The 355 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The 355 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

'The 355' arrives on 4K UHD courtesy of Universal slightly more than a year after the film first appeared on Blu-ray in February of 2023. Jessica Chastain leads an all-female cadre of international operatives in a globetrotting adventure as they attempt to recover a piece of technology that puts the entire world at risk. The 4K presentation is paired with an excellent Dolby Atmos track, and all of the legacy special features are brought forward to this new disc. A Digital Code is included, but a slipcover is not.

The 355 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 355 4K has a simply astonishing transfer. The Blu-ray presentation was terrific, and while it would be seemingly difficult to improve upon it, I believe the 4K presentation does. In the opening scene outside the mansion in Bogota, greens are slightly more lush, vibrant, and realistic, while the military uniforms are darker and richer. The scene at the fish market provides additional opportunities for improved colors to shine through as the green floor is truer, the blue plastic totes are brighter, ice is perfectly white, and the blue shipping container onto which Chastain jumps registers deeper as well. The busy market in Marrakesh provides a multitude of instances to appreciate the impossibly high level of detail that inhabits every shot in the film. Intricate details in the colorful tilework, the women's scarves and dresses, and the surface textures of every wall and floor are abundantly clear and lifelike to the point where the viewer is perhaps better served in simply studying the set dressing and costumes and then rewinding the scene to actually pay attention to the action. Every single flyaway hair on the female leads is visible, and this being an action film, there are many, with Cruz's sometimes wildly disheveled mane making for a rich study in certain shots. Nyong'o's office is another outstanding location in which to appreciate the clarity and detail level present here. Every chess piece and nick-nack is discernable throughout the space, and on the bookcase behind the desk it's not just books but the spines of each individual magazine that yield themselves for inspection. Later in the film, the $770K Piaget "Sunny Side of Life" rose gold necklace that Diane Kruger wears during the auction scene in Shanghai absolutely sparkles with elegant brilliance. In short, The 355 4K's presentation is beautiful and free from defects.

Please note that all accompanying screenshots are sourced from the included 1080p Blu-ray disc.

The 355 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Aggressive. That's the initial impression of The 355 4K's Dolby Atmos track. Immersion is immediate as a helicopter flies through the sound field from back to front in the film's opening moments, and it never truly lets up. The gunshots and flashbangs that follow soon after likewise erupt from the fronts as well as the surrounds to place the audience squarely in the middle of the action, with excellent location and directionality. Bass is also greater here than on the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, with the resonance from every shot and explosion felt as much as heard. It's an impressive amount of depth that not only adds to the impact of these and other special effects but also drives a greater richness to the music as well. The simple percussion-heavy soundtrack to the chase through the streets and Métro tunnels of Paris provides the greatest proof of the improvement found in the score. Due to the increased fidelity of the Dolby Atmos track, each drum beat, however rapid, is exactingly crisp and precise, and when the instrumentation becomes more complex the music displays greater brightness, and increased nuance and texture as well. As busy and active as the soundtrack is, dialogue, music, and effects are always properly balanced, with nary a single word missed due to the onscreen chaos or soft breathiness of Penélope Cruz' delivery. In terms of quantifying the improvement in the 4K's Dolby Atmos audio presentation versus the Blu-ray's DTS- HD Master Audio 5.1 track, it's hardly night and day, and Mr. Liebman was accurate in heaping praise on that track. It's terrific. But it's also fair to say that this Atmos track bests it in every regard from precision, to depth, to clarity, and quality of immersion. It's a noticeable and welcome improvement.

The 355 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

For details about the on-disc special features (which are listed below), please refer to the review of The 355 Blu-ray release.

• Deleted Scenes (6:20)

• Chasing Through Paris (4:58)

• Action that Hurts (5:27)

• Reconstructing Marrakesh (5:34)

• Chaos at the City of Dreams (3:51)

• VFX Breakdowns (5:04)

The 355 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Many critics have not been overly kind to The 355, and however valid those critiques may be, the 4K UHD presentation and the Dolby Atmos track are beyond reproach. Detail levels present in every shot rise to a point that is sometimes almost distracting, causing the viewer to pay more attention to the elements of shots and locations rather than the actual action of the scene, and the ambitious, precise, and immersive audio track is just as engrossing. Competently shot and populated with entertainingly choreographed chases and fights, Chastain and Kruger handle the action well. It's the film's connective tissue that isn't always on point - and that's what ultimately fails the talented cast. Sometimes the story is too slow, too derivative, and too convoluted. Still, those who are inclined to add this film to their libraries would be well-advised to opt for The 355 4K release when the price is right as it is quite simply the best iteration of this title.