007 The Daniel Craig Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

I have something shameful to admit.  I’ve been living with this secret for the longest time and I need to get this off my chest once and for all.  Why So Blu writer Brandon Peters is going to be so disappointed in me, but here goes nothing.  Up until the point when Daniel Craig took the reins of the James Bond role I had little interest in the legendary franchise.  Blasphemy!  I know.  I always respected them and all the pop culture references and nostalgia that popped up in Austin Powers and whatnot, but I never truly got into them whole-heartedly.  It’s ironic too as I once was known as a Ford Mustang guy and low and behold that car made its initial debut in a 007 film.  However, then the unthinkable happened.  Sony’s Blu-ray format emerged on the scene and I blind bought Casino Royale (it came with a toy Astro Martin).  That’s all it took.  I became an instant fan of not only this Bond series, but I’m also a proud papa of the former 22-film collection on Blu-ray too.  And now I’m so honored to go back full circle and pay homage to the film where it all started for me.  Casino flipping’ Royale is now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and I’m like a pig rolling around in mud!

On October 22nd, Casino Royale, Quantum Of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre were made available to own as a Collection for the first time on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc.  That’s right!  You get all four James Bonds films starring Daniel Craig as 007 in one collection.  Bam!  This release features the extended unrated version (17 seconds longer) of Casino Royale and includes select special features on Casino Royale and Skyfall.  Despite the grueling punishment Daniel Craig took filming the last one and all his negative words he is currently in production on his fifth installment as James Bond in the franchise’s highly-anticipated 25th feature film No Time To Die.    The film is set for a U.S. theatrical release on April 10, 2020.  Armed with that knowledge the release of this box set seems a bit premature, but I’m not complaining!  I wanted these on the 4K Disc format for some time now and this early release feels like Christmas to me!

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Disclaimer: I’m going to take the slightly easy way out down below and for both brevity and time’s sake cover this 4-film Collection as a whole.  I’ll start out with a short blurb on each of the 4 films and how I scored them accordingly.  Furthermore, I’ll accompany this with a somewhat comprehensive grading of the audio and video presentations plus what’s included in way of extras for each film entry.  After all you’re not here to learn what I think about the movies themselves and read all my infinite wisdom on the topic.  You’re here for the disc vitals!  Please keep in mind the writings below are my first time sitting down wearing a reviewer hat with these films in totality and exploring them in the mere detail I do.  And with that being said here goes nothing!

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CASINO ROYALE

Film 

Year Released: 2006

Director: Martin Campbell

Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis

Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mars Mikkelsen, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench

Casino Royale for me is the best 007 James Bond film ever.  It reinvented, rebooted and I guess you can say refreshed everything that was James Bond.  Even better it took a page straight out of the Bourne Identity movies and made James Bond a straight-up, cold-blooded, international agent (akin to an assassin) as opposed to the goofiness the series had become over the years.  The franchise’s origins were quite cheesy to begin with, but I can’t fault that too much because it was way before my time and Austin Powers would have never existed without them too.  However, in all seriousness, Casino Royale took things too the next level…a very “serious” one.  Even the compelling ways in which Vesper (Green) was able to breach his armor and make him a more vulnerable man was completely believable to me.

Let’s not forget though the breathtaking way this film starts out (after the BEST Bond theme song and intro ever to me) with that high-rise chase sequence.  Wow!  Just wow!  It’s like you had me at hello.  Just like the way James Bond likes his martinis Daniel Craig stirs things up throughout this production.  This one had it all: the BEST Bond song, wild action, gorgeous scenery, women, water, beaches, a ten million dollar per player poker game, a sinister, scarred villain and a “beefcake” of a Bond that brought the utmost of physicality, seriousness and iconic newness to the legendary role.  The bloated runtime is the ONLY thing that hampers it for me in the score department.

