X-Men: The Last Stand 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

X-Men: The Last Stand 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 24, 2018

Note: This 4K UHD version of the film is available as part of X-Men Trilogy 4K.

Perhaps surprisingly, given how frequently my review queue has recently been filled with 4K UHD releases that are at least tangentially tied to promotional efforts for some upcoming film (e.g., Halloween 4K ), there don’t appear to be any new X-Men movies on the horizon until 2019, when both Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants are slated to debut. With eleven films thus far in the expanding X-Men franchise, and with much of the oxygen for the series given over to Logan and Deadpool 2, at least for the last couple of years, it’s actually kind of refreshing to revisit the first three films and marvel (pun unavoidable if unintended) at the complex stories the initial trilogy tell, all while introducing an almost ungainly number of characters, most of whom are finely drawn and almost instantly distinctive. These new 4K UHD presentations all offer at least subtle upticks in detail and palette nuance, but some curmudgeons may be at least slightly disappointed that there are no “new, improved” audio options available. For those who like to stay ensconced on their home theater couches and not have to change discs, some may also find the fact the the 4K UHD discs only offer the commentary tracks as supplements may be at least a bit of a downside as well.

Hindsight may have proven that this was in fact not the X-Men's last stand, but for those who can't remember when it was their last stand, I refer you to my colleague Martin Liebman's X-Men: The Last Stand Blu-ray review of the original 1080p Blu-ray release. Note that the 1080p video and audio scores are ported over from Marty's review.

X-Men: The Last Stand 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.

X-Men: The Last Stand is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. While shot on film as with the first two outings, this is reportedly upscaled from the 2K DI, and the difference in detail levels between this and the first two films (especially the first one) is noticeable if not deal killingly drastic. While I've graded the 4K presentation here at a 3.5, that's at least in part to delineate a difference between detail levels on this release and X2: X-Men United 4K, even though I can see some feeling this warrants a 4.0 as well (if I were able to, I'd probably score this a 3.75 in terms of its 4K presentation). As I mentioned in the X-Men 4K Blu- ray review, there are clear step ups in terms of grain thickness and even coarseness from the first film to the third, and X-Men: The Last Stand offers the thickest looking grain field of the three films. That swarming grain field is evident in the very first scenes featuring Jean, but continues throughout the rest of the presentation, sometimes arguably exacerbated by some of the omnipresent darkness and grading, which tends to push darker tones like oranges at times. At around 27:00, in a mist strewn scene, some may feel the grain tips over into noise, at least momentarily. Still, even with whatever "masking" proclivities a 2K DI and heavier grain field may generate, detail levels remain commendably high throughout the presentation. There are some kind of cool if minor new nuances now in things like the striations on the wheels of Charles' wheelchair, but fine detail in close-ups is often very precise looking. As with the two other films, palette highlights courtesy of HDR provide a number of interesting new tweaks, with Kelsey Grammer's blue skin more deeply suffused and Jean's hair taking on an almost auburn tone. Again as with the first two films, some of the CGI effects can look rather soft, though the big set piece supposedly at the Golden Gate bridge actually looks relatively detailed.

X-Men: The Last Stand 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This release contains the same excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1 track from the original 1080p Blu-ray release which Marty assessed in his X-Men: The Last Stand Blu-ray review. As I mentioned in the reviews of the 4K UHD versions of the first two films, there may still be audiophiles who wish these releases had been granted Dolby Atmos or DTS:X mixes since all three films feature such bombastic sound designs.

X-Men: The Last Stand 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both Commentary Tracks from the original Blu-ray release have been ported over to the 4K UHD disc.

X-Men: The Last Stand 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Those who pay attention to such things may notice that I actually gave X-Men: The Last Stand a slightly higher score than Marty did, since I didn't feel the drop off in excitement was quite as pronounced as Marty did. Even if this is the least effective of the first three films, it still provides a lot of story detail and some wonderful characterizations. This is the least pleasing of the three 4K UHD upgrades, but it still shows upticks in detail and some nice new highlights in the palette. As with the other two films in this set, audio remains the same as the first Blu-ray release.