Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

This listing for 'The Last Jedi' reflects the disc included inside the Best Buy exclusive UHD boxed set. There are a few minor alterations buyers might want to be aware of compared to the original releases (Blu-ray, UHD). This disc is reportedly slated for individual release at a later date.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. There is no video difference between the Blu-ray included here and the original release from 2018.

For this UHD release of The Last Jedi, Disney has done away with the original UHD's Dolby Vision color grading in favor of HDR grading that puts the disc in-line with the other eight films in the "Skywalker Saga." Are there differences? It's honestly hard to tell. My home theater includes three UHD capable devices, each with their own plusses and minuses and presentation tweaks and quirks, so it's practically impossible to conduct a fair instantaneous side-by-side, particularly when talking format minutia rather than broader Blu-ray-UHD comparisons. The situation is further complicated by the fact that I don't have access to a PC drive and software that might offer a more detailed numerical, technical breakdown, but at least per the review Oppo UDP-203 meter the video bit rate for the Dolby Vision version rates as broadly higher, sometimes significantly so. Plus, Dolby Vision's "claim to fame" is dynamic metadata, which allows individualized, scene-specific color adjustments rather than a single HDR pass that is nailed down for the entire movie. Dolby Vision, then, allows the black star field and yellow crawl to open the film to take on a unique color presentation that isn't tied to the adjustments made for Snoke's red throne room, or vice versa. Theoretically, HDR offers more limited color grading opportunities. In that sense, the previous issue is superior. Theoretically.

Just watching the movie without worrying about metadata, bit rates, and the like, the new HDR-only presentation fares extraordinarily well on its own, never mind against the Dolby Vision version. Colors are unmistakably bold and intense, whether, again, that red throne room, deep and natural greenery around Ahch-To, bright and shiny First Order ship interiors, and the salty whites and bloody reds on Crait. Is there an obvious, game-changing difference to color one way or the other? No. Perhaps there's a hair more brightness and tonal clarity with the Dolby Vision grading, but any difference would likely be measured in fractional variances that most aren't going to notice sitting a few feet from their 65" display. The same can be said for resolution clarity and filmic presentation. Both are masterworks of clarity, finely presented grain, and object sharpness. Watching the whole movie followed by a few choice comparisons yields no immediately obvious differences. By-and-large, talking broadly to be sure, there's nothing said in the original review for the Dolby Vision UHD that doesn't apply here.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both this new release and the old 2018 issue feature Dolby Atmos soundtracks. While the Oppo reads minor variances in audio bit rate, comparing select scenes yields no immediate, obvious differences. It's still that same volume-challenged Disney output that largely sounds fine at higher levels. As with the video, text from the original review would seem to suffice.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This new version of The Last Jedi, as it's currently available in the Skywalker Saga UHD boxed set, includes all of the carryover material from the previously released UHD while adding two new extras, which are marked as such below and reviewed. Note the disc one supplements can only be found when pressing the "Play Movie" menu button rather than in a separate supplemental tab. There are no extras on the UHD disc. For coverage of the carryover content, please click here. If this ever does get an individual release, it will most likely ship with a Movies Anywhere digital copy code and an embossed slipcover.

Blu-ray Disc One (Feature Film):

• Audio Commentary
• NEW! Score-Only Version of the Movie: Watch the movie sans dialogue and sound effects and fully take in John Williams' score.

• The Director and the Jedi
• Balance of the Force
• Andy Serkis Live! (One Night Only)
• Scene Breakdowns
• NEW! Meet the Porgs (1080p, 6:01): Take a look at the inspirations for and making of this film's version of Jar Jar Binks: the punching bag Porgs.
• Deleted Scenes

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Last Jedi has its moments of hair-pulling fail and it is, in this reviewer's mind, the worst of any live action Star Wars film. But it has its moments of redemption too. In between nonsensical dialogue, poorly developed characters, Canto Bight, go-nowhere plot points, porgs, and pretentiousness, it explores some good ideas and its Luke Skywalker ending is pretty great in context. It's a technical marvel, too, as is the UHD in whatever configuration one chooses to watch. In a case such as this one, talking degrees of difference at most, and when just sitting back and watching and not picking an image apart at the seams or studying clusters of digits, it just comes down to personal preference. There's no major advantage to one or the other. This reviewer likes Dolby Vision, but one can't go wrong with either presentation. For existing owners, there's no real reason to upgrade unless those two new supplements are just calling out. For new buyers, this one's just fine.