5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Cady Heron is a hit with the Plastics, an A-list girl clique at her new school, and she makes mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic, Regina George.
Starring: Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, AvantikaComedy | 100% |
Musical | 71% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Castilian Spanish 5.1; Latin Spanish 5.1
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
It just wouldn't be another week at the movies (or on Blu-ray.com) without another "remake" or "reimaging" popping up for perusal. And here is the latest, which is Mean Girls, directed by the duo of Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., written by Tina Fey, who just so happened to (co-)write the original Mean Girls which released 20 years ago and remains today something of a cultural classic. This remake keeps the essential narrative elements and characters but updates it for modern times (it's amazing how much has changed in two decades) while also adding the trendy musical component where a solid 45 minutes of the film is comprised of, and the story told through, song and sometimes dance. Is it a necessary remake/re-imagining? Not really, but the film is solidly constructed, well-acted, and in many ways looks and sounds just like the original, down to some very fine little touches, while of course carving out its own identity, primarily through its music.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.
Paramount brings Mean Girls to the UHD format with a 2160p/Doby Vision UHD presentation. The image is solid in every way, much like the
Blu-ray, but at the same time the UHD is not necessarily a standout amongst
its
peers. It's a very good image, no mistake, but the picture isn't going to be featured amongst the best format personations of 2024. The Dolby Vision
color
grading does amplify the color spectrum next to the Blu-ray, offering the usual upgrade suite of bolder colors, brighter whites, deeper blacks, and a
generally more robust feeling of tonal brilliance and punch. Of course, clothes remain the standout highlight, but never shortchange some of the
school
interiors as well. A scene in math class around the 15-minute mark is one of the best examples of the UHD's Dolby Vision grading, where the various
clothing examples, the green chalkboard, and even some white support content show how the UHD amplifies the colors and improves on the Blu-ray;
it's
a great place for a head-to-head comparison between the formats.
Texturally, the gains are obvious but also not monumental. The upshift in resolutions clearly brings about a, well, clearer image with more
robust textural accuracy and finer point definition, especially in close-ups of faces. The overall sharpness is improved and stability is enhanced,
especially in distant elements in the school (little odds and ends on desks, hanging on walls, and so forth). The improvements are welcome and make
a
difference, but not perhaps such a vast difference that it just blows the Blu-ray out of the water. It's more a refinement than a revolution, which is
probably what most viewers would expect for a new release, especially for a film in this genre. Like the Blu-ray there is a relative absence of noise
and
compression issues. This is not a UHD worthy of song (and dance), but it does best the Blu-ray and is clearly the version to choose.
Mean Girls arrives on UHD with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. This is not necessarily the sort of film one would expect to really benefit from an Atmos track over a more traditional 5.1 track or a slightly less traditional 7.1 track. There's not a lot of swooping action and intensive, hard core sort of audio output, but the added fullness and spaciousness -- the subtle overhead usage and the greater spatial usage and awareness -- help to offer the fullest and most comprehensive audio engagement available, even if the top layer is more about gentle support rather than prominent usage. Indeed, the overhead channels aren't used for any great and discrete material but help to bring a sense of absolute listening environment fullness to the listener, recreating school hallways, classrooms, cafeterias, and other locations where some of the more involved singing and environment elements take shape with very good engagement that does not prioritize the top but rather folds it into seamless perfection. Even some of the gentler environmental fill offers nicely lifted, if not very mild, support. The traditional surround wrap elements are more obviously integrated but still not used to discrete excess, again settling, and rightly so, to bring the stage to life, not to keep heads turning. The bulk of the music takes place up front, centered and stretched far out to the sides, yielding excellent coverage but also perfect prioritization and focus where it needs to be. Musical and vocal clarity are stellar, and the spoken word is also centered, well prioritized, crisp, and lifelike throughout.
This UHD release of Mean Girls includes a several extras. No Blu-ray copy of the film is included, but Paramount has bundled in a digital copy
code. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.
Mean Girls is at once very much in the spirit of the original -- down to near perfect recreations of lines, moments, people, and places -- while also bringing a new sense of identity and direction through its music. Is it a necessary take on the story? Not really, but then the vast, vast majority of remakes or re-imaginings are not explicitly "necessary." Still, it finds its place alongside the original as an interesting and watchable companion piece. Paramount's UHD delivers high end video and audio and an enjoyable scattering of extras. Worth a look.
1993
2003
2016
2017-2024
Sing-Along Edition
2018
1992
20th Anniversary Limited Edition Packaging
2004
Rockin' Rydell Edition
1978
2015
1995
2-Disc Shake and Shimmy Edition
2007
2019
2012
2002
2005
2009-2010
2016
2016
2016
2018