Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Though not a killer presentation, Rogue Nation usually looked strong.
Sharpness worked fine most of the time. Some interiors looked a bit soft, but those remained infrequent, so the majority of the film was accurate and well-defined. I saw no signs of jaggies or moiré effects, and the film lacked edge haloes or print flaws.
If you suspected Rogue Nation would come with the modern standard teal and orange palette, you’ll get what you expected, though not to an extreme. While the flick went with those overtones, they didn’t overwhelm; indeed, the orange bordered on amber. I’d like to see action flicks dispense with those conceits, but given their restraints, they looked fine here.
Blacks came across nicely. Dark tones were deep and rich, without any muddiness or problems. In addition, low-light shots gave us smooth, clear visuals. All in all, this became a pleasing presentation.
I also felt happy with the solid Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Rogue Nation. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the mix offered plenty of opportunities for lively auditory information, and it took good advantage of these.
From the opening scene on a plane to road chases to gunfire to explosions to other action elements, the mix filled the speakers on a frequent basis. The track placed information in logical spots and blended all the channels in a smooth, compelling manner.
Audio quality was also positive. Music sounded lively and full, while effects delivered accurate material. Those elements showed nice clarity and kick, with tight low-end. Speech was always distinctive and concise, too. This mix worked well for the film.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Audio remained identical, as both releases provided the same Atmos mix.
Because Rogue Nation was finished at 2K, the UHD lacked a ton of room to improve on the Blu-ray in terms of visuals. Still, the format’s capabilities allowed for moderately superior sharpness as well as deeper blacks and more dynamic colors. This wasn’t the most impressive of the Impossible UHDs but it gave the movie a little more oomph.
No extras appear on the 4K UHD, but the included Blu-ray copy provides some materials, and we begin with an audio commentary from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie and actor Tom Cruise. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific look at stunts and action, cast and performances, sets and locations, music and cinematography, story/character areas, and related topics.
If you heard the McQuarrie/Cruise commentary for Jack Reacher, you’ll know exactly what to expect from their chat for Rogue Nation. In fact, both tracks showed so many similarities that I felt tempted to cut and paste my Reacher remarks – they’re virtually identical in terms of strengths and weaknesses.
On the negative side, the commentary becomes a lovefest too much of the time. We find a lot of praise for all involved, a trend that continues literally through the very end of the film; Cruise and McQuarrie shovel out the praise firmly into the credits.
Despite the tedium of the happy talk, we learn a fair amount about the movie here. As was the case with Reacher, McQuarrie gives us the majority of the content.
Cruise throws out some good nuggets as well – usually related to his stunt work – but the writer/director carries the heaviest load, and he does well. Even with all the praise, the commentary provides a pretty informative discussion that merits the viewer’s time.
The disc also includes seven featurettes. We find Lighting the Fuse (5:57), Cruise Control (6:33), Heroes… (8:06). Cruising Altitude (8:23), Mission: Immersible (6:45), Sand Theft Auto (5:35) and The Missions Continue (7:08).
In these, we hear from McQuarrie, Cruise, producers JJ Abrams, Bryan Burk and Don Granger, editor Eddie Hamilton, supervising art director Paul Inglis, executive producer Jake Myers, stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood, Airbus military defense advisor Tony Toner, production designer Jim Bissell, visual effects supervisor David Vickery, underwater DOP Peter Romano, freediving expert Kirk Krack, divemaster Dave Monroe, 2nd unit director Gregg Smrz, supervising sound editor James Mather, and actors Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson.
The featurettes look at story/character/script choices, action and stunts, Cruise’s work as producer, cast and performances, effects, and the series’ continuation. In these clips, we get a mix of good facts/footage and a lot of praise. We learn enough to make the segments worth a look, but expect a lot of hyperbole along the way.
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After a lackluster fourth film, the Mission: Impossible franchise bounces back with the exciting Rogue Nation. The movie boasts many fun action scenes as well as a lot of intrigue along the way. The 4K UHD delivers very good picture, excellent audio and a decent collection of supplements. This becomes a solid release for a fine film.
To rate this film, visit the prior review of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION
