Jurassic World 4K Ultra HD

In this installment in the series, the "Jurassic World" theme park guests experience the thrill of witnessing actual dinosaurs, but something ferocious lurks behind the park’s attraction—a genetically modified dinosaur with savage capabilities. When the massive creature escapes, chaos erupts across the island. Now it’s up to Owen (Pratt) and Claire (Howard) to save the park’s tourists from an all-out prehistoric assault. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the featurettes "Welcome To Jurassic World" (HD 29:52), "Jurassic World: All Access Pass" (HD 10:11), "Innovation Center Tour With Chris Pratt" (HD 02:01), "Jurassic’s Closest Shaves" (HD 03:00), "Dinosaurs Roam Once Again" (HD 16:29), and "Chris & Colin Take On The World" (HD 08:57); seven deleted scenes (HD 06:08); upfront previews; and a Movies Anywhere digital copy.

The 2.00:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10 picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed primarily on film in Panavision Super 70 and Super 3 using the Arriflex 435, Panavision 65 HR, Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2 and Panavision Panaflex Platinum camera systems and on digital using Red Epic Dragon, and sourced from a 2K (not 4K) master Digital Intermediate format. As the 2K Digital Intermediate has been upconverted to 2160p, there is no real gain in native resolution. A 3D Blu-ray Disc™ is available with a 3D conversion by Stereo D under the direction of Stereographer Yoichiro Aoki. Reviewed separately, the 3D presentation is stellar, with superb depth and perspective. Noise and film grain have been de-grained on this new remastered 4K Ultra HD edition, for a pristine picture experience.

The new remastered 4K Ultra HD picture is satisfyingly filmic, exhibiting a constant and smooth grain structure. The cinematic imagery provides for striking HDR contrast, from deep black levels to revealing shadow delineation, to very bright highlights. Both real world and digital effects are heightened in realism, such as the intricate detail rendered for the dinosaurs. Dinosaur hides are rendered wonderfully complex and nuanced. Facial features reveal fine lines, skin pores, and beads of sweat. Greens and leafy terrain around the park are meticulously detailed and sharp. Resolution throughout is superb and visually detailed as well in clothing, object texture, and of course, in the characterization of the dinosaurs. Color fidelity also is excellent, with a well-balanced palette that exhibits rich and warm hues. The palette's wide color gamut (WCG) exhibits vividly robust naturalness with fine shadings of hue evident throughout. The jungle greens are lavish, and the sky is naturally blue. The scenes with the bright blue helicopter, orange fireballs, and red beam lasers are nicely saturated. The imagery is slightly warm in appearance, yielding fleshtones with a mild orange shading. Dimensionality is excellent. The setting with the expansive park conveys dimensional realism. Even within the more intimate and denser forested areas, the depth and sense of scale is impressive, particularly in trees. People and objects, such as in the close quarters of a helicopter, convey natural volumes and scale, with excellent natural depth. The dinosaurs are particularly natural in appearance and scale, as they maneuver the park’s environs. Dinosaur snouts and claws at times appear to crawl out of the screen. As well, various debris moments appear realistic. Of course, the actual 3D Blu-ray Disc is most satisfying and far more dimensionally involving than the UHD presentation. WOW! segments include 00:08:48 to 00:11:00, 00:31:20 to 00:32:30, 01:25:30 to 01:26:16, 01:33:02 to 01:34:36 and 01:58:56 to 01:51:40. This is a wonderfully crafted and executed 4K Ultra HD presentation of film-sourced elements that exhibits a dramatic reference-quality visual palette. (Gary Reber)

The repurposed DTS:X/DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is impressively dynamic and expansive, with mostly all ear-level channels driven robustly. The soundfield is expansive, with an effectively aggressive surround presence that extends directionally to all four ear-level surrounds. Low-frequency-effects engagement sounds perfectly natural, with sub-25 Hz extension in the .1 LFE channel. Of course, the large dinosaurs benefit from this deep, powerful bass, which gives the impression of immense weight with the sound of dinosaur footfalls, growls, and other guttural sounds that vibrate throughout the listening area with frightening realism. Atmospherics and sound effects are incredibly realistic, as well as Foley sound effects, which convey natural realism. The sonic elements are directionalized throughout the soundfield. The general mayhem, as the terror unwinds, conveys absolute realism. The range of mayhem yields heavy crashes and flying debris throughout the soundstage. Gunshots are deep and impactful. The experience is completely enveloping, making effective use of the four surround channels. Michael Giacchino’s expansive and dynamic orchestral score is often rhythmic, with tremendous drum sounds of all types. The music completely wraps the soundfield with impressive spatial dimensionality. Dialogue is well integrated spatially, with excellent articulation and clarity, even in the midst of the most chaotic moments.

The Immersive Sound element has no music extension, and the first sound in the height channels is a momentary Raptor growl 17 minutes into the movie. Other sounds following are a wave of splashed water, attacking T-Rex growls, truck push-over thuds, tree branches snapping, bubbling water under water, a helicopter flyover, Pterodactyl flyover sounds, and more T-Rex growls. This is object-based audio, with isolated sound files thrown in here and there in the height channel, without regard to any screen environmental relationship, plus absolutely no environmental sense of dimensionality. The sound designers have failed once again to really create an effective spherical sound element.

However, at ear-level, this is an exemplary reference holosonic® soundtrack with excellent fidelity, spatial dimensionality, and dynamics. (Gary Reber)