6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
A detective recruits his Uber driver into an unexpected night of adventure.
Starring: Dave Bautista, Kumail Nanjiani, Mira Sorvino, Natalie Morales, Iko UwaisComedy | 100% |
Action | 88% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Japanese: DTS 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish DTS = Castellano, Spanish DD = Latinoamerica
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Maybe some of you have what might be called your own “Uber adventures”, since with many of these ride sharing or “taxi” like apps, you can sometimes not know what you’re getting into (in more ways than one) until it’s too late. My wife and I just returned from an excursion in Europe, and we were kind of surprised to discover in at least a couple of cities that there is actually either very little or in some cases no longer any kind of municipal cab service, and that Uber is in fact the only way to figuratively “hitch a ride”. (Lyft doesn’t seem to have made much if any of an impact in Europe, from what I could see, anyway.) Stuber takes place within the confines of the United States, and in fact within the confines (such as they are) of Los Angeles, but one of the kind of cheeky subtexts of the film is that its the driver, not the passenger, who's in for a bit of a surprise in terms of the so-called ride sharing. This is a putative "high concept" film that will still strike many viewers as essentially derivative, revisiting such well remembered efforts as Midnight Run or maybe even in a way something like Planes, Trains & Automobiles, in terms of two mismatched people forced to take a road trip with each other. Stuber coasts quite a considerable way on the combined charisma of headliners Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista, and the supporting cast has some enjoyable turns, too, but the film never really develops into the comedy juggernaut that some might be expecting, given the talents involved.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.
Stuber is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. I have to say I was rather
pleasantly surprised by the upticks in detail and especially palette reproduction in this presentation, as I haven't always been exactly gobsmacked by
Arri Alexa captured material finished at a 2K DI when offered on 4K UHD discs. It's especially notable in this instance because Stuber doesn't
exactly aim for a "knock your socks off" visual impact. That said, the increase in fine detail in "little" elements like the crosshatched texture on Vic's
shirt stuck out to me repeatedly here, and general detail levels, including depth of field in some wide (if sometimes smoggy) Los Angeles vistas was
also noticeable. The biggest difference to my eyes was the pop of the palette. The film has some little touches of color in several places, including the
peach coloring of the apartment where Stu picks up Vic, or a kind of orangish hue inside Vic's apartment when he finds out Tedjo is out and about
again, that have really nicely burnished tones courtesy of HDR. Other moments of pop that struck me included the blue tones of the late sequence in
the sporting goods store, and especially some really beautiful teal colorings in an even later outside storm sequence that are different from the 1080p
Blu-ray presentation. As is usual with Fox discs, I noticed no compression anomalies of any kind.
Stuber 4K features a nicely bombastic Dolby Atmos track, one that takes the already excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on the 1080p Blu-ray and ups (literally and figuratively) the ante with noticeable if intermittent engagement of the Atmos channels. Expected cacophony from sequences like the big fight and shootout that start the film, or the later fracas in the vet clinic, provide nice immersive opportunities and at least some clear overhead placement of effects. The outdoor sequences often also bristle with nicely done ambient environmental effects, and the storm sequence toward the end of the film in particular arguably provides more surround activity than even the 7.1 track on the 1080p Blu-ray. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this enjoyable and nicely rendered track.
The 4K UHD disc offers the Audio Commentary by Michael Dowse and Kumail Nanjiani that is also featured on the 1080p Blu-ray included with this release. For a complete listing of the other supplements on the 1080p Blu-ray, please see our Stuber Blu-ray review.
I actually had a couple of friends share with me how much they enjoyed Stuber when they saw it during its theatrical exhibition, and it's easy to see why, really, since the story is familiar but tweaked just enough to keep it interesting. But I simply found a lot of the comedy decidedly in the meh category, and the film's sudden departures into more graphically violent territory just didn't mesh all that well with whatever comedy was being aimed for. Nanjiani and Bautista make for an amiable enough duo to spend time with, and fans of these performers or of other members of the supporting cast will probably find this an agreeable enough time killer. Technical merits are solid for those considering a purchase, and I personally was rather pleasantly surprised by the uptick in detail levels and palette saturation on this 4K UHD disc, while also enjoying the at least marginally increased activity of the Atmos track.
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