War Dogs 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

War Dogs 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Let Slip the Dogs of HDR!

More than any of its 4K releases to date, War Dogs suggests that Warner may finally be ready to deliver on its pledge to issue UHD versions of new films day-and-date with their Blu-rays. On its face, there's nothing in director Todd Phillips' film that is so visually arresting or spectacular as to cry out for 4K treatment. Indeed, since the film was finished on a 2K digital intermediate, its 4K upconversion cannot reveal additional detail. Still, through the magic of HDR, War Dogs on UHD displays subtle but noticeable improvements over its Blu-ray counterpart. Whether the improvement is enough to justify the additional investment is a separate question.

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

War Dogs 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

As previously noted, War Dogs was finished on a digital intermediate at 2K, so that its 4K treatment is the result of upconversion. Detail was very good on the Blu-ray, and it remains so on the UHD release. Colors were vivid and varied on the Blu-ray, and so they are on the UHD. Where the UHD exceeds its Blu-ray counterpart is in the area of black levels and contrast, where HDR encoding provides a greater sense of definition and depth, particularly in darker scenes like the Albanian warehouse stacked with ordinance, where David and Efraim are shown huge shipping containers loaded with boxes of AK-47 ammo. The scene in Iraq where the U.S. Army pays the aspiring entrepreneurs for a delivery lands with greater impact, because the enhanced image accentuates the depot's bales of plastic-wrapped cash stacked from floor to ceiling (it looks like a druglord's lair). Cityscapes in both the U.S. and abroad have more depth, definition and texture. Overall, while the 4K presentation isn't a revelation, it's a noticeable improvement.

War Dogs 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

War Dogs' 4K release contains the same lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 track previously reviewed. No doubt with an eye to foreign sales, the UHD disc also contains many more additional alternate language tracks and subtitle options than the Blu-ray; a complete listing can be found at the top of this review, next to the cover image.

War Dogs 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K disc has no extras. A copy of the standard Blu-ray is included, which has the scant extras discussed here.

War Dogs 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

War Dogs joins the growing collection of 4K discs that offer subtle improvements over their Blu-ray counterparts but are unlikely to win any converts to the format. Early 4K adopters will no doubt welcome a new title for their system, and anyone who is "future proofing" a collection may want to consider the UHD release, especially if you can find it at an attractive price.