Looper 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Looper 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Sony has released Writer/Director Rian Johnson's engaging and unique Sci-Fi Action/Thriller film 'Looper' to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio. No new supplements are included and all of the legacy extras are on the bundled Blu-ray disc, which is identical to that which Sony released on New Year's Eve 2012.

Looper 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

Looper looks terrific on UHD. Sony's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation thrives with the added resolution and enhanced color parameters. Grain retention is constant and density is pleasing, though those who are anti-grain might be turned off by what is an almost always evident layering. Fans of the film medium look, however, should find this a very pleasing presentation. Improvements to stability, clarity, and sharpness are in evidence from the beginning. The picture delights with its very capable and very stable texturing, revealing improvements to a decade-old Blu-ray that looked good then, and still holds its ground today, but appears comparatively smooth and lacking the fine-point richness and stability the UHD offers. Viewers will appreciate the finer point skin definition, superior environmental elements, and improved textural finesse on various environments, notably in bright, sunny exteriors where Joe often kills his future targets.

Color reproduction is superior under the Dolby Vision parameters as well. The film bears the fruit of a good grading application that improves white balance and authenticity, black level depth and immersion (without crushing out detail), and skin tones accuracy. Bright natural greens thrive with enhanced depth and richness, various examples of attire enjoy newfound depth and accuracy, and a full spectrum of colors bear the fruit of superior vividness and realism without losing a grounding in the essential base color. In other words, the movie never looks like an amped up cartoon but rather a better version of the original Blu-ray. Colors are impressively accurate and stable and, in every scene, even low light, the fruit of the Dolby Vision grading is in evidence. Further, the picture suffers from no obvious source flaws or encode issues. This is a top rate UHD from Sony.

Looper 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony brings Looper into the present with a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The Atmos track opens up the various city exteriors seen in the early minutes with professional precision. Listeners will feel immediately and fully immersed into the various locations where light, but nevertheless rich, world atmosphere draws the audience into the film. These may not be critical sound elements as they relate to the story, but they are vital in creating a legitimate world which is of course of top priority to make a convincing soundscape. In addition to these are some staggeringly intense sound elements throughout; a gunshot inside an enclosed space at the 16-minute mark, for example, is thunderously deafening. No doubt some very real and lingering pain (and probably hearing loss) would accompany such a thing in real life, but as it is presented here it's about best-case scenario for a movie gunshot. Additional action elements are plentiful, including blasts from the "blunderbuss" weapons, explosions, and other high yield sound elements which dominate every time they are in play. The expanded sound field, courtesy of the surround-back and overhead channels, allows for more robust and engaging immersion precision during action. Clarity holds even in high intensity and deep subwoofer moments. Music is clear and rich and wonderfully spaced. Dialogue is clear and center positioned for the duration. It is always well prioritized for the duration.

Looper 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Looper's UHD disc contains no supplements, but the bundled Blu-ray offers the same extras from the 2012 release. For convenience, below is a list of what's included. Please click here for full coverage. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Audio Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• The Future from the Beginning
• The Science of Time Travel
• Scoring Looper
• Looper Animated Trailer
• Previews

Looper 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Looper holds as one of the best Sci-Fi films of the 2000s, and Sony's new UHD is the best way to re-watch it in 2022 or see it for the first time. The 2160p/Dolby Vision presentation looks fantastic, the Atmos track sounds even better, and the legacy extras remains a quality assortment of supplements. Highly recommended.