Review: Overlord (4K)

Overlord 4K Review

Produced by J.J. Abrams and directed by Julius Avery (Son of a Gun), the “wild and fantastically fun thrill fest” (Molly Freeman, Screenrant) Overlord lands on Digital February 5, 2019 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD February 19 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.

Embraced by critics, Overlord is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and was hailed as “wonderfully tense and truly exhilarating” (Jonathan Barkan, Dread Central). The wildly entertaining genre mash-up boasts a stellar ensemble cast, non-stop action and plenty of wild twists you have to see to believe.

Fans can go even further behind enemy lines with nearly an hour of explosive bonus material on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack or Digital. The 4K Ultra HD disc and 4K Ultra HD Digital release feature Dolby Vision HDR, which brings entertainment to life through ultra-vivid picture quality. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker.

The film also boasts Dolby Atmos audio mixed specifically for the home to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. In addition, both the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Combo Packs include access to a Digital copy of the film.

Overlord 4K Review

Plot: With only hours until D-Day, a team of American paratroopers drop into Nazi-occupied France to carry out a mission that’s crucial to the invasion’s success. Tasked with destroying a radio transmitter atop a fortified church, the desperate soldiers join forces with a young French villager to penetrate the walls and take down the tower. But, in a mysterious Nazi lab beneath the church, the outnumbered G.I.s come face-to-face with enemies unlike any the world has ever seen.

Director:  Julius Avery

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Runtime: 110 min

Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 81% & IMDB 7.1/10

Unboxing (see below)

Special Features:

  • The Horrors of War – Featurettes
    • Creation
    • Death Above
    • Death on the Ground
    • Death Below
    • Death No More
    • Brothers in Arms

Overlord 4K Review

Review & Conclusion:

‘Overlord’ was shot on 2.8K & 3.4K cameras, but I’m not positive if the Digital Intermediate is 2K or 4K. As per the norm with most UHD releases, it was given a HDR color grade in Dolby Vision for your viewing pleasure. When it comes to the grain you’ll get a light to moderate amount — but that’s not to say there weren’t any clean scenes, there were a few.

Something to note is the fact that there are quite a few soft shots in this film, but since the night atmosphere showers over most of the duration — it’s not a distraction.

The first 60 minutes or so takes place at night, so you will get an average 4K UHD image. (When I say average, I don’t mean bad, just not amazing) HDR will be highlighted in the many explosions that took place both in the sky and on the ground. Past the initial plane drop, you will see color only in the greens of the grass and in the low hue of ambient light — obviously heightened by the use of HDR.

Like other movies that place during a war you will get an array of greens and browns ranging from the uniforms down to the dirt of a battlefield — or in this case, a small town and a church. The HDR usage of these colors gives the grit and grind it needs.

In Chapter 11 & 12 you’ll get the firefight that takes place just before sunrise, both in the small town and outside the church. This is the first time you get color in the location the soldiers had been stationed in with a cool tone and hue. This is also the first time that you’ll get to see the dark reds in the blood splatter — both on the soldiers faces and during the brutal-insanity of the firefight. Other little details will be highlighted here as well, like the rubble in the town or the bricks on the bridge and various buildings.

This film doesn’t have a lot of close up’s until Chapter 14 on, so that super detail that 4K usually gives off only comes into play at the end of the movie. There you will get the veins, beard stubble, blood, wounds, etc. Spoilers would come if I described it more — so we will leave it at that.

If you’ve seen this film you already know the vibe is portrays, you know what I mean when I describe the darkness and the grit. This disc (while better than the Blu-ray) will not blow you away with a crystal clear image. Since it doesn’t have a super sharp image, it falls on the side of a solid release to add to your UHD collection.

On a super positive note, the audio track on this disc sounded amazing. I have a sub-par set-up when it comes to sound, so when I get my Dolby Atmos setup later this year I’m going to test it out with this movie. I’m curious what people with Dolby Atmos will think about this.

My two cents on the movie: If you asked me, I wish there was a little more of the horror aspect in this film. Don’t get me wrong, I loved this film with the way they balanced war, nazi’s and zombies— but I still wanted more. I wanted more of the unknown… What’s in that house? or that uncomfortable feeling as a zombie-like creature is chasing you through a dark hallway. Not cheap jump-scares, but more of an unsettling feeling. They could explore that a sequel — imagine a different squad coming across another lab… but I don’t see it happening.

This will be available in 4K UHD, Blu-Ray & DVD on February 19th — you can grab it Digitally on February 5th!

Cheers,

Matt.

While your here, check out more of my 4K & Blu-ray reviews. Even more, see the newest trailers, press releases, music and more on the rest of the site. Follow me for faster updates on Twitter and Instagram.