Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Earth is being reshaped by mysterious alien invaders. Their first wave took out electricity, the second caused earthquakes and tsunamis, the third was a virus leading to mass death, the fourth is the invasion of the planet, and the fifth…you’ll have to see the movie—no spoilers from me!

The story is told from the perspective of Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz), a 16-year-old high school student from Dayton, Ohio, who before the invasion was worried about getting her crush to notice she existed. Once all hell breaks loose, her family is torn apart, and she’ll stop at nothing to find her little brother, who has been taken to a regional training facility established by the military as they prepare to fight back.

Based on the novel by Rick Yancey, I can’t say I was very impressed by the film. Its biggest downfall is that its most pivotal scene opens the movie, and from there it goes straight downhill. The plot twist is anything but subtle, and the melodramatic elements in the story were definitely geared to a much younger demographic of the female gender. There just isn’t a lot of meat in the screenplay, and the execution is more movie of the week than theatrical blockbuster.

The 4K transfer is sourced from a 2K DI (digital intermediate) and, in direct comparisons to the Blu-ray, showed very little resolution benefit. The biggest difference between the two is the colors, which are more saturated and lifelike in 4K due to the wider color gamut. The HDR elements are a trade-off with my JVC DLA-X750R projector—in order to get the bright highlights, I need to run in high lamp mode, which raises the black floor. This was very notable in a nighttime forest battle with very little light. The blacks were dark gray versus the inky blacks on the Blu-ray (in low lamp mode). HDR-enabled flat panels may fare better in this regard.

The Dolby Atmos track is outstanding, with some prominent overhead effects from helicopters and alien vessels. Dynamics are particularly strong, with a plethora of gunshots and explosions, and the dialogue is always intelligible. The surround activity is very active, especially while Cassie and her escort traverse the forest with the sound of wind rustling through the trees and birds chirping.

Supplements include an audio com- mentary with the director and Moretz, 11 deleted scenes, a gag reel, five featurettes, the Blu-ray, and an UltraViolet Digital Copy.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Sony, 2016
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Format: Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 core)
Length: 112 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: J Blakeson
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Matthew Zuk, Gabriela Lopez