The Expendables 2 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Expendables 2 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Did The Expendables 4 come out and nobody noticed? Perhaps a little unexpectedly, given that they’re not tied in to any new theatrical release, Lionsgate is revisiting the first two Expendables films and releasing them on 4K UHD.

The Expendables 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

The Expendables 2 is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. Despite being shot on film and finished at a 2K DI like The Expendables 4K, the transition to higher resolution and HDR is nowhere near as pleasing as that seen in the first film. While the first film enjoyed a somewhat warmer overall look than the 1080p Blu-ray version, here the opposite is achieved, with a cooler, and at times kind of strangely desaturated, appearance that tends to give flesh tones a kind of wan look and which keeps the palette from really popping very impressively. There are some interesting new tones added courtesy of HDR, including a subtle new green ambience to the opening sequence, as well as some rather evocative blues scattered throughout later sequences, and shadow detail in some of the darker scenes, like the nightclub/bar sequence, has improved. But grain resolution is all over the place in this presentation, at times looking at least relatively organic and at other times approaching video noise levels that reminded me of some of the anomalies I mentioned in our Wild 4K Blu-ray review. Pay attention, for example, at right around the 10:00 mark, during an aerial shot over the river, and there's a layer of what looks like mosquito noise that is completely lacking a moment later when another aerial shot of more or less the same area is seen. It's this kind of inconsistency which has led me to downgrade the video score on this release.

The Expendables 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much as with the transition mentioned in our The Expendables 4K Blu-ray review, an already completely excellent audio presentation on the Blu-ray version is continued and arguably upgraded with this 4K UHD disc's Dolby Atmos track. As I mentioned in the review of the first film's 4K UHD presentation, the fun gets off to a great start beginning with the old style Lionsgate gear logo, which has some enjoyable new overhead elements courtesy of the Atmos track. As with the first film, the action sequences in this sequel provide a wealth of immersive opportunities, and both discrete channelization of effects like explosions and gunfire, as well as some omnipresent LFE, make this an unusually visceral listening experience. As I mentioned in the original The Expendables 2 Blu-ray review , the fact that so much of this film is so aurally gonzo means dynamic range isn't especially wide, given the fact that everything is pretty much "turned up to 11" from the get go, but fidelity is spot on, prioritization is generally superb, and the entire listening experience is very, very enjoyable.

The Expendables 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc has no supplementary material, and the score above reflects that deficit. The 1080p Blu-ray also included in this package features all of the supplements detailed in our original The Expendables 2 Blu- ray review .

The Expendables 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You know what you're going to get with a film like The Expendables 2, and this sequel delivers the expected goods with quite a bit of force and even quite a bit of fun. The video upgrade here is questionable, but the audio is absolutely fantastic.