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Ultra HD : Worth a Look
Ranking:
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Release Date: January 24th, 2017 Movie Release Year: 2016

Inferno - Ultra HD Blu-ray

Overview -

Robert Langdon awakens in a hospital room in Florence, Italy, with no memory as to what has transpired over the last few days. He suddenly finds himself, again, the target of a major manhunt. But with the help of Dr. Sienna Brooks, and his knowledge of symbology, Langdon will try to regain his freedom, and lost memories, all whilst solving the most intricate riddle he's ever faced.

OVERALL:
Worth a Look
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
4K UHD/Blu-ray/Digital Copy
Video Resolution/Codec:
2160p HEVC/H.265
Length:
122
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Turkish
Subtitles/Captions:
English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin), Swedish, Thai, and Turkish
Special Features:
Ron Howard, A Director's Journal
Release Date:
January 24th, 2017

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

That thud you heard last year was the sound of 'Inferno' arriving at the American box office. Despite making a nice amount overseas, the movie was nothing short of a dud here, pulling in only $34 million domestically (the prior Langdon movie made $133 million in 2009 dollars, which is about $153 million in 2016 dollars). So to say 'Inferno' was a big disappointment for Sony is putting it mildly, but honestly you can't really blame the film itself. While it nowhere near ranks as one of my favorites of the past year (and it was one of my most highly anticipated movies), story-wise it's on par with the previous two installments, with all the good and bad that entails.

The movie is based on the fourth Robert Langdon book in Dan Brown's bestselling series, with everyone involved wisely choosing not to adapt the third novel, 'The Lost Symbol', primarily because (this is my guess) that the book's story is too closely similar to the Disney hit film, National Treasure 2. Not that 'Inferno's plot is completely original, as it focuses on a madman wanting to unleash a global plague that will kill off half the world's population.

The movie actually opens with a number of interesting twists – starting with the fact that the primary villain in the movie, Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster), commits suicide rather than being captured in the story's opening moments. This results in a rare instance of a movie where the lead character is trying to stop a bad guy's evil plot even though the villain is already dead. The other twist is that our hero, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks, returning to the role for a third time), begins the movie in the hospital in Florence, Italy, where he awakens to find himself with amnesia. Things have happened to him in the last couple of days that are vital to this story, but Langdon has no memory of them...allowing the audience to find out the answers at the same time the character does in the story.

These Robert Langdon films (as well as the books they're based on) always seem to team the professor up with a younger (and always attractive) female partner, and this time around her name is Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), who is the doctor tending to him when Langdon awakens at the beginning of the film. Zorbrist has left a number of clues behind to where and when the virus will be released (Why? How else can our hero stop it from happening?!) and they all have to do with Dante's Divine Comedy (which talks about Hell), something that both Langdon and his new partner know a lot about.

If you've seen one of these Robert Langdon films before, I don't have to tell you how things go...as he and Sienna head from one picturesque location to another, with each one providing a new clue about the virus and where to head next. Once again, each action sequence (the pair is being chased by a number of different organizations, including the local police and the World Health Organization) is mixed in with long-winded pieces of exposition by Langdon, during which he explains out loud how everything fits together, lest the audience not be able to keep up with it all.

This is all pretty silly – albeit at times entertaining – fun, and again, pretty much on par with the prior two Langdon movies that Ron Howard has directed. Without spoiling the conclusion for those who desire to check out this title, I will say that I was quite upset with the ending here – which screenwriter David Koepp has changed from the original novel. The book has a much more ambiguous conclusion, while Koepp's version ties up everything in a nice, neat bow. Did the filmmakers think American audiences would groan at a more nuanced conclusion to the story? Given the box office performance, it's really a shame they weren't more loyal to Dan Brown's novel, as it probably wouldn't have made much difference anyway.

The Blu-Ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Inferno' heats up in 4K with this Ultra HD/Blu-ray/Digital HD combo pack. The 4K and dual-layer Blu-ray disc arrive housed inside a black eco-Lite Vortex keepcase, along with a pair of inserts: one a single-fold advertisement for Sony's 4K Ultra HD titles, and the other containing a pair of codes – the first for a digital copy of the movie and points toward Sony's Movie Rewards program, and the other a promo for $4.99 titles online. A slipcover with artwork matching that of the keepcase slides overtop.

The 4K disc is front-loaded with an ad for 4K that describes the HDR experience; the Blu-ray is front-loaded with an ad about Sony Blu-ray (the digital version offered in your purchase and Sony's Movie Rewards program), plus trailers for Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Passengers, The Magnificent Seven, and 'Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the Fourth Reich". The main menu of the 4K disc is a still image of the keepcase box cover that allows users to navigate toward the right or down for various menu options. The Blu-ray main menu consists of the same image, with menu selections horizontally across the bottom of the screen.

Potential buyers should note that while the back of the box cover contains the A/B/C logo indicating that these discs are region-free, the Blu-ray in this set is actually Region A only. Ultra HD discs have no region coding, so there are no issues there.

