Last Action Hero 4K UHD Screenshots (Patreon)

Kudos to you: This is one your support made happen. Same with a few others this weekend.

Video

Sony brings a stellar master to 4K, posing a challenge to the encode given the up and down grain structure intensity. Compression holds though, maintaining a natural film veneer. Last Action Hero doesn't fall to compression. The sharpness under that is exceptional, nailing the fidelity and revealing gobs of texture. Any faults lie at the source (there's an optical zoom around 17-minutes that's... eww).

Beefy contrast emboldens the frame, lifted by a hefty HDR pass. Highlights hit blinding peaks, full of life in massive gains over Blu-ray releases. Strong blacks deliver the densest shadows, spectacular in establishing image depth and dimensionality. It's consistent.

Refined color saturation keeps Last Action Hero vibrant, but without going too far as to exaggerate things. Primaries stick out, attractive in their richness. Explosions pop with oranges. The theater carpeting is a bold red. Sony draws out some potent greens from trees and grass. Flesh tones? Spot on.

Audio

There's nothing subtle in this Atmos track, favoring the rears for everything, even the heights. Music swells into each speaker to a nearly distracting degree. Bullets sweep the soundstage, not necessarily accurate or precise, but fun. Strong ambiance litters streetside scenes, staying active even when away from the action.

Boomy low-end enhances explosions, the bass running deep, tight, and powerful. Range is spectacular, and easily holds up against modern action flicks. Other discs drive deeper, but for an early '90s effort, it's plenty powerful.