Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

The Expendables 3 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Whether March is coming in like a lion (Lionsgate?) or a lamb may depend in part on how you're responding to the newest format available for home theater aficionados, 4K UHD Blu-rays. This rollout has been a bit more haphazard than even jaded HT enthusiasts may have been expecting, but a number of high profile films are seeing the light of day in new "ultra high definition".

Those either just having adopted or thinking about transitioning to UHD will also want to read Martin Liebman's fun and informative article here.

The Expendables 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The Video score above refers to the original Blu-ray release. The 4K score is for the video quality of the UHD version.

The Expendables 3 4K is presented on UHD 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. IMDb perhaps oddly lists both 5K and 4K source formats from the film's Red Camera capture, with a 4K DI listed from which I assume the master for this release was sourced. While detail levels are often commendably sharp and almost palpable at times, this is the first UHD release I've personally reviewed where the entire palette seems off, at least in comparison to the 1080p Blu-ray iteration. Black levels are at almost milky gray territory here from the get go, as evidenced in even "non film" elements like the black bars masking the 1.78:1 frame of the display to create the 2.40:1 frame of the film itself. Our forum indicates that at least a couple of other members experienced this same phenomenon with this release, but it's the first time anything like this has happened to me. I stuck in another recent Lionsgate UHD 4K release to compare, and the difference, especially with regard to the black bars, was instantly noticeable, something which would seem to indicate on its face that this is a disc issue and not one (at least solely) caused by either the player or the display. Some amelioration of this problem was achieved by tweaking various settings on the Samsung player and the Sony television I'm using, but it probably goes without saying that tweaks like this "shouldn't" be necessary to achieve a decent looking picture. (Word to the wise: make sure to jot down where your settings were to begin with, so that you can reset everything if you decide to change things for this, or any other individual, disc.) Because of this oddness, I actually hesitate to say too much about changes in the palette and/or contrast, especially those that may be attributable to HDR, since even with adjustments I never was able to get this to look exactly like I felt it should (i.e., in terms of palette and/or contrast).

Aside from this kind of peculiar situation (which recalls luma scale idiosyncrasies on such releases as The Twilight Samurai, as well as the much discussed black level deficiencies on Season 8 of The X-Files: The Collector's Set ), there is a definite uptick in detail levels across the board on this release, with elements like the crags and pores in the aging action heroes' faces more textured and nuanced looking. Some CGI elements actually look a little less realistic now, with that painterly or illustration- like ambience that has been previously discussed by several of the Blu-ray.com UHD reviewers now.

The Expendables 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Perhaps balancing qualms about the video quality of this release is the incredibly forceful and fun Dolby Atmos track that The Expendables 3 4K provides. It was also included on the 1080p Blu-ray edition of the film (and is of course included on the "standard" Blu-ray disc which is part of this set), but I didn't yet have a newer receiver capable of decoding Atmos when I did the original Blu-ray review, and I have to say the difference between the Atmos and core Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track, while subtle at times, is instantly noticeable. The huge panning event I mentioned in our original The Expendables 3 Blu-ray review now clearly wafts overhead (as it should, considering the point of view of the opening shot), and the entire first battle scene is filled with fantastically directional effects, including a number assigned specifically to the Atmos speakers (I'm running a 7.1.2 configuration). The set pieces in the film obviously provide a glut of effects heavy sound design, but I was repeatedly struck not just with the excellent immersion, but with the clarity and precision of many of the effects. Dialogue (such as it is in this film) is presented cleanly and with generally excellent prioritization (a couple of overamped moments tend to let spoken words get swallowed in the maelstrom of the other sound effects). Fidelity is top notch and dynamic range extremely wide on this massively enjoyable track.

The Expendables 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements included on the 4K UHD disc. The 1080p Blu-ray included in this package includes the supplements I detailed in our original The Expendables 3 Blu-ray review.

The Expendables 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I probably obviously wasn't that big of a fan of The Expendables 3 to begin with, and little about this new UHD iteration other than the fun Atmos audio track has convinced me to change my mind. The video presentation here is strangely wonky, unlike any other UHD disc I've thus far reviewed (including other Lionsgate titles). Since the standard Blu-ray already offers the great sounding Atmos track, I see little upside to choosing this particular title for early adopters looking for likely upgrade material.