The Firm 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Firm 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has released the 1993 Thriller 'The Firm,' starring Tom Cruise and based on the bestselling novel by John Grisham, to the UHD format in celebration of the film's 30th anniversary. This UHD release includes new 2160p/Dolby Vision video. The disc recycles the 12-year-old Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack from the original Blu-ray release, which is not included here. No extras are included on this UHD disc, and nothing save for the films teaser and theatrical trailers were on the old disc.

The Firm 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

When The Firm's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD begins film playback, audiences will be taken aback by just how poor the video looks. I instantly jumped to a conclusion that the video score would rate out at about a 2.5, at best, considering the dramatic appearance of digital smoothing, poor textures, wayward grain, and severe compression issues. Fortunately, once the title sequence comes to an end, the picture quality sees a fairly good gain in quality, both over the original Blu-ray and over the poor UHD video quality seen in the opening minutes. Once the film gets going, viewers will find a much more pleasant, stable, and as-expected image. Grain is retained in a much more natural construct, presenting a pleasingly healthy and filmic image with no major telltale signs of wiping or smoothing. The picture is often pleasantly cinematic, boasting high yield details and pure expression of the natural film elements. Then things take a downward turn again such as during a late-night diner scene at the 27-minte mark where the picture again looks artificially flat smooth with no grain pattern of which to speak. Again, the picture picks back up to a pleasing level of excellence thereafter. It looks better far more often than it looks poor, but don't give up during those poor stretches.

The Dolby Vision grading presents a very healthy color palette. One of the highlights are the brilliant, steady whites, especially evident on crisp white dress shirts which absolutely delight in every shot. Colors on neckties and other apparel, warm wooden accents and surfaces around the firm, and various natural and city exteriors present with good depth and natural vitality. Black levels are very deep and only rarely appear to push to crush. Skin tones look healthy and full. "Uneven" best describes the image, but rest assured that it looks good far more often than it looks bad.

The Firm 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Paramount has simply repurposed the existing Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack for this release. Below for convenience is a reproduction of the original Blu-ray audio review:

The Firm is by design a sonically inconsequential film. It's built exclusively on dialogue, light music, and minor ambience. Dialogue is consistently strong and accurate, remaining perfectly balanced in the front-center of the soundstage throughout. Dave Grusin's Oscar- nominated, piano-heavy score floats into and throughout the soundstage with a spacious, airy, and natural tone, emanating primarily from the front channels. The back channels primarily carry a few light atmospherics and support the film's few moderately-heavy sound effects. The Firm just doesn't have much in terms of raw sonic muscle to flex, but Paramount's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack handles the picture's limited material with relative ease.

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

This UHD release of The Firm includes no supplemental content. No Blu-ray copy is included, but Paramount has bundled in a digital copy code. This release does not appear to ship with a slipcover.

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

The Firm is a superb Thriller that stays true to genre tenants and emphasizes story and characterization, the picture deriving its action from suspense and dialogue rather than cheap thrills that would lessen, rather than enhance, the innate intensity and style on which the movie thrives. Director Sydney Pollack does everything right, finding a perfect pacing that easily overcomes an extended runtime while framing the action so as to allow the story and thematic structure -- not flashy camerawork -- to dominate. The picture is supported by one of the absolute best casts ever assembled, all to a player turning in seamless performances. This is a rare film that's every bit as good as the novel on which it is based; that's a testament both to John Grisham's storytelling and Sydney Pollack's vision. Paramount's UHD release of The Firm begins poorly but winds up offering solid video. It's imperfect, but it's definitely an upgrade. Recommended.