Video 

• Encoding: HEVC / H.265
• Resolution: 4K Upscaled (2160p)
• Dolby Vision: Yes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Clarity/Detail: Casino Royale already looked amazing as one of the finest Blu-rays in my collection back in the day so I was super excited to check it out here on 4K disc some 13 years later.  It’s amazing how time flies by, but I digress.  Casino arrives on the 4K format with a 2K DI upscaled image.  While it’s every bit as breathtaking as the 1080p Blu-ray was you can’t help but notice you’ve seen much better.  However, you can’t ding it for that.  Still prevalent in this 4K presentation is the level of detail, especially in the closeups.  Stubble, wrinkles, moles, mud, blood, sweat and tears and so much more are razor sharp up close.  Other areas to note here are the textures such as porous concrete, sand, rope twine and more.
• Depth: The backgrounds and sets within Casino Royale have always looked outstanding.  I often joked that the gorgeous backdrops here were like another character in its own right.  They are no exception here rich with three-dimensional qualities throughout.  Whether it’s a long winding road or a cramped casino there’s a lot of separation of depth going on in here between the foregrounds and the backgrounds.
• Black Levels: The black levels are all deep and inky throughout especially during the black and white sequences.  What’s most impressive here in this Dolby Vision transfer has to be the HDR within the many nighttime sequences.  Even during the dimly lit poker sequences nothing really ever gets lost in the shadows.
• Color Reproduction: The colors throughout here are very natural.  Let’s compare the 1080p Blu-ray for a moment.  I remember how mesmerizing and glowing blue the water sequences were in it.  Here the water takes on a more natural, real looking appearance.  Daniel Craig’s blue eyes aren’t overblown here either.   I do love how vivid the opening animations look not to mention the green vegetation in the Bahamas.  Overall the real stunning qualities of this 4K presentation has to be the nighttime and dimly lit sequences coupled with the very natural color grading throughout.
• Flesh Tones: The skin tones all look natural, pleasing and authentic throughout for the most part, but do appear hot from time to time.
• Noise/Artifacts: You’re obviously going to have grain in a movie that opens up blown out in black and white like this, but it’s all style over substance here.  Rest assured it’s only in these sequences and the rest of the movie looks as gorgeous as you remember it except with a more natural like appearance thanks to the HDR.

Audio 

• Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish, Czech, Hungarian and Polish 5.1 Dolby Digital and French, Castilian, German and Italian 5.1 DTS
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Castilian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Czech, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese
• Dynamics: Alright so yeah you’re not going to get any new atmospheric surround track here.  Boo hoo!  The previously released DTS HD-MA mix still sounds phenomenal.  It’s loud, robust and menacing.  It’s also obviously very spatial and discretely prioritized.  What I love about it is the sweeping score and Chris Cornell’s anthem.  It just sounds so amazingly full.  The dialogue while it doesn’t exactly get lost in the shuffle was never the easiest to understand (at least for me).
• Low Frequency Extension: The bass is persistent throughout and it starts right from the very get with the MGM roaring lion.  I’ll recap sone of the highlights here which includes that opening bathroom fight scene, smashing tiles, the score, gunshots, the hefty construction plow Bond drives through a fence during that opening chase, explosions, car rollover and crashes, the sinking building and so much more.
• Surround Sound Presentation: Equally impressive is the immersion created throughout due in main part to the sweeping score, the wild action sequences, rain falling, gun spray and whatnot.
• Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue levels are mostly clear and somewhat intelligible throughout.  I say the latter as I have always had a hard time in understanding some of the spoken dialogue here.  Once I watched the Blu-ray with subtitles just so I could ensure I knew what every spoken word was (hoping I did not miss anything).

Extras 

• Audio Commentary featuring the Crew (available on the 4K UHD Disc)
• Digital Copy Redemption Codes
• Feature film in 1080p housed on a separate Blu-ray Disc and contains most of the previously released SD and HD extras (as listed below).
  • Deleted Scenes (7:32)
  • The Road to Casino Royale (26:35)
  • Ian Fleming’s Incredible Creation (21:16)
  • James Bond in the Bahamas (24:17)
  • Ian Fleming: Secret Road to Paradise (24:29)
  • Death in Venice (23:20)
  • Becoming Bond (26:18)
  • James Bond for Real (23:34)
  • Chris Cornell’s You Know My Name Music Video (4:09)

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QUANTUM OF SOLACE7

Film 

Year Released: 2008

Director: Marc Forster

Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis

Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench

Yes!  I completely realize this is everyone’s most hated Bond adventure, which was never fully fleshed out during the screenwriter’s strike and put into production while some of it was being written on the fly by Craig and Forster.  It’s also the shortest of all the 007 movies too clocking in at only 106 minutes.  However, there’s a guilty pleasure appeal for me with the 22nd installment titled Quantum of Solace.  Also, a first for any 007 Bond movie, this one’s kind of a direct sequel to Casino (it literally picks up moments after).  Hell yeah!  What really makes my engines roar (pun intended) are the death defying action sequences that consume the first fifteen minutes (with the inclusion Jack White’s theme song too).  After that even I’ll admit Quantum does lose some of its footing as it never is really able to compete head-on-head with its predecessor it ties back to.

