GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra 4K UHD Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

A case of total extremes, Rise of the Cobra's Dolby Vision pass is both a gift and curse. On the positive side, explosions produce blinding light at their peak. Lasers, sunlight, afterburners; all look spectacular. On the flipside, black crush is brutal. There's little to nothing evident in the shadows, and while the pure black is impressively rich, the loss of fidelity is a total loss. If the intent is mimic a cartoon, that works, but it's not appealing either.

Small grain generally resolves well. Some chroma noise is a marginal bother. That's mostly caused by the perky, intense, saturated color. Dolby Vision makes definite gains here. Flesh tones reach glowing levels along with the other primaries. Rise of Cobra looks as if set on vivid so nothing is natural, but cranked to extremes.

Finished at 2K, the upscale process adds slight boosts to definition. Also, it exposes the weak CG elements, of which there are many. Overall sharpness fares well and consistent. Texture holds up, mastering decent enough to show improvement from the Blu-ray, albeit marginally. As is, Rise of Cobra is an upgrade for die-hards alone.

Audio

Unfortunately not given a remix, the copied DTS-HD 5.1 runs low on volume and needs a boost. Bass then reaches capable levels, giving action scenes weight and dynamic punch. It's not the strongest rumble on the format, but gives beefy engines, missiles, and gunfire needed strength.

Where the track excels is in directionality. Separation drops bullets into each channel as they fly around. Rockets drift through front to back as they pass, the motion smooth, the transitions spectacular. Vehicles pass by precisely too, underwater, in air, or on land. Even voices split the stereos. Superb, and almost perfect aside from the low-end.