Also of note: In addition to this standard 4K release, Best Buy is offering an exclusive steelbook 4K version of this release (which also includes the Blu-ray and Digital HD code).

Video Review

Ranking:

Although the first two Robert Langdon movies were shot on film, Director Ron Howard makes the switch to digital for 'Inferno', shooting on the Arri Alexa XT. The aspect ratio is also opened up this time, with Howard opting for a 1.85:1 image, as opposed to the 2.35:1 (or 2.40:1 on home video) of the prior two films. This gives 'Inferno' quite a different look its two predecessors.

The transfer here has been taken from a 2K digital intermediate, which means it's not "true" 4K, but you'd barely notice that fact watching the movie, as the image here looks really good – with the added color boost and contrast added by HDR making the image appear a little less digital and a little more filmlike. Black levels here are excellent, meaning details don't get lost in 'Inferno's darker moments. The 4K transfer has a visible boost over the Blu-ray version (which is quite impressive in it's own right) when it comes to details as well, which is most notable during the outdoor sequences of the film.

While I can't say that 'Inferno' provides the best image I've seen yet on an Ultra 4K release, I feel safe in saying it's quite possible the best transfer from a 2K digital intermediate we've gotten. Viewers/buyers won't be disappointed.

Audio Review

Ranking:

The featured audio track here is a Dolby Atmos one, which plays as a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track for those without an Atmos set-up in their home theaters. The audio is quite impressive, most notably during the vision/flashback segments that the Robert Langdon character has throughout the movie – providing a immersive (and occasionally creepy) feeling to the sound. The track is full of ambient noises, but they never become overly oppressive and have a very natural sound to them. There's a drone sequence in the movie that has a lot of fun with the audio that Atmos aficionados will love hearing. The audio also does an excellent job of enhancing the musical score by Hans Zimmer, without drowning out the spoken word. This is a fantastic track, and one that deserves the reference-quality score I'm giving it.

In addition to the Atmos track, an English Audio Descriptive Service track is also available, along with Dolby 5.1 tracks in Czech, French (Parisian), French (Quebec), German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin), Thai, and Turkish. Subtitles are an option in English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin), Swedish, Thai, and Turkish.

Special Features

Ranking:

Note: There are no bonus materials on the 4K disc. All the bonus materials listed below are contained on the Blu-ray in this release.

  • Extended & Deleted Scenes (HD, 27 ½ min.) – Most of the scenes here are extended versions of material already in the final cut, and there's not much that really adds a whole lot to the movie. Each scene can be watched individually, or they can be watched together. There's an alternate ending here, but it doesn't change the outcome of the film – it merely moves a scene to the end of the movie and a different location. There are seven scenes in all, consisting of: 'Extended Opening – Langdon's Visions of Hell' (6 min.); 'Langdon and Sienna Flee the Hospital' (2 ½ min.); 'Zobrist's Full Length Overpopulation Speech' (3 min.); 'No Police' (2 min.); 'Chase Through Boboli Gardens' (7 min.); 'Sims Races to Florence' (3 ½ min.); and 'Extended Ending – Life Pulls Us Apart Again' (4 ½ min.).
  • Visions of Hell (HD, 5 ½ min.) – A short featurette talking about the plot and making of 'Inferno', with comments from Director Ron Howard, Writer Dan Brown, Visual Effects Supervisor Jody Johnson, and star Tom Hanks.
  • 'Inferno' Around the World (HD, 13 ½ min.) – A look at diverse international casting that was used for the movie, taking a look at each of the major characters and the actor/actress that plays them. There are spoilers here, so don't watch this featurette until you've seen the film.
  • A Look at Langdon (HD, 6 ½ min.) – A featurette that has Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Dan Brown, and Screenwriter David Koepp talking about the evolution of the main character.
  • This is Sienna Brooks (HD, 6 min.) – This featurette covers Felicity Jones's character in the movie, and contains spoilers – so, once again, be sure not to watch this one before you've seen the film. In addition to comments from Felicity about her character, there are also comments from Ron Howard, Dan Brown, David Koepp, and Tom Hanks.
  • The Billionaire Villain: Bertrand Zobrist (HD, 5 min.) – A look at the main antagonist of 'Inferno', played by Ben Foster – who comments here, along with Ron Howard, Dan Brown, and David Koepp.
  • Ron Howard, A Director's Journal (HD, 10 min.) – Ron Howard talks about his love of Twitter and social media and how he uses it to showcase some of the photographs he's taken during his work and exploration of the world. This featurette also takes a behind-the-scenes look at the shooting of the movie in Italy.

Final Thoughts

'Inferno' is about on par with the prior two Robert Langdon films – nothing spectacular, but certainly not worthy of the lackluster reception it received from American audiences. The bottom line here is if you liked the first two movies, you'll probably like this one, and if you didn't, you probably should pass on it. But with Tom Hanks giving another solid performance and the quality video and audio of this release, at the very least it's worth a look.