Why So Blu?

Unbreakable (4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray Review)

One of M. Night Shyamalan’s most beloved films, Unbreakable, turns twenty whole years old this year. A film that was quite a bit ahead of its time in bringing the comic book superhero into a more grounded nature, its interesting to see it in light of what came in the twenty years since release. To honor its age and legacy, Disney is giving the film a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release. No new extras or audio, but the film’s picture is getting the boost. You’ll also be able to complete the trilogy to have it join the 4K releases of Split and Glass. You’ll eventually be able to order the film on Amazon at some point, and I may update this review with a paid Amazon Associates link, but right now there is no active or visible listing. Unbreakable arrives on the format September 21st.

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Film

A security guard, having been the sole survivor of a high-fatality train crash, finds himself at the centre of a mysterious theory that explains his consistent physical good fortune. When news of his survival is made public, a man whose own body is excessively weak tracks him down in an attempt to explain his unique unbreakable nature.

Unbreakable is the default answer for film geeks when it comes to naming their favorite M. Night Shyamalan film. It found a lot greater appreciation in the years following its theatrical release than it did on its arrival. His film also lived in a time where comic books and comic book films didn’t rule every breath Mother Earth takes. Regardless, its still a fine little film and one many wanted more from and hoped for a sequel for a long time. And then a couple years ago, we got it. SPOILER: Be careful what you wish for.

When Glass was released, I partook in an audio commentary on Aaron Neuwirth’s Out Now With Aaron & Abe podcast and was joined by Scott Mendelson from Forbes. We spoke at feature length on the film and its a great listen if you have the time. Having the film on in the background or sync’d up to the film is not necessarily. Its just as enjoyable while you’re on the run, at work, doing the dishes, napping on a hammock…however you so please.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are not taken from the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Unbreakable arrives a native 4K title as it was shot on film. Its colors, black levels, depth and details all make a really nice jump from the original Blu-ray release. The image does sharpen a bit more, but this is inherently a softer looking picture by design, even with a few little VERY slightly out of focus scenes here and there showing up. And that they are is a testament to a really nice transfer. All in all its a worthwhile and noticeable upgrade in picture.

Depth:  Depth of field is quite strong and very intended and flaunted in a lot of the cinematography. Pushback is gives a solid pushback look to the frame. Motion is smooth and natural with no issues on any distortions during the rapid movements.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and natural and this is where a lot of the improvement in the image comes from. The contrast helps bring out a little more crisp picture and color pop. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: This is a very BLUE film. BLUE is quite strong on this one. You see a lot of BLUE. Green looks pretty good too. A lot of “regular” is in the color scheme here and they look nice and bold. HDR comes in good for lights and displays screens and the like.

Flesh Tones:  Skin tones are natural and consistent from the open to the close of the film. Facial features and information showcase lots of rich texture from any reasonable distance in frame.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French (Canadian) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Latin American) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1 DTS Digital Surround, German 5.1 DTS Digital Surround, Italian 5.1 DTS Digital Surround, Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH, French, French (Canada), Spanish (Latin American), Spanish (Castilian), German, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Dynamics: Unbreakable retains the same 5.1 lossless track that it had from the original standard Blu-ray release from what I can tell. Its pretty decent and gets the job done. It has some great atmospherics and knows how to use the room for it. A little more impact would be welcome, but this overall works quite well with good balance in the mix.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer is pretty active with thunder, mental sounds, engines, crashes, punches, glass breaking, water splashing and more.

Surround Sound Presentation: There’s a lot of front but this has fun with the rear channels as well. Rear brings in some of the vision scenes to build up and consume you in it. Storms really swell in the room as well. Travel is accurate to what’s on screen.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

Extras

Unbreakable comes with the standard Blu-ray edition and a redeemable digital code. All bonus features are found on the standard Blu-ray disc.

Behind The Scenes (SD, 14:16)

Comic Books And Superheroes (SD, 19:21)

Deleted Scenes  (SD, 28:28)

The Train Station Sequence (SD, 4:10)

M. Night’s First Fight Sequence (SD, 2:27)

Summary

Despite having a lot of stuff tackling the same subject matter or just relishing in comic book lore for over the last decade, Unbreakable still manages to work, and a lot of that is on its star power in front of and behind the camera. Disney brings the film to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray for the first time, only updating the video transfer and nothing else. Said video transfer is a pretty decent improvement over the original Blu-ray release. If Unbreakable is a favorite, you should definitely pick up this upgrade as I’m not certain there’ll be much in the way better for quite some time.

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