Punisher: War Zone 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Punisher: War Zone 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 27, 2018

For those keeping track of my perhaps cheeky statements about Lionsgate unloading old 1080p Blu-rays with “new, improved” 4K UHD versions of older films, The Punisher currently holds “the record” for being the oldest Blu-ray in our database that’s had a recent 4K UHD release, with the original Blu-ray being numbered at only 60 in our chronological numbering system. American Psycho is currently in second place, being numbered at 135. While not being released that much later than these two films, Punisher: War Zone has a database numbering of 3760, which may be some indication of how quickly the Blu-ray market was populated after just a little while of the then nascent format. Punisher: War Zone has been something of an outlier in the wild and wooly world of Marvel adaptations, and in fact it kind of hilariously is listed on some online boxoffice reports as having done even worse than such lamentable entries as Howard the Duck. It’s also notable that audiences seemed to be pretty split on the film, though it’s also notable that my colleague Martin Liebman actually liked this follow up more or less as much as he did the first Punisher film. Those who pay attention to such things may notice that I'm scoring the actual film just a bit lower than Marty did, since I'm evidently not quite as fond of it, but it's notable that Lionsgate has once again provided a rather nice 4K upgrade for a lesser known property in its catalog, one that combines good detail improvement along with a nicely energetic Dolby Atmos track.

For those wanting a plot summary, I refer you to my colleague Martin Liebman's Punisher: War Zone Blu-ray review of the original 1080p Blu-ray release. Note that the 1080p video score above is ported over from Marty's review.

Punisher: War Zone 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.

Punisher: War Zone is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. The IMDb lists Punisher: War Zone as having had a 2K DI, and I'm assuming this new 4K UHD version was sourced from that (as always with my reviews and/or assumptions, if anyone has authoritative data to the contrary, private message me and I will happily update the review). Despite being an ostensible "uprez", I was actually generally more impressed with the 4K iteration of this film than I was with The Punisher 4K. Part of this is due to the fact that this follow up is considerably more stylized than its progenitor, something that may make it benefit more from the 4K UHD treatment. That said, it's perhaps salient to note that the 1080p Blu-ray presentation of Punisher: War Zone came along far enough into the Blu-ray era that its technical presentation didn't have some of the same issues as the earlier Punisher Blu-ray, and so the differences between the two versions here may not be as wide as with the other film. While I didn't find Dolby Vision and HDR had altered the first Punisher film all that much, here, in Punisher: War Zone, there are several really interesting tweaks to an already really varied and at times almost hallucinogenic palette. The sequences that look almost sepia toned in the 1080p Blu-ray version now have a somewhat peach colored appearance, and the graveyard scene that almost looks like bleach bypass also is considerably more "contrast"-y in the 4K UHD version. Green hued hospital scenes have noticeable new highlights and the whole candy colored phantasmagoria that starts at around 1:15:00 in the film is considerably more vividly suffused in this version. While detail gets the typical upticks that have been seen in other 4K versions of 2K DIs, it was really the palette that most consistently caught my eye in this 4K version of the film. While this doesn't have the somewhat chunky grain of the first Punisher outing, things look very organic and naturally resolved throughout the presentation.

Punisher: War Zone 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Marty gave top marks to the original 1080p Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, so I obviously can't "top" that, other than to say while the difference is arguably not huge between the previous track and the new Dolby Atmos track on this 4K UHD disc, there is considerable new energy in several of the set pieces, where the combined effect of the side, rear and Atmos channels delivers an at times almost overpowering sonic experience. This is a film with a lot of stuff going "boom", and LFE is extremely forceful throughout the presentation. Dialogue, effects and score are all rendered without any problems whatsoever and with considerable dynamic range throughout a very enjoyable presentation.

Punisher: War Zone 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Lionsgate has commendably ported over all of the supplements Marty details in his Punisher: War Zone Blu-ray review to the 4K UHD disc as well.

Punisher: War Zone 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Punisher: War Zone was a perhaps faltering attempt at a reboot for a Marvel antihero who doesn't seem to have attained that same popularity as some other Marvel characters (is it time for another reboot?). While this putative follow up may have its fair share of issues, it does offer some fun set pieces and at least some halting attempts at character development. Lionsgate has provided a release with solid technical merits for those considering a purchase.