical to the one Warner Brothers issued in 2013 (including the familiar Warner Brothers menu screen) is included. For convenience, below is a basic list of what's included, but please click here for more information on the commentary. The featurettes are self-explanatory by their titles. A UV/iTunes digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Audio Commentary: Director Jan de Bont.
• Deleted/Alternate Scenes: With optional Jan de Bont commentary.
• Behind the Scenes: Training
• Behind the Scenes: Vehicles and Weapons
• Behind the Scenes: Stunts
• Behind the Scenes: Visual Effects
• Behind the Scenes: Scoring
• Behind the Scenes: Gerard Butler Screen Test
• Music Video: "Did My Time" by Korn.
• Music Video: "Heart Go Faster" by The Davey Brothers.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Neither the first Tomb Raider nor The Cradle of Life are particularly good movies. They're fan service films, putting a beautiful woman in harm's way so she can kick butt and solve a mystery in the middle of an adventure. Cradle is a bit more of a straightforward movie than the first. The previous film was all over the map, and while elements of the fantastic intersect with Cradle of Life, it's a more narratively approachable and grounded movie. It wasn't good enough to turn the series into a franchise, however, despite a decent return at the box office and the star power in the lead. Nevertheless, these films enjoy a sizable following which should only grow with the 4K releases. Cradle of Life's 4K/Dolby Vision UHD isn't quite the stunner as is its predecessor's disc, but it's a solid enough watch as-is and a good upgrade over a quality Blu-ray. Unfortunately, no new audio tracks or supplemental content is included. Worth a look.