The Rundown - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

In his sophomoric outing, Peter Berg helms the passable action romp The Rundown where he showcases his competence as an action director and for staging lively sequences that keep things moving. But his stylistic leanings and his knack for kinetic energy often feel like a strange, somewhat frantic mashup of Michael Bay's explosive bombast and Tony Scott's jittery intensity. However, as awesome as that sounds on paper, the execution is often hindered by the manic, fast-paced editing, turning what should be bone-crunching brawls into a blurry, muddled mess where we're never really sure who's punching whom. Nevertheless, Berg leans into the fun of the treasure-hunting, jungle-adventure premise, which was popular in the early 2000s. And in spite of its flaws, the movie is an undeniable blast, delivering a fun and satisfying flick.

Much of the satisfaction comes from the surprisingly energetic chemistry of Seann William Scott's motormouthed treasure hunter and Dwayne Johnson's bounty hunter, who was still transitioning from WWE superstar to blockbuster draw. Their banter and physical comedy are infectious, making them a hilariously effective duo. While Johnson tests his movie star charisma with a looseness that's endearing, Scott does his usual Stifler-esque shtick. Yet they somehow just work together, bouncing off each other with goofy, bubbly charm. The always delightfully eccentric Christopher Walken joins the fun as the cartoonish, villainous, moustache-twirling Cornelius Bernard Hatcher. He obviously is having a blast swinging wildly between menacing and hilarious, usually in the same scene. And along with a fun adventure tale, The Rundown remains a solid, if imperfect, ride.

For another take on the movie, check out Peter Bracke's review of the 2009 Blu-ray.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Kino Lorber brings Peter Berg's The Rundown to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray as a two-disc combo pack. The triple-layered UHD100 disc and Region A locked, BD50 disc sit comfortably on opposing panels inside a black, eco-elite keepcase with a slipcover. At startup, the disc goes straight to a static menu screen of the cover art with the usual options along the bottom and music playing in the background.

Reportedly coming from a fresh remaster of the original camera negatives, the action comedy lands on Ultra HD with some mostly gorgeous, occasionally stunning results. Overall, the HEVC H.265 encode is in great shape with lots of clean, sharp details for a majority of the runtime, exposing the minute features of buildings and the surrounding foliage. However, CGI and digital composite shots are distractingly blurry and poorly resolved, and the grain structure tends to waver in many scenes, looking light and natural one moment but thicker and more prominent in others. Nevertheless, the Dolby Vision HDR grading comes with a noticeably richer, more animated color palette, particularly reds and greens, and facial complexions are highly revealing and healthy, looking appropriate to the climate. The native 4K transfer also arrives with an outstanding contrast and brightness, showing crisp, vivid specular highlights and inky, true blacks with excellent shadow delineation, making this UHD version a noteworthy improvement over the previous Blu-ray. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 88/100)

After a quick back-and-forth comparison, it appears Kino Lorber has recycled the same DTS-HD MA soundtrack as the 2009 BD, and I agree with Peter Bracke's assessment.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray arrives with "a full-blown DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 [track], though the difference [from previous iterations] is not as dramatic.

"Not that the film's sound design doesn't remain impressive. Dynamic range is quite strong and effective, not only in the action sequences but also in the early nightclub scenes before the film hits the jungle. The film's music and score are well-integrated, with deep low bass and excellent mid-range and clean, clear highs. Low bass is even more pronounced when the action begins, and it's improved in DTS-MA. Directionality is also well done with imaging across all channels even more seamless. Subtle atmosphere still lags even in DTS-MA, and dialogue remains a bit too subdued. I had trouble with the loudest scenes, so be prepared to adjust your volume level at times. Despite such nitpicks, this is still a very fine audio presentation." (Audio Rating: 92/100)

For this UHD edition, Kino Lorber ports over the same supplemental material as the previous Blu-ray but adds a new audio commentary that is exclusive to this release. The commentary tracks are shared between both disc, and the BD houses the bonuses.

• NEW Audio Commentary is a recently recorded conversation between action filmmakers Mike Leeder and Matt Routledge.
• Audio Commentaries are the same two archival chats, beginning with director Peter Berg and Dwayne Johnson, followed by producers Kevin Misher and Marc Abraham
• Rumble in the Jungle (SD, 11 min)
• Appetite for Destruction (SD, 8 min)
• The Rundown Uncensored: A Rock-umentary (SD, 6 min)
• Walken’s World (SD, 6 min)
• The Amazon, Hawaii Style (SD, 5 min)
• Running Down the Town (SD, 4 min)
• Deleted Scenes (SD, 14 min)
• Trailers (HD)

Repeating Peter Bracke's sentiments:
"The Rundown is a completely predictable action-fest, but The Rock actually pulls the movie off. I liked his sense of humor and willingness to poke fun at the cliches of the genre." The action comedy lands on 4K Ultra HD with a lovely Dolby Vision HDR presentation and a fantastically wild DTS-HD MA soundtrack. Although Kino Lorber ports over the same supplements as before, the overall UHD package comes Recommended.

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