Snatched (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Here I am with another second week of summer film with an underwhelming box office return in 2017. Snatched wasn’t the bomb King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was, but I’m pretty sure people were it expecting it to do a lot better. Its reviews were right about there with King Arthur (though a little better). Personally, I was looking forward to this one, but didn’t get a change to see it in the theater due to…I dunno, life and stuff probably. But, now its here and on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray for me to check out in the comfort of my own home theater. You can pick this one up now (Sorry for the late review, it didn’t show up til after it’d be released) as it streeted back on August 8th. And if you don’t have the film, pre-order using the Amazon link below.
Film 
After her boyfriend dumps her on the eve of their exotic vacation, impetuous dreamer Emily Middleton persuades her ultra-cautious mom, Linda, to travel with her to paradise. When the trip takes an unexpected turn, the polar opposite mother/daughter duo realize they must settle their differences and work together to escape the outrageous jungle adventure they’ve fallen into.
I was looking very forward to Snatched as I was a very big fan of Amy Schumer’s 2015 film Trainwreck. She’s got a nice, unique and honest female presence in comedy and importantly she makes me giggle pretty hard. Upping the ante here for this follow-up, she brought Goldie Hawn back the big screen (And just film in general) for what feels like the perfect matchup. The two feel like a great fit and in thought its perfect. However, the script kinda keeps it from maybe reaching its full potential as they keep Schumer a little too loose and Hawn a bit too stiff for the film. It works, it just could have been more.
That’s not to say the film isn’t funny or the relationship doesn’t work. Snatched visits some tried territory at times with a unique spin, which makes it fun and better than most. It also has some shockingly violent choices that are incredibly abrupt and quick that you can’t do anything but laugh because you can’t believe what you had just seen. As good as the Ecuador and other tropic place stuff is, my favorite portion of the movie may have been the subplot featuring Ike Barinholtz trying to escalate the government’s efforts in retrieving his mom and sister. Yes, its some juvenile stuff, but the way its written and performed/improvised by Barinholtz and the guy at the office is just absolute gold and scene steals the movie a lot. In addition there are some nice fun cameo-esque performances from Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack, Christopher Meloni and Randall Park.
Jonathan Levine continues on with adding to an interesting filmography. Hard to believe he started with All The Boys Love Mandy Lane and now he’s here. He really knows how to mish mash on action, terrors, comedy and character very well. Levine brings an interesting eye in telling this film like I’ve never felt in a comedy like this with some very engaging tracking and crane shots to tell the film. There is a scene where our two leads hop out of a trunk and run to chase a truck to jump on and its just got a very unique eye on it that you wouldn’t think to see in a film like this.
Snatched is quite a fun little jungle excursion that had me laughing frequently and never felt there was a dull moment. I’m honestly quite shocked the critic reviews were so poor. To each their own, though, as I obviously had a good time. Yes, there are some forgotten points here and there and maybe not the cleanest narrative, but when it comes to an outright comedy, I tend to be much more forgiving. Anywho, check this one out. Its not as good as Trainwreck, but its a rock solid bit of fun.
Video
Encoding: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Layers: BD-66
Clarity/Detail: I found Snatched’s 4K Ultra-HD picture to be quite gorgeous and impressive overall. It does have the caveat that it has one of those super tropical settings that really lend itself easily to having a lovely image. That said, this one really has a look that pops off the screen. The image is sharp, crisp and has great attention of detail righto footprints and markings on dusty floors. Aside from the obvious strong coloring, one of the most impressive features on this one is the blacks in the image.
Depth: An instantly noticed improvement on the standard Blu-ray comes right here. The image is a much more confident one, with smoother, swifter and more confident movements for characters and the camera. Distance and push back between the foreground and the background looks more multidimensional as well.
Black Levels: Blacks are well saturated, nice, smooth and dark with plenty of shades and tints. Dark jungle scenes see no loss in detail and a really good added layer of sharpness and depth. No crushing was witnessed during the watch for this review.
Color Reproduction: The image looks gorgeous here with some luscious greens just making an emerald paradise. Some of the US set scenes have some nice color touches to them as well. HDR gets put to work on some torches, car lights and other glowing imagery that appears in the film.
Flesh Tones: Skin tones take on the warm/natural hot tropical climate look we are accustomed to and has a consistency throughout. Facial features are clear as day with sweat beads, dried sweat, dirt, wrinkles, moles, make-up, lip texture, dried blood, cracks, scars and really anything you would see on a person in the flesh, but right there on the screen from any given distance.
Noise/Artifacts: Clean
Audio
Audio Format(s): English 7.1 DTS-HD MA, French 5.1 DTS, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, German 5.1 DTS, Italian 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Thai, Vietnamese
Dynamics: Unfortunately Snatched doesn’t come with an Atmos track as the film actually lends itself to making a good case for one. However, this 7.1 track is fun enough. It makes the jungle ever present and the action is loud and can fill your room with trucks, gunfire and waterfalls. Effects are pretty well layered in this balanced mix that lets the effects, score and vocals carry their own weight without trouncing on the others’ toes.
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer rumbles for engines, bassy music, gunshots, roaring waters, shovels smacking a forehead and more. It lets of an above average burst of energy.
Surround Sound Presentation: Sounds come from all around. There could be more fun distinct sounds from the rear and sides if they wanted, but what they have is good enough. Sound travel is accurately depicted as well as distance.
Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals might be the star of this mix. Always audible, loud and clear, they pull of a good crisp take with good diction.
Extras
Snatched comes with the Blu-ray edition and an Ultra-Violet digital copy of the film. Aside from the commentary, the bonus material is found on the standard Blu-ray.
Audio Commentary
- Director Commentary By Jonathan Levine
Blu-ray Disc
Deleted Scenes (HD 12:43)
Extended and Alternate Scenes (HD, 14:08)
Gag Reel (HD, 2:43)
Summary
Snatched is a fun little jungle romp with two generations of comedy coming together and bouncing off one another through some extreme situations. This 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray of the film has a gorgeous picture, thanks the very tropical setting. Audio-wise, its surprising this didn’t have Atmos, but the 7.1 track does a fine job. The bonus material is basically bare essentials for a comedy, but the movie didn’t make money at the box office, so I understand the less enthused effort. For the right low price down the road, this is a really nice pick up.
