Looper (10th Anniversary Edition) – 4K Blu-ray Review
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Sony Pictures | 2012
R | 1hrs 59 min | Action | Thriller | Sci-Fi | Crime
HD | 1080P | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Native 4K | 2160P | Dolby Vision | HDR10 | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD7.1 | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Aspect Ratio 2.39:1
Staring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt | Bruce Willis | Emily Blunt | Paul Dano | Noah Segan | Piper Perabo
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Ratings & Reviews
Please see here for my comments on reviewing movies.
My ratings are simple being marked out of a maximum of 5+. My reviews are biased towards the technical production aspects of the film with brief comments about the story line. Extras, sorry, that’s just not my ‘bag’.
So what did the 4K HDR10 video look like? Very good in most respects, and the 7.1 soundtrack ? Very good to.
Entertainment: 4+
Video: 5-
Audio:4+
Technical Review – Native 4K UHD HDR10
Looper was shot on 35 mm photochemical film using Panavision Panaflex Gold II and Millennium XL2 cameras with Panavision anamorphic lenses. It was originally finished as a 2K Digital Intermediate but for this updated 4K release Sony has rescanned the camera negative in native 4K. The film was then completed as a 4K Digital Intermediate at the 2.39:1 aspect ratio and graded for high dynamic range in both Dolby Vision and HDR10 for this theatrical release, all under the watchful eye of Steven Yedlin, Loopers Cinematographer.
This dual layer BD-66 disc has been well authored, shows no excessive use of noise reduction or edge sharpening and no obvious compression artifacts. Its cinematography produces a light-medium, uniform and organic photochemical grain structure. The resulting image quality, detail and clarity are all very good creating an excellent image. The two disc package also includes the BD50 HD version together with a digital code.
Overall resolution is very good, with clean fine detailing that’s visible in the skin, document text, dirt and various surfaces like roads, brick and wood. Clothing, and facial close-ups provide excellent detail and definition with natural skin tones and accurate rendition of pores, eyelashes, hair strands, cuts and features without any undue exaggerations. With CGI and special effects going unnoticed most of the time.
Blacks were deep and noise free throughout, showed very little crush with generally good low level and shadow detail as found in the night and city scenes and the various room and the shadowy club sequences. Peak whites and specular highlights provided clean detail with no clipping; like small particles of debris, and dirt, the glare of the sun, the helicopters search lights and the high sheen off various metal surfaces. Taken together providing a solid dynamic contrast range and enhancing visibility of objects in both interior and exterior shots like the diner exterior daytime shots, the distant city skylines and notably in bright, sunny field shots where Joe kills his victims.
The film’s color palette is not exactly lush, wide and colorful but it is organic and natural. Primaries and secondaries are well saturated having good color depth and density, hues are accurate like the neon signs, city lights and farm crops. Interior shots show dimly lit rooms, night club scenes, the mortar grays and brick browns of Joe’s apartment walls, dark cityscapes and Cid’s colorfully patterned bed sheets. While many exterior shots tend to focus on the natural earth tones of the soil and crops, the grays and browns of Sara’s farm buildings to the greens of the vegetation. Stronger primaries do erupt at times from the blood stained clothing and splatter, the intense reds of the neon signs, Joe’s red car, blues and mustard yellows, to the greens of the crops.
This image looks very good on all fronts, providing a top notch HDR10 transfer.
Audio – Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Sony has updated Looper to include a new Dolby Atmos mix in addition to the same 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix found on the original 2012 Blu-ray release. Defaulting to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 in my system, this new mix generates a big soundstage with solid bass and impact, all similar to the excellent 5.1 DTS-HD mix.
The overall sound presentation is very dynamic, with good sub involvement and action from all surrounds. Like the city ambiance, nightclub chatter, and nature sounds on Sara’s farm. Effects placement are accurate and natural, with movement in both the rear and side surrounds with the various atmospheric effects consistently pulling you into the many locals and environments. From the natural rural farm sounds with rustling fields, the creaking wooden boards to a guns blast, the whirling telekinetic energy and whine of turbine driven hover bikes, all filling the surrounds with effects helping to pull the listener further into the scene.
Good LFE sub action certainly makes itself known right from the movies start and during many of the action sequences, with a solid and extended bottom end, having good punch and muscle from the “blunderbuss” weapons, crashes, gunshots and explosions. Imaging continuously feels broad and expansive as action moves on and off-screen. Dialogue is always crystal clear and well detailed with solid front-center imaging and prioritization, even during the movies more intense sonic moments providing good clarity and detail no matter how loud and aggressive the effect.
Nathan Johnson’s unusual score nicely pushes the action along hitting a good balance between the dialogue and effects and enveloping the whole listening environment with light spill into the surrounds and effortless integration within the soundstage.
A very good 7.1 surround mix.
Story Overview
The film is set in Kansas City in the year 2044 when time travel has not yet been invented. In 2074 time travel became a reality and Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becomes the youngest Looper for a crime syndicate. As a Looper his job is to go back in time and shoot selected victims, disposing of their remains and making them forever untraceable, knowing all the time that one day he will have to “close his loop” and do the same to himself making him untraceable to. However, he is very good at his highly paid job and having amassed quite a lot of wealth from his silver bar payments, continues to enjoy the life of women and drugs. One day a fellow Looper Seth (Paul Dano) fails to kill a target that he realized was his future self, and Joe tries to help, which enrages their boss, Abe (Jeff Daniels). As retribution Abe sets Joe his next target to be his own future self (played by Bruce Willis). Now Joe’s life is about to take a dramatic turn as he comes face to face with the older version of himself, who has just lost the love of his life (Qing Xu). Eventually old Joe tells young Joe about the Rainmaker, a 2074 mob boss who could forever impact their futures. The two Joes’ set out to find the young Rainmaker who lives in their current timeline, eventually ending up on Sara’s (Emily Blunt) farm. What will the Joes’ do when they find him?
My 2 cents
I found Looper quite a tense and engaging science fiction thriller. Yes, it’s a little far fetched as all time travel movies are, but never the less it was entertaining. Plus this new 4K native release and Dolby mix adds some video and audio muscle.
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