The Walk 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Walk 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 9, 2026

A bit of a flop upon its release in 2015, Robert Zemeckis' The Walk dramatizes the exploits of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, who famously walked between the then-new Twin Towers in 1974 after planning the "job" for months with a group of friends. It's an admittedly fascinating story that I'd probably have liked more if it hadn't already been perfectly chronicled in James Marsh's 2008 documentary Man on Wire. Though Zemeckis' drama admittedly has a few bright spots -- and hands-on participation from Petit himself, who personally trained star Joseph Gordot-Levitt before filming began -- it's an uneven affair that finds the director giving in to his worst habits, none more obvious than heavy-handed sentimentality and self-indulgent camera tricks. (See also: The Polar Express and Here).

But I'm probably in the slight minority on this one, since my overall opinion of The Walk falls more in line with Brian Orndorf's warmer but still slightly reserved theatrical coverage than Martin Liebman's glowing 5/5 support of Sony's 2016 Blu-ray. A well-reviewed 3-D Blu-ray was also offered but now, 10 years later, Sony returns with a 4K upgrade that again bolsters its visual merits and also adds a few slight "new" extras alongside the old ones.

The Walk 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These screenshots are sourced from the 2016 Blu-ray since, despite this 4K's obvious visual improvements, the merits of HDR10 and Dolby Vision are not accurately represented by SDR down-conversion.

It's no surprise that Sony's new 2160p / HDR10 / Dolby Vision transfer of The Walk, which was delivered to theaters with a 2K digital intermediate (and thus an upscale here), doesn't offer a transformative presentation of the film when compared to their 2016 Blu-ray. Perceived fine details aren't improved, and the fundamental color palette hasn't been altered in any noticeable way. Nonetheless, it offers tangible improvements overall, especially where shadow detail and image stability are concerned, with its visual effects still looking largely convincing at critical moments to ensure The Walk's climactic illusion is maintained. (The superimposing of Levitt's face on a stunt double, lightly detailed in a "new" featurette below, is perhaps the only outlier.) Blacks are no longer lightly crushed and saturation appears slightly more robust, with a slightly cooler patina on darker values that offers smoother contrast with warmer tones.) Compression is likewise tighter overall, with the 4K's bit rate remaining supportive thanks to the format's higher real estate and more efficient encoding. While Sony's Blu-ray was and still is a very solid presentation of The Walk (which also presumably applies to the studio's 3-D Blu-ray, although I haven't seen that disc for myself), this new triple-layered UHD disc should be the obvious winner on medium to large displays and will impress long-time fans of the film.

The Walk 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although a new Dolby Atmos mix would have certainly been interesting to hear given The Walk's climactic location, Sony has instead chosen to retain the three primary audio options from their 2016 Blu-ray which include DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mixes in its original English, French (obviously), and Spanish. I made sure to compare the English track against its Blu-ray counterpart given Sony's recent LFE issues (Groove and Moneyball, among others), but I found the bass levels and overall dynamics to be essentially identical within testing parameters. Therefore, it's reasonable to say that Martin Liebman's linked Blu-ray review should provide sufficient details regarding what you'll hear on this 4K disc. Simply put, this is still a very impressive track that gets the job done with energy to spare.

Optional subtitles (including English) SDH are again included during the film and bonus features listed below. I again made sure to check these given Sony's other occasional issues with missing translation subs (Cobra Kai, A Lot Like Love and actually found something of an improvement during the film: all English translation of occasional French dialogue is now burnt into the picture (as it was in theaters) rather than player-generated, which is nice.

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

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with familiar cover artwork and a matching matte-finish slipcover. The bonus features are largely carried over from Sony's 2016 Blu-ay but two "new" ones are present as well.

• Deleted Scenes (7 clips, 5:37 total)

• First Steps - Learning to Walk the Wire (9:11)

• Pillars of Support (8:27)

• The Amazing Walk (10:48)

• NEW! High Wire Act (4:36) - Oddly left off the 2016 Blu-ray edition for unknown reasons but clearly created for that release, this short piece takes an additional look at some The Walk's visual effects with input from key creative personnel; it also includes a handful of comparisons, progression shots, and examples of digitally compositing Joseph Gordon-Leavitt's face onto his stunt double. Creepy, but interesting.

• NEW!Theatrical Trailer (2:26) - This promotional piece can also be seen here.

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

Despite its good intentions, engaging core story, and visual pedigree, Robert Zemeckis' The Walk is a film that should have worked better than it does. He's a great filmmaker as evidenced by classics like Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cast Away, and most of Forrest Gump, but some of his more recent films have become flattened by an overreliance on self-indulgent CGI and flashy camera tricks. Here, at least they're partially warranted (if not outright necessary in certain respects), but the end result isn't nearly as impactful as it could have been in more careful hands. Fans of The Walk, however, should be largely pleased with Sony's new 4K edition, which offers visual improvements and a few slight "new" bonus features, although the price tag is again too high for a catalog re-release.