Like Casino though Quantum never shies away from its ultra serious tone.  Bond is out for revenge of the death of his thought to be lover, Vesper Lynd.  He finds “solace” in Camille Montes (Kurylenko), who is also out  avenging the murder of her family.  They square off against a wealthy businessman, which sees the filmmakers resisting the urge to put in an over-the-top arch nemesis like the former films in the franchise were always known for.  This villain just wants control of Bolivia’s water supply.  What’s so wrong about that?  I’m joking!  Last but not least, there’s sort of a Bond girl here that I’ve always been very fond of (Gemma Arterton).  With the inclusion of Gemma even I am able to find “solace” here view after view.  It’s not a perfect film at all (action editing wise it’s all over the place), but it officially marks the end of what I call the “very serious” Daniel Craig 007 years.

Video 

• Encoding: HEVC / H.265
• Resolution: 4K Upscaled (2160p)
• Dolby Vision: Yes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Clarity/Detail: The 4K UHD presentation here is a slightly noticeable uptick in quality over the 1080p Blu-ray.  What I love about this one is all the fine details.  There’s a lot of great architecture to gaze upon, but it’s the dirt that gets me.  I know that sounds weird, but like in my Scarface 4K review (HERE) where I commented on the filth easily seen in the Miami looking sets it’s the dirt here in Haiti that looks one hundred percent screen accurate.  Also the fine crushed gravel and rock looks like a million bucks.  Textures such as chewed up wood and weaves in jackets and more are evident as are the closeups with stubble, wrinkles and pores being prominent.  I do love (not in a mean way though) how detailed and pronounced the scars are on Olga’s back here.
• Depth: Depth in the overall image is in complete abundance here throughout again.  There’s a distinct three-dimensional pop of foreground characters in their separation from the background.  Some of the finer moments include the tunnel during the car chase, winding roads and the dirty Haitian streets.
• Black Levels: The black levels are all deep and inky throughout for the most part.
• Color Reproduction: The colors throughout here all share a very natural like appearance.
• Flesh Tones: The skin tones also all look natural, pleasing and authentic throughout.
• Noise/Artifacts: There’s zero in the way of complaints here about any kind of unwarranted noise.

Audio 

• Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 Descriptive Audio, Spanish, Czech, Hungarian and Polish 5.1 Dolby Digital and French, Castilian, German and Italian 5.1 DTS
• Subtitles: English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Spanish, French, Castilian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Czech, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese
• Dynamics: Immediately right after the studio logo fades the surround track here is a LOUD and WIDE one!  First off the Jack White theme song sounds extraordinary full.  The sound stage is wide open and vast.  Furthermore, prioritization and directionality is paramount here with fine reproduction in examples of clay pots crumbling and smashing as well as all the water moments.
• Low Frequency Extension: The bass is persistent and pummels throughout here.  The bass is such a large driving force I’m just going to list all the impressive moments I wrote down such as the score, car chase, revving engines, bullets hitting very hard, crashes, the bass in the Jack White infused theme song, turbulence, explosions and much more.
• Surround Sound Presentation: Equally impressive is the immersion throughout in this one with examples such as the score, action sequences, sirens, birds, opera performances and heck even an airplane mid-air battle scene.
• Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue levels are all loud, clear and mostly intelligible throughout.  Some the accents are yes a wee bit hard to understand, but nothing to ding this one for.

Extras 

• Digital Copy Redemption Codes
• Feature film in 1080p housed on a separate Blu-ray Disc, which contains the below previously released Blu-ray extra supplements in SD and HD.
  • Director Marc Foster (2:45)
  • Bond on Location (24:45)
  • Start of Shooting (2:54)
  • On Location (3:14)
  • Olga Kurylenko and the Boat Chase (2:14)
  • Jack White and Alicia Keys’ Another Way to Die Music Video (4:30)
  • The Music (2:36)
  • Crew Files (45:30)
  • Theatrical Teaser Trailer #1 (1:51)
  • Theatrical Trailer #2 (2:23)

