The Mummy appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This turned into a high-quality visual presentation.
Sharpness worked well throughout the film. Even in the widest shots, the image boasted solid accuracy, as I detected nary a soft spot here. No signs of jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and I saw no edge haloes or source flaws either.
During a message board discussion of 4K UHD’s High Dynamic Range (HDR) colors, I joked that this meant movies would now look oranger and tealer than ever. Though meant as a snarky wisecrack, Mummy demonstrated the truth behind that comment, as it took those palette choices to a higher level than found on Blu-rays.
Would I love to get more films without these colors? Sure, but I did find myself impressed with the way the 4K disc reproduced them, as it brought out more verve and range than I’d expect.
A dark film, the blacks of Mummy looked terrific, as they demonstrated strong depth and dimensionality. Shadows got a real boost as well, with smooth, clear low-light shots – and given how many of these the moody photography included, that became especially important. Ultimately, this wound up as a fine representation of the source.
The film’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack worked well. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the movie’s many action scenes used the spectrum in an active manner.
This meant a mix of standout moments. From a plane crash to the tomb excavation to other action beats, the track boasted plenty of strong sequences, all of which worked nicely. Elements blended together well and moved around the channels in a smooth, tight manner.
Audio quality seemed solid. Music was rich and full, while speech appeared natural and concise. Effects showed excellent reproduction, with clean highs and deep low-end response. The soundtrack lived up to expectations for a big budget action flick of this sort.
How did the 4K UHD version compare to the standard Blu-ray? Audio seemed identical, as both discs sported the same Dolby Atmos track.
Visuals showed differences, though, which surprised me, as I didn’t expect to see a big boost for the 4K. However, it delivered a clearly superior experience, as the 4K looked notably more precise than the Blu-ray and it also brought us more vivid colors, deeper blacks and – most significantly – smoother shadows. The Blu-ray was more than watchable, but it couldn’t compare to the much stronger 4K.
As we head to extras, we launch with an audio commentary from director Alex Kurtzman and actors Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis and Jake Johnson. All four sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, sets and locations, production design, cast and performances, music, stunts and action, effects and connected topics.
At its best, this becomes a decent chat. Matters get a little messy at times, as the participants occasionally speak over each other, and more than a smidgen of happy talk materializes.
Still, we get a reasonable look at the production, and Kurtzman does most of the heavy lifting. The actors throw in their own two cents well enough to turn this into a moderately informative piece.
The commentary is the only extra found on the 4K disc itself – the rest appear on a Blu-ray copy of the film. Four Deleted and Extended Scenes run a total of four minutes, 52 seconds. We find “Beautiful, Cunning and Ruthless” (1:42), “Your Friend Is Alive” (0:52), “Sand In My Mouth” (1:00) and “She’s Escaped’ (1:18).
These tend to seem inconsequential, so don’t expect much. At least “Alive” offers a brief comedic piece that involves a coroner.
A slew of featurettes ensue, and these begin with Cruise & Kurtzman: A Conversation. In this 21-minute, 15-second reel, Kurtzman and actor Tom Cruise discuss story/characters, cast and performances, stunts and action, effects, sets and locations, and their collaboration.
When Cruise gets involved in an interview, praise and hyperbole dominate, and that becomes the case here. Occasionally he and Kurtzman hit on some useful issues, but they usually just blow smoke and make this a less than informative piece.
With the six-minute, 52-second Rooted in Reality, we hear from Kurtzman, Cruise, Wallis, producers Sean Daniel and Chris Morgan, production designer John Hutman, animation supervisor Glen McIntosh, executive producer Jeb Brody, set decorator Jille Azis, supervising art director Frank Walsh, museum senior curator James MacLaine, and actor Russell Crowe. The featurette examines production design and attempts to ground the film. Despite some of the usual fluffery, we get a reasonable amount of content here.
Next comes Life in Zero-G: Creating the Plane Crash, a seven-minute, 32-second clip with Kurtzman, Cruise, Brody, Wallis, special effects supervisor Dominic Tuohy, zero-G pilot Jean-Francois Clervoy, visual effects supervisor Erik Nash, 2nd unit director/stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood, 2nd unit DP Andrew Rowlands, art director James Lewis, and property master David Cheesman. Like the title implies, this one looks at issues related to an airborne stunt sequence. It manages to become a productive use of time.
During the seven-minute, 39-second Meet Ahmanet, we hear from Cruise, Boutella, Kurtzman, Brody, Nash, McIntosh, Eastwood, special effects makeup designer David White, dancer Claudia Hughes, and hair/makeup designer Lizzzie Yianni Georgiou. “Meet” gives us notes about Boutella and her character. This gives us a bit of praise for the actor but it still musters some useful info.
For more with the lead actor, we go to Cruise In Action. a six-minute, nine-second piece with Kurtzman, Cruise, Johnson, Wallis, Eastwood, Brody, Tuohy, Daniel, Boutella, picture vehicles supervisor Graham Kelly and producer Sarah Bradshaw. As expected, we hear about the greatness that is Cruise. Though we find some decent shots from the set, this remains a fluffy piece.
Becoming Jekyll and Hyde lasts seven minutes, 10 seconds and features Kurtzman, Cruise, Crowe, Brody, Daniel, Hutman, Azis, Cheesman, costume designer Penny Rose, editor Gina Hirsch, and actor Marwan Kenzari. The show examines the movie’s depiction of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Though I feared it’d devolve into praise for Crowe, we actually get a pretty good collection of notes.
After this we find Choreographed Chaos, a six-minute, 35-second program with Kurtzman, Cruise, Daniel, Wallis, Nash, Hutman, Boutella, Brody, and associate producer Kevin Elam. “Chaos” discusses the London locations and aspects of the stunts/action. It becomes a decent but not especially memorable overview.
Finally, we get Nick Morton: In Search of a Soul. It fills five minutes, 43 seconds with remarks from Cruise, Kurtzman, Brody, Wallis and Boutella. We find a handful of superficial, forgettable notes about Cruise’s character.
Ahmanet Reborn provides an animated graphic novel. It runs three minutes, 52 seconds and adds to Ahmenet’s backstory in a mildly interesting manner.
The disc opens with ads for Atomic Blonde, Despicable Me 3 and Cult of Chucky. No trailer for Mummy appears here.
With a lot of action and adventure on display, The Mummy keeps us moderately involved in its material. However, it lacks personality and falls short of its goals. The 4K UHD disc boasts excellent picture and audio and a generally satisfying set of supplements. While not a bad film, Mummy lacks much real punch.
To rate this film visit the prior review of THE MUMMY