Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has released the Christopher McQuarrie/Tom Cruise Action film 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' to the UHD format. The disc replaces an excellent 2015 Blu-ray. This UHD adds several new featurettes on a bonus Blu-ray disc that was not included with the original Blu-ray. The UHD disc offers no new audio but does feature a new 2160p/Dolby Vision video presentation.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This is a very strong, very enjoyable UHD image. Despite being the first film in the Mission: Impossible series not to come from a true 4K source, the 2160p presentation is quite good, with refined sharpness that veteran Blu-ray viewers will note to be more substantial than even the best 1080p disc is able to provide. The opening scene with Benji in the grass is a good right-off-the-bat example. The increased clarity of the entire scene elevates it a good bit (certainly aided by the boost from the Dolby Vision colors) and the clarity of each individual blade of grass on his ghillie suit appears sharper, cleaner, more tactile. Improvements translate throughout the film. Standard-bearer elements -- skin, clothes -- benefit from the bump in resolution, finding that more finely tuned sharpness and clarity of not only essential details but smaller support pieces that truly elevate the picture from ordinary to extraordinary. The film's various environments -- whether wide-open city vistas or a dark and confined backstage area at an opera -- enjoy striking clarity while various props and background pieces are likewise very sharp. The movie boasts a very nice grain texture that's beautifully rendered and highly complimentary.

Yet even with the modest, but very enjoyable, robust, and obvious, increase in detail, it's once again the Dolby Vision color enhancement that brings the movie to life. This one hits all the talking-point highlights. Color brilliance is greatly improved, with whites a particular standout. Natural greens, intense blues, dominant reds, the entire spectrum -- from bold and intense primaries to the most subtly inconsequential background or transitional nuance -- greatly benefits in terms of color clarity, vibrancy, stability, and accuracy. Skin tones are more refined and black levels are deeper without crushing out shadow detail. The movie's palette looks absolutely stunning, and the whole thing, really, absolutely shines on the UHD format. Paramount has done a great job with the Mission movies, and even this one, with its 2K digital intermediate, looks just about as good as any of the other true 4K and film-based presentations.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation's UHD disc carries over the Blu-ray's Dolby Atmos soundtrack and is the only UHD to feature that sound configuration. For a full review please click here. Note that that review pertains only to the "core" TrueHD 7.1 track. The Atmos experience does add to the sonic fun factor, and listeners will note additional fullness to several key sequences. The opera sequence in chapter five is a particular highlight. The addition of the top layer creates a more firmly immersive and detailed experience. The vocal and instrumental clarity is stunning, and the addition of height channels creates an added sensation of spacial fullness and stage saturation. It's a brilliant moment that shines under the Atmos configuration. The improved depth and dominance of the film's famous underwater sequence is enhanced, too, truly drawing the listener into the space with swirling submersed machinery engaging above the stage.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation's UHD release carries over all of the bonus content from the 2015 disc, appearing on the bundled Blu- ray. It also adds a second Blu-ray disc of bonus features that's a hybrid of new and old content. Below is a breakdown of what's included, with reviews of new content as necessary. For reviews of carryover content, please click here. A UV/iTunes digital copy code is included with purchase.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: Actor Tom Cruise and Director Christopher McQuarrie. Also available on the UHD disc.
• Lighting the Fuse
• Cruise Control
• Heroes...
• Cruising Altitude
• Mission: Immersible
• Sand Theft Auto
• The Missions Continue

• Lighting the Fuse
• Cruise Control
• Heroes...
• ...And Rogues (1080p, 5:43): A closer look at the film's dual antagonists played by Alec Baldwin and Sean Harris.
• Top Crews (1080p, 6:40): A closer look at the film's production design team and the contributions they make to the movie, Robert Elswit's cinematography, and Joanna Johnston's costumes.
• Travel Agents (1080p, 5:47): Cast and crew discuss working and shooting in the international locations in the movie and how they serve as more than glorified set dressing.
• Opera-Tion Turandot (1080p, 4:16): A history of the opera featured in the film and a discussion of making the sequence.
• Practically Impossible (1080p, 5:59): A discussion of the film's practical, in-camera effects and the benefits thereof over CGI. The supplement explores a few of the specific props and scenes.
• Stunts (1080p): A five-part feature which includes three repeating supplements and two new ones. Carryovers include Cruising Altitude, Mission: Immersible, and Sand Theft Auto. A Fight at the Opera (5:26) goes in-depth to explore making a violent fight scene backstage at an opera. Run-Don (4:09) explores the challenge of making a large-scale foot chase scene.
• Cut! (1080p, 7:17): A fascinating, though relatively quick, discussion of the editing process with Editor Eddie Hamilton.
• Variations on a Theme (1080p, 4:50): Composer Joe Kraemer discusses his use of the original theme music, including a faithful reproduction and his own tweaks to fit key moments in the film.
• The Missions Continue

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Its been a joy to revisit all of these Mission: Impossible films on the UHD format. Each one looks great, some better than others, but the studio has done a first-rate job bringing them all to the 2160p format. Rogue Nation is the odd-man out in terms of being the only film shot on digital, but it's no less filmic, crisp, and beautifully colorful compared to the other four. This is a consistently striking image, is certainly one of the very best upscaled 4K images on the market, and is one of the better ones, period. The Atmos audio is the picture's match and Paramount has even thrown in a new bonus disc with mostly new content. Highly recommended.