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SKYFALL

Film 

Year Released: 2012

Director: Sam Mendes

Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan

Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Albert Finney, Javier Bardem, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes

Remember up above how I put the previous two films on a pedestal praising them for their very serious tone?  Well I can’t help but feeling that Skyfall and Spectre nearly brought the franchise right back to its its cheesy origins.  My arguments is a lot more evident in Spectre so I’ll choose to digress here and table this discussion.  However,  Skyfall does see the return of two recurring franchise characters after an absence from the past two films: Q (Whishaw) and Miss Moneypenny (Harris).  I will say this about Skyfall though.  I do feel it has one of the best modern day Bond villains in Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva.  He’s so weird, so sinister and so hellbent on revenge that I consider it a proverbial crime they underutilized him so much.  I mean he doesn’t even make an appearance until the middle of Act 2.  

Truth be told though while I find Skyfall to ultimately be a better movie than its predecessor I find it an absolute chore to sit through.  The film’s runtime is so exhausting, but on the flip side its cinematography is so breathtaking.  Because of the latter though many sequences feel not only forced or fake, but overly choreographed and highly staged.  In the long run though those are very minor complaints compared to the excess length in runtime.  I don’t know what it is, but I’m okay with it in Casino.  I’m just not as forgiving with it in Skyfall.  Also, I find the Bond theme this time around performed by Adele to be an absolute bore, but you can see where they were going with this.  They were playing off the nostalgia of the series and slowly taking Bond back to his roots.  Thankfully much of the serious tone and edge I loved about the first two films is pretty much still intact here.  To me Skyfall feels like a long, bloated superhero film where one loses their powers or takes off the cape only to ultimately make a comeback.

Video 

• Encoding: HEVC / H.265
• Resolution: 4K Native (2160p)
• Dolby Vision: Yes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Clarity/Detail: Skyfall was finished with a 4K Digital Intermediate and the results couldn’t have been more glorious.  After all it is Roger Deakins with his Oscar-nominated cinematography.  To me this is the best looking 4K presentation in the collection here.  Like you would expect detail is king here like the many wrinkles in Dench (no offense meant), stubble or even the fine blonde eyebrows on Daniel Craig.  Bardem’s hairdo is extremely awful looking too.  I’m just saying!  Textures also look great here like Bond’s suits or concrete in bricks.
• Depth: Depth in the overall image is outstanding here.  I don’t even know where t start here.  I mean you have a great looking motor cycle chase through the bizarre.  The city streets all look vast and deep.  Even six caskets lined up (as mean as it sounds) looks exceptional.  There are infinite number of three-dimensional pop examples, but I think you get the “picture.”
• Black Levels: The black levels are all deep, natural and inky throughout.  Some of my favorite scenes here are the nighttime ones like the Shanghai skyline, the neons popping and that immaculate boat ride into the Macau looks absolutely stunning.  You also have to love the flickering flames and the contrast they produce.
• Color Reproduction: The colors throughout here are natural, sometimes drenched and very commendable throughout depending upon what color scheme is employed.
• Flesh Tones: The skin tones all look natural, pleasing and authentic throughout.
• Noise/Artifacts: You have absolutely nothing to worry about here.

Audio 

• Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 Descriptive Audio, Spanish, Czech, Hungarian and Polish 5.1 Dolby Digital and French, Castilian, German and Italian 5.1 DTS
• Subtitles: English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Spanish, French, Castilian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Czech, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese
• Dynamics: Skyfall is equally impressive in the audio department.  The dynamics of it all are in your face beginning with that unmistakable Bond theme score.  Take the thunder for example.  The directionality and prioritization of the channels is precise and discreet.  I think Aaron Neuwirth says it best in his Blu-ray Review of this HERE: “The film was nominated for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing for a reason, as the film has so much going on throughout.  Explosions, gunfire, car chases, the score, the opening song, all of this plays a huge part in delivering the ultimate action/adventure experience and it all comes out great.  The dialogue is also key of course, but even that is as clear as it needs to be, while all ambient sounds register just as clear as well.”  I really couldn’t say it better here considering this is the same exact audio track.
• Low Frequency Extension: The bass is persistent throughout in the way it throws heavyweight moments at you like cars revving, cycles, guns, guns and more guns, trains, rain, thunder, explosions and again that unmistakable Bond theme.
• Surround Sound Presentation: As you would expect prepare to be immersed here throughout with wild car chases, the cycle chase, rain, the train fight, erratic gun spray and so much more.
• Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue levels are all loud, clear and mostly intelligible throughout.  I have no qualms here.

