Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

And Again . . . Why??

The DCU animated feature Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay has been released on UHD disc, and like its two predecessors receiving 4K/HDR treatment—Batman and Harley Quinn and Batman: Gotham by Gaslight—the effort is a waste of resources that could better be devoted elsewhere. None of these films is meaningfully improved in 4K. Hell to Pay is no exception.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

(Note: Screenshots accompanying this review have been captured from the standard Blu-ray. Additional captures from that disc can be found here.)

Everything I said about Batman and Harley Quinn and Batman: Gotham by Gaslight in 4K applies equally to Warner's 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHD of Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay; so I'll repeat it here. Watching this 4K disc, you might be pardoned for thinking that you made a mistake and inserted the standard Blu-ray instead. There is no visible uptick in detail, which is hardly surprising given the minimalist style of the animation. (Contrast the busy style of LEGO Batman, where 4K/HDR adds texture and brings out minutia crammed into the overstuffed frame.) Hell to Pay's 4K image is yet another demonstration that increased resolution doesn't automatically improve an image. There has to be something to resolve.

Nor does HDR encoding provide a meaningful benefit. The palette is essentially the same as the standard Blu-ray's, and while colors may be a bit more refined, the HDR grading isn't a revisionist take that adds "pop" where there wasn't any before. The same brighter colors that stood out against muted backgrounds stand out just as much—and no more—on both formats. The darkness of locations like Amanda Waller's control room or the rear cars of Tobias Whale's train are just as dark, with maybe a hint of greater contrast here and there. The scenes of the squad's RV on the open road are just as bright, and no brighter; the same goes for the various emanations of super powers.

Hell to Pay doesn't even offer the advantage of an absence of minor banding, which is the biggest difference I saw on prior DCU animated features between the 1080p and the 4K versions. Unless I missed it, banding is kept in check on Hell to Pay's standard Blu-ray.

[System calibrated for UHD using (a) a Klein K-10A Colorimeter with a Custom Profile made in CalMAN using a Colorimetry Research CR250 Spectroradiometer; (b) Murideo Fresco SIX-G UHD signal generator with HDR10 and Dolby Vision capability; and (c) SpectraCal CalMAN Software v. 5.8.2.85. Calibration performed by Kevin Miller of ISFTV.]

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The UHD disc has the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack previously reviewed.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The UHD disc has no extras. The accompanying standard Blu-ray has the extras previously reviewed here.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warner Brothers has a wealth of catalog titles, new and old, that would benefit from 4K remastering. While the studio is wasting its time up-rezzing simplistic animation that can't possibly take advantage of the UHD format, studios like Sony, Paramount, Fox and Universal are steadily cranking out live-action upgrades with observable improvements. Wake up, Burbank! Your 4K lunch is being eaten by the competition. As for the latest DCU animated film, stick with the standard Blu-ray.