Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

The Matrix 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 27, 2018

Warner Brothers and Best Buy have collaborated on a store-exclusive SteelBook release for 'The Matrix.' This review focuses on the SteelBook packaging and, from a technical perspective, exclusively on the UHD video presentation, with emphasis on the Dolby Vision color enhancement. Michael Reuben has reviewed the UHD presentation with its HDR-10 coloring. This is not a replacement of his review but rather a companion look at a second color format option available on the disc.

For more on the film, Michael Reuben's review of the wide release UHD offers a well-written opening primer while reviews of past editions -- DigiBook and collection -- offer more insight into one of the most talked-about films and franchises of all time.

The Matrix 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

UHD reveals the true form of The Matrix with a level of structural complexity and color reproduction that previous home video versions have never approached. The Dolby Vision color enhancement and the 4K film-sourced visuals make for a potent combination that together yield one of the most structurally sound, visually absorbing, and naturally filmic UHD transfers yet on the format. The digital green code to open the film is strikingly bright and crisp, the first signal of the color's prominence throughout the film but also Dolby Vision's ability to not simply amplify it, but perfect it, to not simply brighten it, but stabilize it within the context of the film's carefully constructed visual parameters. The vibrancy is stellar, leaping off the screen from the Warner Brothers Shield forward and complimented by extraordinary black depth that holds throughout the film. Blacks are deep and dense in fully absorbed darkness, in grades of shadow, or the skin-tight leathery reflective suit Trinity wears to open the film. Such holds everywhere, including nighttime exteriors or within the grungy, shadowy confines of the Nebuchadnezzar. The film utilizes dark and light contrast extraordinarily well, not just as environmental set pieces but as visual statements and tonally complimentary points of emphasis. The Dolby Vision coloring excels beyond blacks and greens, the latter of which permeate the film in any variety of tonal variations, from intense to grungy, from complimentary to theme-defining with a steadfast stability that doesn't over-emphasize but seems to perfectly define the shade and the scenes it supports. Brilliant whites within "the construct" dazzle in intensity and uniformity, though a few shots border on overexposure, such as when Morpheus takes Neo into another simulation beyond the sparring room, the one with the woman in the red dress. Skin tones are magnificently true as well and hold accurate within any lighting, from dim shadowy interiors to brightly lit exteriors and offices.

The movie is a textural delight. The 4K source resolution of the shot-on-film material rates extremely high for textural complexity, clarity even in the film's frequent use of shadow and low light and dark green coloring, and total cinematic appeal. Warner Brothers' UHD maintains a complimentary grain field, one that lends a filmic veneer to the image that's constant but not overpowering. Textures are remarkably robust and intimately detailed, presenting skin textures with a level on which the audience will become familiar with every pore, blemish, and hair. Even in shadow and light the clarity and refinement soar. The grimy and worn surfaces within the Nebuchadnezzar are another area of note for the UHD's ability to transmit total scene accuracy even in darker locales and still capture the complexities of wear, grime, damage, and raw materials. Visual effects shots barely suffer from any scene-breaking loss in absolute definition.

UHD is truly a spectacular format, particularly when revisiting classic pictures, shot on film, presented in a way that truly, fully, accurately brings the theater experience to the home. Blu-ray came close at its best, but at UHD's finest, such as with The Matrix, there's no coming close. It's hard to fathom any future format improving on this, particularly at common and more readily accessible screen sizes in the 65-75" range panels and somewhat larger home projection screens.

The Matrix 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For a full review of the film's stellar Dolby Atmos audio track, please click here.

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

There may be no spoon in The Matrix, but there is certainly one on the cover of its Best Buy exclusive 4K SteekBook. The front cover features a predominantly black background with vertically oriented green digital characters. A bent spoon, which is famously the object described in the film's key metaphor to help Neo better understand the world in which he lives and the powers he possesses, is the prominent front-side subject. Within the spoon are floating head character portraits of Trinity, Neo, and Morpheus, all sporting sunglasses. The rear side carries over a similar design but is more densely digital and features a trio of Agent Smiths down a corridor. The spine is made of a fairly flat black color with some little spots of green wear and one tear-looking segment towards the bottom. The film's title is approximately centered. A UHD logo sits atop and a Warner Brothers logo appears at the bottom.

Inside, the digital copy floats; there are no left-side tabs and the UHD disc is housed individually on that side. The right-hand side houses two more discs in the usual staggered-stacked pattern. The inner print features a two-panel spread image of Neo famously bending backwards at a nearly 90-degree angle, dodging a bullet that is rippling above him. Small, unobtrusive billing appears bottom-left.

As for the on-disc extras, there are many. Various reviews of past iterations break down the content more thoroughly. Below is a basic listing of what's included on each disc.

Blu-ray/UHD:

• Commentaries: Included are Written Introduction by the Wachowskis; Philosopher Commentary by Dr. Cornel West and Ken Wilber; Critics Commentary by Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David Thomson; Cast & Crew Commentary by Carrie-Anne Moss, Zach Staenberg and John Gaeta; and Composer Commentary by Don Davis with Music-Only Track (which unfortunately only plays with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio).
• In-Movie Experience: Blu-ray only.

Blu-ray Disc Two (Special Features):

• Behind the Story: A four-part feature.
  
  
  • The Matrix Revisited
  • Behind The Matrix: Includes Making 'The Matrix,' The Dance of the Master: Yuen Wo Ping's Blocking Tapes, The Bathroom Fight and Wet Wall, The Code of the Red Dress, The Old Exit: Wabash and Lake, Agent Down, and But Wait -- There's More.
  • Follow the White Rabbit: Includes Trinity Escapes, Pod, Kung Fu, The Wall, Bathroom Fight, Government Lobby, Government Roof, Helicopter, and Subway.
  • Take the Red Pill: Includes What is Bullet Time and What is the Concept?
• Music: A two-part feature.
  
  
  • The Music Revisited
  • "Rock is Dead"
• Trailers includes The Matrix Teaser, The Matrix Trailer, and The Matrix TV Spots.

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

Warner Brothers has revisited The Matrix on UHD and has done a remarkable job of bringing the film to the flagship home format. The 4K resolution renders the film sharp as a tack, supremely detailed, and organically filmic. The Dolby Vision coloring is a revelation and a solidification of the film's overreaching and subtly intimate coloring alike. Black levels might very well be the real highlight, with brilliant whites not far behind and the film's frequent green push a beautiful sight to behold, particularly blended in with black. The Atmos track is one of the finest in the industry and the package's supplemental content is thorough, highly enjoyable, and eye-opening. The SteelBook is, bluntly, a disappointment. The cover lacks character but with a film as complex as this perhaps its was thought the play-it-safe approach was best so as not to confuse buyers with images of a red pill or a white rabbit or something a more creative mind could conceive. The Matrix's UHD SteelBook release earns my highest recommendation, and the set is also available in basic wide release packaging as well as a trilogy box set.