Extras 

• Audio Commentaries (housed on the 4K UHD Disc):
  • Audio Commentary by Sam Mendes – This is a very entertaining commentary track, as Mendes seems to really care about delivering a lot of details about the film.  It is also very scene-specific, as it is rare he does not describe something that is not involving what’s happening within the frame, but he does so in a way that is very informative.  A great listen for fans of the film.
  • Audio Commentary by Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, and Dennis Gassner – Not quite as interesting as Mendes track, but a decent listen nonetheless for fans that still want to learn more about the film.
• Digital Copy Redemption Codes
• Feature film in 1080p housed on a separate Blu-ray Disc, which contains the below previously released Blu-ray extra supplements in HD.
  • Audio Commentaries (same as above)
  • Shooting Bond documentary (59:24) – This is an hour’s worth of behind-the-scenes, which can either be viewed in parts or watch as a whole.  It is quite good at revealing lots of how the film was put together, but my only complaint is that it feels like a lot of these segments seem to be shortened, instead of revealing even more about the making-of the film.  It is easy to watch all of these segments, sure, but I feel like there could have been more to see.
  • Skyfall Premiere (4:28) – Footage from the world premiere of the film, with interviews from members of the cast.
  • Theatrical Trailer (2:31)
  • Soundtrack Promotional Spot (:40)

*** Some of the above verbiage and detailed look at the extras comes straight from Aaron Neuwirth’s Blu-ray Review of this HERE.

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SPECTRE

Film 

Year Released: 2015

Director: Sam Mendes

Writers: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Jez Butterworth

Cast: Daniel Craig, Ben Whishaw, Christoph Waltz, Dave Bautista, Lea Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes

The opening Mexico City Day of the Dead scene of Spectre here is MONEY!  However, the overall movie for me is a mixed bag of nuts.  Don’t get me wrong I’m glad to have the continuation of the Daniel Craig adventure here (they even recap the first three adventures visually in Sam Smith’s “Waiting on the Wall” opening theme song sequence), but I tend to tune out frequently when familial storylines are forced into franchises.  It nearly ruined TV’s 24 for me and causes me conflict here too.  I’m not a big fan of family puppet mastery.  And as I alluded to up above Spectre almost goes full circle back to Bond’s origins.  I don’t mean that from the family perspective, albeit true, but from the goofiness where we now have a super villain with a secret lair, gadgets, a ridiculous torture device and more.  However, fret not.  All is not lost as Daniel Craig’s Bond seems colder than ever in the demeanor department.  That doesn’t always work here, but it keeps the serious tone going strong for the most part.

So I guess you can say Spectre earns some points here bringing back some of the glory of the classic Bond films complete with super villain Ernst Blofeld.  You can also say Spectre earns a point in the film score department just for featuring the bare back of the walking piece of artwork, Monica Bellucci, but I digress.  Maybe that aforementioned point is only in my scorebook, but maybe it’s not too.  There are also some really great action sequences, but perhaps the biggest disconnect for me is Bond’s love interest portrayed by Léa Seydoux.  I have no idea how Bond falls so fast for her after grieving over Vesper for the past three entries.  I can’t draw the dotted lines between when there is ever enough time or care given to the story that Bond would want to ride out into the sunset with this woman.  However, after all is said and done I do/did feel this was a perfect way to end the Daniel Craig storyline and reboot the series with a new Bond actor.  After the dismal way Spectre eventually putters out I really don’t feel there’s much left to explore with Daniel Craig’s James Bond.  Let him live the rest of his years out in happiness.  What do I know though?  Like the Crystal Skull to Indiana Jones like it or not we’re getting another James Bond feature with Daniel Craig next year.  

