Primal 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Primal 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 4, 2022

Hey, boys and girls! It's another week, and you know what that means: another chance to play the fun, exciting game of "what will Lionsgate release on 4K this time, and why?" Yes, kids, it's sad that that second question can probably never be satisfactorily answered, but once again Lionsgate may provide a "things that make you go hmmm" moment for some with the 4K UHD release of Primal, a film which wasn't met with much critical excitement when it was released, and which was more or less a straight to video offering, at least considering how quickly the title matriculated to 1080 Blu-ray. That was a good three years ago, give or take a few months, which of course begs the question (unanswerable, per the above) as to why Lionsgate would now release this title in 4K UHD, with their new if arguably unimproved strategy of not including a 1080 disc in the package.

For anyone wanting a plot recap, my colleague Brian Orndorf contributed a Primal Blu-ray review of the 1080 release which should more than suffice. I'll simply echo Brian's assessment that this is another sign that Nicolas Cage, while obviously having to endure The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent isn't above saying "yes" to just about anything with a paycheck attached. While Brian and I agree on the overall score for the film, I'm a bit more of a curmudgeon in terms of the one supplement included, and my score reflects that. Also, I'm even more of a curmudgeon in that I didn't up my overall score for the release based on video and audio, as Brian did, so those otherwise interested in this release should take that into account.

Primal 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc. This release does not include a 1080 disc.

Primal is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1*. According to the IMDb, this was captured with a Red Epic at source resolutions of up to 8K, and while the site does not offer a resolution for the DI, I can't imagine it not being 4K, and a member here had already set this release to Native 4K. This is an interesting looking 4K release in any case, one which enjoys some noticeable upticks in fine detail, which frankly may not be that helpful to things, since, as Brian mentioned in his review of the 1080 release, the CGI in this outing is almost laughably bad at times. If you can get past that aspect, and it may be difficult since the animated beasties are so prevalent, the rest of the presentation in terms of general detail levels is typically very good, and some compression anomalies like the banding that Brian mentioned (and which I also spotted in the 1080 presentation), is at least ameliorated here. Unlike the last "why this title?" Lionsgate 4K UHD release I reviewed, Gamer 4K (which, like this one, did not include the 1080 version in the package), this release at least has HDR, and there are some kind of interesting changes to the overall look of the presentation as a result. There is still the "sickly yellow" tone that permeates a lot of the ship sequences, but I have to say flesh tones look considerably more natural in at least some of the ship set scenes now, notably some of the mess (i.e., cafeteria) material. Shadow detail enjoys at least some marginal improvement, which once again may not always redound to the benefit of things in terms of some of the CGI "characters" slithering through the shadows.

*One kind of interesting if probably irrelevant thing is that, as above, the screenshots are sourced from the 1080 Lionsgate disc but are showing 2.39:1 here, while Brian's review shows a 2.38:1 aspect ratio. I'm at odds to explain this discrepancy.

Primal 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kind of oddly (hey, it's a Lionsgate 4K UHD release), Lionsgate's 1080 release sported a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track, while this 4K UHD disc offers a DTS- HD Master Audio 5.1 track. I frankly noticed little if any difference between the two, and as Brian mentioned in his review of the 1080 release, there are really nicely layered atmospherics that waft through the surround channels with a fair degree of consistency, despite so much of the film taking place in relatively cloistered shipboard locations. The echo laden "hall ambience" adds a nicely claustrophobic flavor, and there are both good startle effects and other general bursts of LFE that keep the soundstage active. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

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

• The Making of Primal (HD; 9:11) is ported over from the 1080 release, albeit weirdly shorn of two seconds, evidently.

Additionally a digital copy is included.

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

Primal is a patently odd combo platter of ideas lifted from other films, and it is such a bizarre mishmash that it may have never been able to overcome the clash of elements it hopes to provide, but unfortunately writer Richard Leder and director Nick Powell probably only further complicate things with a lack of focus and tone. Cage is his typical irascible self, and fans of the actor will probably get marginal entertainment value out of things. The 4K UHD presentation is to my eyes superior to the 1080 version in both general detail levels and nuance of the palette, but the detail level improvement in particular may actually be a problem because the CGI here is shall we say less than believable. But, that said, technical merits are generally solid for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.