Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

The Dark Knight Rises 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Baneful Conclusion

Reviewed by Michael Reuben February 21, 2018

Released in 2012, The Dark Knight Rises concluded Nolan's Batman trilogy and was probably its most divisive chapter. After Batman Begins surprised with its fresh take and The Dark Knight dazzled with the blazing originality of its lead villain, Rises premiered to such heated fan expectations that it was virtually certain to disappoint at least part of the audience. For some, like my former colleague Kenneth Brown, who reviewed the film's original Blu-ray release, Rises deepens and improves on subsequent viewings. For others, including me, the film's flaws only become more glaring. But regardless of one's ultimate assessment, there's no denying that Nolan and his team concluded their Batman saga in high style, effectively circling back to their morally ambiguous account of the characters' origins and gathering up the many plot strands left dangling in the first two installments into a tidy bundle. In a cinematic world where proficient narrative construction is fast becoming a lost art, that's an achievement worthy of respect.

Rises' translation to UHD is probably the least striking of the three Dark Knight 4K remasters, simply because its standard Blu-ray is more recent and the 1080p disc's presentation did not prompt the same outcries about revisionist color timing, edge halos and other videophile issues. (Ken's Blu-ray review discusses these points at greater length.) Still, there are undeniable improvements visible in this new version, which, like every other film in the Christopher Nolan Collection, has been newly scanned at 4K, then color corrected and HDR graded under the director's supervision. As noted in previous reviews, the simultaneous release in 4K of every feature film that Nolan has made in the previous twelve years reflects the director's conviction that UHD is the definitive home video technology of our era and the best way for his films to be seen outside of theatrical venues. In support of that conviction, Nolan has personally overseen every aspect of these releases, from the element selection down to the packaging. Rarely has the notion of "director approved" been more apt or more literally true.

In addition to its single release, Rises is also available in the three-film Dark Knight Trilogy 4K, as well as the aforementioned Christopher Nolan Collection.

For a discussion of the film, please see Ken Brown's informative Blu-ray review. Although this is not the occasion for a reappraisal of the film, I don't share Ken's enthusiasm and have reduced the feature score accordingly.

The Dark Knight Rises 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

(Note: Screenshots accompanying this review are 1080p captures from the standard Blu-ray. Additional captures can be found here.)

All of the virtues that Ken Brown's review of the standard Blu-ray catalogued are on vibrant display in Warner's 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHD disc of The Dark Knight Rises. To borrow some of Ken's apt description: Cinematographer Wally Pfister's wind-swept Gotham palette is rich, satisfying and evocative. Warm hues adorn the decadent homes of the city's elite, dusty desert colors blanket Bruce Wayne's stint in prison, and crisp white snow falls on a captive Gotham. Skintones are mostly natural, except in scenes where the light would typically render them unusual (e.g., the Batcave), and the occasional orange tones that Ken noted have disappeared. Black levels are as deep as on the Blu-ray, if not deeper, and as we have seen before on UHD, the ability of HDR to achieve even finer delineation of blacks should eliminate any complaints about so-called "crush" or loss of shadow detail. In general, the detail that Ken called "nothing short of extraordinary" on the Blu-ray is even more so on the UHD, with sharp and natural edges and (at least to my eye) no sign of the ringing that Ken spotted intermittently in 1080p.

Like all of Nolan's films beginning with the The Dark Knight, Rises is presented in a shifting aspect ratio of 1.78:1 for scenes filmed in IMAX and 2.40:1 for non-IMAX sequences, and, as one would expect, the superior resolution of the IMAX photography receives the most noticeable benefits of 4K presentation. But the entire film benefits from the sense—now a familiar one among collectors of UHD remasters from fresh 4K scans—that a layer of grime has been wiped away from the image, revealing heretofore unseen fine detail and conferring a vibrant immediacy beyond even the best that 1080p and Rec. 709 are able to offer. However one may feel about Rises' ranking among Batman films, its UHD treatment rates with the format's best.

(Note: The original version of this review incorrectly stated that this UHD was derived from the camera negative. That assertion was based on incorrect information supplied by Warner Brothers. It has now been confirmed from multiple sources that the 4K/HDR master was derived from an interpositive, at Christopher Nolan's express instruction and contrary to Warner's standard policy, which provides that 4K scans should utilize the existing element with the greatest resolution. We regret the error; the scores for Video and 4K have been adjusted.)

The Dark Knight Rises 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The UHD disc contains the same muscular DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack heard on the Blu-ray.

The Dark Knight Rises 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The UHD disc has no extras. The included pair of standard Blu-ray discs are identical to the 2012 release and contain the same extras listed in Ken's review.

The Dark Knight Rises 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Whether one shares my former colleague's opinion that the third chapter of Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy "delivers on all fronts" or feels, as I do, that the film's weird mixture of apocalypse, dystopia and hero's journey often teeters on the brink of self-parody, there's no question that The Dark Knight Rises supplies an effective finale to one of the most original comic book film franchises the century has seen so far. As good as the Blu-ray was, the UHD is better and is highly recommended.