Video

• Encoding: HEVC / H.265
• Resolution: 4K Native (2160p)
• Dolby Vision: Yes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Clarity/Detail: This one is also a native 4K presentation on UHD Disc, but I give the edge to Skyfall up above for looking slightly better.  There’s a lot playing and tweaking with the coloring from scene to scene, but rest assured like the other features above there’s plenty of exquisite detail to be found here.  There are some weird lit sequences which do appear a bit washed and as a result detail may be a bit hazy, albeit just a nitpick of mine.
• Depth: Depth in the overall image is pretty much everywhere you look. Some of my favorite moments happen within the film’s first hour like in Mexico City, on the rooftops there and even at a funeral where Monica Bellucci stands like an angel in the distance between pillars.  There’s a lot to take in here.
• Black Levels: The black levels are natural and deep for the most part.  Nighttime sequences look great thanks to the HDR.  As mentioned up above there are some oddly lit scenes where black levels are not consistent as a result.
• Color Reproduction: The film’s color palette is all over the place here.  In Mexico City for example it’s yellowish although certain colors like the blues and pinks still pop.  After that the color grading goes a little more sterile, but natural.  There’s a lot tweaking going on here obviously.
• Flesh Tones: The skin tones all look natural, pleasing and authentic throughout the digital color grading.
• Noise/Artifacts: I noticed very minor source noise, but nothing at all to write home about.

Audio 

• Audio Format(s): English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 Descriptive Audio, Spanish, Czech, Hungarian and Polish 5.1 Dolby Digital and French, Castilian, German and Italian 5.1 DTS
• Subtitles: English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Spanish, French, Castilian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Czech, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese
• Dynamics: “The lossless 7.1 audio track is spectacular for Spectre. Everything you want in a big action blockbuster is heard here in this terrific track that organizes all of the sound so incredibly well. Chases, explosions, gunfights, score and more all sound amazing.”. I echo Aaron Neuwirth’s sentiments from his original Blu-ray review of this title HERE.  And holy hell that James Bond theme song sounds full, wide and encompassing.  There’s also no denying how unbelievable the helicopter sounds in the beginning if your receiver is capable of up-mixing the sound into the height channels thanks in part to DTS Neural: X.
• Low Frequency Extension: The bass is stunning and punishing from the very beginning with both gunshots and that deep, heavy hitting percussion in Mexico City.  The LFE channel just moves you here.  Couple that with engine revs, crashes, explosions and more the subwoofer is a heavy hitting beast not to be messed with here.
• Surround Sound Presentation: The theme song is everywhere here, the helicopter swirling fight scene  thrills, the car chase palpitates your heart, explosions rock you, action sequences engage you and so much more as the surrounds put you in the middle of everything.
• Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue levels are all loud, clear and intelligible throughout.

Extras 

• Digital Copy Redemption Codes
• Feature film in 1080p housed on a separate Blu-ray Disc, which contains the below previously released Blu-ray extra supplements in HD.
  • SPECTRE: Bond’s Biggest Opening Sequence (20:12) – Half of this is a look at filming the opening sequence. The other half is an ad for Mexico City.
  • Video Blogs (9:09)
    • Director – Sam Mendes (1:29)
    • Supercars (1:41)
    • Introducing Léa Seydoux and Monica Bellucci (1:42)
    • Action (1:37)
    • Music (1:50)
    • Guinness World Record (1:18)
  • Gallery
  • Teaser Trailer (1:32)
  • Theatrical Trailer 1 (2:31)
  • Theatrical Trailer 2 (1:10)

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Summary 

You can say what you want about Daniel Craig as 007 James Bond and debate endlessly why this 4K Disc box set wasn’t held closer to the release of the new film next year.  However, I believe the biggest disappointment about this collection is the fact that Fox has a lazy habit of not giving us anything new in these catalog 4K Disc releases.  The biggest sore point here is not in the way of extras, but the fact that they did zero with the surround audio mixes.  These films beg for the Dolby Atmos experience, but sadly that’s not reality here.  If you are lucky enough like me to have a DTS Neural: X mode on your A/V receiver, then you can take wide advantage of putting your height channels to good use.  Since these 4K presentations don’t come with a default atmospheric mix I chose to disregard any mention of the height channels up above.  With that all being said I’m still very happy and appreciative for these films merely existing now on the 4K UHD Disc format.  And for that I’m whole heartedly recommending these to all the Daniel Craig 007 James Bond fans out there.  It’s the PERFECT stocking stuffer this holiday season.  These 4 007 films have never looked so natural before and until they get remixed one day in the audio department this collection is the best presentation of them you can own.  Thanks for reading!

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DISCLAIMER: This 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review was judged and graded using the following 4K certified Ultra HD Premium television set found here and player here.  Make sure to check out all our 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews archived here.  The images used above within the review are not actual 4K screenshots.  They are for illustrative purposes only.  

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007 The Daniel Craig Collection

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