Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

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

Whether March is coming in like a lion or a lamb may depend in part on how you're responding to the newest format available for home theater aficionados, 4K UHD Blu-rays. This rollout has been a bit more haphazard than even jaded HT enthusiasts may have been expecting, but a number of high profile films are seeing the light of day in new "ultra high definition".

Those either just having adopted or thinking about transitioning to UHD will also want to read Martin Liebman's fun and informative article here.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The Video score above refers to the original Blu-ray release. The 4K score is for the video quality of the UHD version.

Can a so-called "4K UHD 3.5" score top a so-called "1080p BD 4.5" score? That may be the most relevant question facing those comparing Maze Runner: The Scorch Trial's HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.40:1 with that of its 1080p Blu-ray counterpart. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials was captured at 3.4K which was then utilized to prepare a 2K DI, from which I assume this 4K UHD was sourced. The image here benefits from a considerable uptick in fine detail across the board, something that is instantly apparent in the opening sequence with its bluish tint (this film is almost relentlessly blue at times) and evocative snow fall. There's a greater depth of field apparent and an almost 3D quality to the snowflakes in this opening scene which are not as pronounced in the 1080p version. Later, when the repeated visual trope of mist or swirling sand starts to come into play (including in the film's title logo), detail is noticeably improved, delivering a much clearer sense of individual elements.

The film's many color graded scenes, most of which offer a deep cobalt blue tint, now show increased contrast and better gradation in highlights. Shadow detail is at least incrementally improved in several scenes that take place before the kids venture out into the great outdoors.

Once the film gets outside into the bright sunlight and the color grading tends to exploit more on the yellow side of things, contrast is commendable and gradations within lighter tones more distinctive. Interestingly, though, a phenomenon I noted in my Exodus: Gods and Kings 4K Blu-ray review and which my colleague Michael Reuben mentioned in his Mad Max: Fury Road 4K Blu-ray review also crops up here, where the increased resolution tends to make CGI elements have more of a "fake" or almost "cartoonish" feel. This tends to crop up here in elements like CGI backgrounds (seen especially in the outdoor environments) but also in other scenes including the private "Skype" session featuring Patricia Clarkson's Ava Paige, where the pixellation of the image is more pronounced and therefore a bit more processed looking.

I'm still experiencing the same kind of at times rather considerable judder during pans that I've discussed in my previous 4K UHD reviews (for the helpful members who have PMd me about this, yes, my display is already set for increased judder control, but the phenomenon is pretty uniform no matter what settings I utilize). Another kind of interesting anomaly on this particular presentation is something that appears on its face to be minor banding but which tends to be associated almost exclusively with those fine sprays of mist, fog or sand that inform so much of the film. This may in fact be yet another byproduct of now being able to see some of the "seams" of digital SFX work.

Aside from these issues, though, the image is rather impressively sharp and well defined almost all of the time, and even when busy patterns are in play, things look clear and impressively resolved. As with all of these initial 4K UHD reviews, scores may be somewhat fluid to begin with, but this presents clear upgrades while also introducing a few new problems into the mix.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This release ports over the audio from the Blu-ray. For an assessment of the audio, please see our original Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Blu-ray review.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc features the commentary track included on the original Blu-ray disc. The 1080p Blu-ray disc also included in this package includes all of the original supplements detailed in our original Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Blu-ray review.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I wasn't overly impressed with Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, finding it a bit of an overheated stew that, like a lost person in a labyrinth, tended to repeat its steps a few too many times. This new 4K UHD release offers some substantial upticks in detail, but with that increased detail come at least a few new issues. While perhaps not as consistently eye poppingly impressive as Exodus: Gods and Kings 4K, this new iteration of the film offers visual interest at many turns, and this new format's HDR offers some appealing new gradations especially within the heavily blue tinted sequences that make up large swaths of the story. Recommended.