Underworld: Blood Wars – 4K Blu-ray Review
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Sony Pictures | 2016
R | 1hrs 31 min | Sci-Fi | Fantasy | Thriller | Horror
HD | 1080P | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Native 4K | 2160P | HDR10 | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Aspect Ratio 2.39:1
Staring: Kate Beckinsale | Theo James | India Eisley | Bradley James | Charles Dance | Tobias Menzies
Directed by: Tom Rosenberg
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 7.1 soundtrack sound like? Good in most respects, and the 4K HDR10 video? Also good.
Entertainment: 5-
Video: 4+
Audio: 5-
Technical Review – Native 4K UHD HDR10
Underworld Blood Wars was shot using Red Weapon Dragon cameras. It was reportedly shot in 6K, finished as a 4K Digital Intermediate and given an HDR color timing pass for this Ultra HD release. This movie is dark from start to finish and doesn’t provide any particularly vibrant images, eye candy or reveal high levels of detailing. Images are crisp and sharp with good clarity with no obvious compression artifacts. Skin and hair are well defined as are many of the environmental details. Facial close ups reveal good, but pale, skin tones and hair and pores that are well detailed.
This is not a colorful movie. The color palette creates bleak and dreary black and blue imagery contrasting against, pale skin tones, the red lips and blood that aren’t very saturated to the bright blue eyes and bullet tips. Even the red firey and sparkly glow of the dying is rather restrained. On occasions you could be forgiven for thinking it was a black and white movie!
Blacks were noise free but fairly mediocre in depth, but did provide reasonable low level detail. There were few peak whites or peak anything except the various yellow flickering torch flames and bursts of sunlight as screens were blown out during the final battle sequence. Overall dynamic range was therefore never going to impress with the movie based in a dark and forbidding world.
Audio – Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Underworld: Blood Wars is presented with an updated Dolby Atmos mix that defaults to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 in my system. The HD version contains the original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless mix which is said to be very good. This new 7.1 mix is also very good adding the two back surround channels. The overall sound presentation is quite dynamic with good sub involvement and action from all surrounds, like zipping bullets and carrying environmental effects such as blustery winds, rainfall, reverberation and echo. 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. Action scenes are generally grand in scale exercising all speakers with gunfire appearing everywhere and chaos, pops, bangs, crashes and werewolf howls and growls enveloping the listener.
Good sub action certainly makes itself known during the action sequences, explosions and firefights, with a solid bottom end having good punch and muscle where required. Dialogue is always clear and detailed with solid front-center imaging and prioritization, even during the movies more intense sonic moments. Music is smooth and detailed, with a tight and deep low end support and effortless integration within the sound stage.
There is little to criticize regarding this soundtrack, providing as it does, a good mix.
Story Overview
The Underworld series is composed of five live action horror movies that follows characters who are caught up in a war between vampires and werewolves with Kate Beckinsale as the leading character, Selene. This is an epic struggle between the Lycan werewolf clan and the Vampire clan that has vowed to eradicate them.
This fifth, and currently final live action movie, follows Vampire slayer, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) as she fights off vicious attacks from both the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her. Joining with her only allies and friends, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), she must stop the eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, even if it means she has to give her all in order to do so.
For those wanting to see more there is a sixth animated movie Underworld: Endless War that was also released in this series.
My 2 cents
I rarely buy this style movie but I did buy Underworld: Rise of the Lycans in HD that I enjoyed. So at $13.84 for a 4K movie that was technically well received, and being still locked in my home, I thought, why not?
This is not an eye candy spectacular nor is it very colorful. Almost all the scenes are shot in dark environments or at night so your system had better be capable of creating good black levels and black level detail or you will miss a lot. Having said that, I enjoyed the movie.
