The Little Things 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

The Little Things 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Jared Leto being himself, probably.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 27, 2025

It's kinda fitting that Warner Bros.' new 4K upgrade for John Lee Hancock's The Little Things arrived in my screener pool virtually unannounced, because for the life of me I had completely forgotten I reviewed it on Blu-ray more than four years ago. This isn't a total dud but it's forgettable fare for sure, thanks to a sleepy script and mostly one-note performances, but perhaps The Little Things' biggest sin is that it's fatally familiar, the kind of by-the-numbers serial killer police procedural that felt overdone back at the turn of the century. Even so, the boost to 2160p/HDR10/Dolby Atmos yields a few atmospheric improvements that may win over anyone stuck on the fence.

As for me, it's not enough to score The Little Things any higher than the 3/5 I gave it in my linked Blu-ray review, which offers a full synopsis if you're totally new to this one. Simply put, it's OK but just kinda there.

The Little Things 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These screenshots are sourced from the 2021 Blu-ray.

While it's just one of many semi-recent WB films that should've earned a 4K release right out of the gate (a major complaint of mine in the linked Blu-ray review), The Little Things nonetheless makes its case for an upgrade if you're equipped for the newer format. Encoded on a triple- layered disc and equipped with Dolby Vision, this 2160p/HDR10 transfer easily walks past its Blu-ray counterpart... though to be fair, that disc earned high marks from me in 2021 and still holds up as a quality presentation within format expectations. But there's no question that this UHD disc offers an across-the-board improvement, especially since The Little Things arrived to theaters with a 4K DCP. As expected, the largest gains can be seen in overall fine detail, tightness, black levels... and even color representation, even though much of The Little Things is bathed in muddy greens and browns. Dimly-lit scenes also earn a visible uptick in depth and stability, as bright headlights and other artificial sources no longer look quite as blown-out or garish against darker values. Compression artifacts are totally absent and the film runs at a supportive bit rate from start to finish; it's not sky-high but more than enough to get the job done. Truth be told, The Little Things is far from flashy... but while it doesn't seem like it'd gain all that much from a UHD upgrade, the benefits are clearly front and center.

The Little Things 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Another solid upgrade comes in the form of a Dolby Atmos track, which was also omitted on the original Blu-ray in favor of a slightly stripped-down DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix. (WB has also seen fit to include the 5.1 track as an alternate option, surprisingly enough, although it's somewhat hidden since there's no audio setup on the main menu.) I'll admit that a few of the more subtle differences surely would've certainly evaded me if not for the ability to switch between both mixes, as the Atmos track features more that just the simple addition of height channels. There's quite a bit more overall support for the original score by noted composer Thomas Newman and diegetic music too, as this mix enjoys a slightly stronger "front forward" presence that more noticeably drifts into the rears, whether it be more of an enveloping path or slight reverb. There's also the matter of Atmos' object-based surround capabilities, which deliver more precise discrete effects at key moments. Those height channels again bolster music cues and smoothly highlight moments of overhead action, which are admittedly few and far between. That's more or less where the comparisons between both tracks end, aside from the fact that the Atmos runs a few decibels louder, overall it's most certainly a half-step closer to perfection even if it doesn't quite reach true five-star status.

However, like other recent WB 4K catalog upgrades, there's one area where it actually feels like a step backwards: French and Spanish dubs and subtitles are now no longer offered during the film. I've no idea why the studio continues to jettison these foreign language options, especially since 4K is a region-free format by default -- if anything, they should be adding additional ones. I mean, they want to sell more copies of these things, right?

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

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with artwork that's actually different than the Blu-ray; it's a little better but still pretty boring, and again I wish they'd have just gone with the original poster art. (That's WB for ya.) As for the extras, we get the same two short-form featurettes from the Blu-ray but also a theatrical trailer this time.

• Four Shades of Blue (9:22)

• A Contrast In Styles (7:54)

• NEW! Theatrical Trailer (2:27) - This promotional piece can also be seen here.

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

John Lee Hancock's The Little Things can't help but be compared negatively against landmark thrillers such as David Fincher's Se7en, which doesn't seem fair when you consider a first draft was written in the early 1990s. (To really date it, the late Brandon Lee even expressed interest at one point.) Either way, time marches on: the cinematic landscape has evolved and, while its story is fitfully effective as it chugs along, the end result just seems like too little, too late. There's still some enjoyment here (at least enough to make The Little Things worth a once-over for hungry genre fans), and Warner Bros.' belated 4K option offers tangible improvements in the A/V department. It may not be quite enough to draw in new fans or some who already bought the Blu-ray four years ago, but the effort is appreciated.