Changing Lanes - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

To paraphrase the Joker, it only takes one bad day to drive a sane person to the extreme — or to be more precise, a good person into a bad person. And in the case of the two protagonists of Changing Lanes, that bad day was a minor bumper-to-bumper car accident making them late for important court hearings — crucial meetings deeply affecting their careers and lives. For the young successful attorney Gavin (Ben Affleck), he simply needed to file a power of appointment document that could save his father-in-law's (Sydney Pollack) law firm from criminal prosecution. For insurance salesman and recovering alcoholic Doyle (Samuel L. Jackson), the father of two sons needed to appear for a joint custody case. Failing to complete their respective tasks, both men quickly spiral from understandable anger and frustration to vindictiveness and retribution, each tracing their misfortunes to that one single incident on the FDR Drive.

As intriguing of a premise as that sounds, opening the potential for a thrilling drama, British filmmaker Roger Michell doesn't quite have the chops for the suspense required to turn Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin's script into a gripping tale of revenge. Instead, the Notting Hill director sets his attention on the innate, deeply-seated violence people are capable of when feeling wronged while also obliquely touching on some social justice issues. The situation, as a whole, definitely privileges one person over the other, revealing an interesting power dynamic where Gavin has more access to resources that cause serious irreparable damage to a father struggling to make a positive change in his life. As the story unfolds, the incident becomes a personal journey of self-realization for both parties where one recognizes selling his morals for the capitalist ideal of success while the other appreciates the root of his addiction as an appetite for chaos and self-sabotage. 

Unfortunately, the plot finally arrives at a ham-fisted, maudlin conclusion about doing the right thing at the cost of one's personal victory, which is sure to satisfy some while others are rolling their eyes at the cheese. Nevertheless, the movie, itself, may not be particularly good, but it manages enough thought-provoking ideas to make for an amusing watch. (Movie Rating: 3/5)

For another take on the film, check out our review of the 2009 Blu-ray HERE.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Studio Classics brings Changing Lanes to 4K Ultra HD as a two-disc combo pack. The Region Free, UHD100 disc is housed inside the usual black, eco-elite case with a cardboard slipcover and an accompanying Region A locked, BD50 copy on the opposing panel. At startup, the disc goes straight to a static menu image and options along the bottom while music plays in the background.

One bad day spirals out of control on the Ultra HD freeway, fueled by a strong and generally satisfying HEVC H.265 encode. Coming from a new remaster of the original 35mm camera negatives, the native 4K transfer offers a notable step up from the previous Blu-ray, but the overall picture quality is not the sort to wow or impress general viewers. 

Most of the photography results from a noticeably and heavily muted palette, which is a deliberate creative choice to complement the plot's themes, intended to create a drab and dreary atmosphere. The Dolby Vision HDR presentation shows a restrained contrast balance, showering the visuals in a grey, overcast feel with subdued, controlled whites. Colors are largely limited and toned down, further adding to the gloomy feel, but primaries break through here and there with more boldness and vibrancy while secondary hues, primarily the yellows of the law office, show a good deal of warmth and are accurately rendered. 

On the more positive side, specular highlights provide a bit more pop and energy in the hottest areas without washing out the finer details. Black levels are largely true and inky with excellent delineation within the darkest shadows. Skin tones appear healthy with a lifelike peachy-rose complexion in the entire cast while also revealing small pores, tiny wrinkles and negligible blemishes. Fine lines and objects are distinct and relatively sharp, exposing various items decorating the background or the lettering of signs in the distance scattering around the city. 

However, resolution, contrast and colors occasionally drop a tad in several areas, sometimes within the same scene, such as when Doyle and Gavin talk about the consequences of their actions inside Gavin's office and the characters suddenly look pale and sickly. Nevertheless, the 2.35:1 image is in improvement over it HD SDR predecessor, awash in a more refined and natural grain structure. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 78/100)

The road-rage drama crashes into home theaters with a pair of DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks, one in 5.1 surround sound and the other in 2.0 stereo. Listeners can't go wrong with either option since the design mix is mainly a front-heavy presentation, bringing the focus and attention to the character interactions and conversations. With that being said, imaging feels wide and expansive with excellent channel separation and convincing movement across the three front channels and into the off-screen space, exhibiting a clean, sharply dynamic mid-range. The score, too, enjoys a good deal of warmth and fidelity while vocals are consistently precise and well-prioritized. The low-end is rather anemic and pretty much non-existing, failing to provide any depth and presence to the small bursts of action, such as the initial car crash. Likewise, rear activity is generally quiet even during outdoor scenes where we see lots of city traffic and noise, maintaining those sound effects again to the fronts. Little changes when applying the receiver's up-mixing functionality, as atmospherics very lightly bleed into the top front heights but the music better spreads into those top channels while still failing to impress. 

Overall, the lossless mix is stronger than it's Dolby TrueHD counterpart, but it's not by much, except that these tracks are cleaner with better clarity and no signs of notable artifacts. (Audio Rating: 72/100)

The same set of bonuses from the previous Blu-ray have been ported over for this UHD edition, but only the audio commentary is available on the 4K disc. 

• Audio Commentary with director Roger Michell
• Making of (SD, 15 min)
• A Writer's Perspective (SD, 6 min)
• Deleted/Extended Scenes (SD, 10 min)
• Trailer (HD)

Starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck, Roger Michell's Changing Lanes features an intriguing and promising premise about the innate, deeply-seated violence people are capable of when feeling wronged. However, the story ultimately spirals into a rather ham-fisted, maladroit social drama with an unsatisfying and hackneyed conclusion. The 2002 drama crashes into 4K Ultra HD with a strong but somewhat underwhelming Dolby Vision HDR presentation that offers a welcomed upgrade over its Blu-ray predecessor and a pair of good DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks. Porting over the same set of supplements as before, the UHD edition is nonetheless Worth a Look. 

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.