Jupiter Ascending 4K 2015 Ultra HD 2160p REMUX

A young woman discovers her destiny as an heiress of intergalactic nobility and must fight to protect the inhabitants of Earth from an ancient and destructive industry.

Jupiter Ascending 4K (2015) Ultra HD 2160p REMUX Review
Jupiter Ascending is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. Despite being captured at resolutions as high as 5K (according to the IMDb), the film was finished at "only" at 2K DI (again, according to the IMDb). This 4K UHD version is consistently in line with many other 2K "up-rezes" that we've been reviewing since this new format premiered, with noticeable if at times rather subtle upticks in detail levels. Many of these tend to be most noticeable on "practical" items like sets or actual humans (as with regard to things like facial pores or even wounds), but I have to say this is one of the rare sci-fi spectacles I've personally reviewed in 4K UHD where even some of the CGI achieves at least arguably more information at times. There can still tend to be an overall softness and even a relative lack of detail in some of the CGI establishing shots, which tend to be of wider vistas, but there's even some uptick in some of these shots as well, as in the rings circling the planet seen in screenshot 2 accompanying this review. Some of the most noticeable changes, though, come courtesy of HDR. The film has a rather aggressively graded ambience a lot of time, and unfortunately much of it tends to reside in the ever popular cool blue and gray tones (as Ken mentioned in his Jupiter Ascending Blu-ray review). While I'd be hard pressed to argue that the film looks remarkably more varied in the 4K UHD version, since there's still a somewhat monochromatic feeling to much of the presentation, there is definitely a more nuanced accounting of some of the interstitial tones, especially in the bluer end of the spectrum. Fine detail is also improved in some of the heavily blue graded shots, where in the 1080p Blu-ray version things can look slightly smooth and textureless. I personally wish contrast could have been more aggressive in some of the darker scenes (many of which, again, are graded toward the blue end of things), and in fact while many of the darker scenes do boast better shadow detail than in the 1080p Blu-ray version, I (again) wouldn't have minded even more improvement in this regard. All in all, though, this is a winning 4K presentation that offers noticeable improvements while steering clear of any compression issues.

Literally, just a few weeks before this movie was released, I had been thinking "Why haven't there been any fun space opera films recently? Well, one that isn't part of a Marvel franchise?" And then Jupiter Ascending opened - and lo and behold, the Wachowskis delivered.

I am old enough to remember having seen Flash Gordon and The Empire Strikes Back in the theaters. Space opera was very much an integral part of my childhood, and Jupiter Ascending is right there with some of the best I've seen.

Then I heard all the negative reviews, and was baffled. Did these reviewers see the same movie I had? What happened? Do they hate fun? Is Chris Pratt the only one allowed to have fun in Hollywood anymore? Is it the fact that Jupiter Ascending has a female protagonist and caters to a female gaze? Maybe it's not specifically aimed at the dudebros to whom the Hollywood business machine seems to be pandering mostly these days, but they can still enjoy it nevertheless? Did the Hollywood suits see the Wachowski's jab at the corporate oligarchy and feel personally threatened? Are they still bumhurt that the Matrix sequels didn't quite live up to the original? Did seeing shirtless Channing Tatum/shirtless Eddie Redmayne make them feel all funny inside? We may never know the answers to any of these questions, but one thing is clear; Jupiter Ascending is the fun space opera movie that you need in your life right now. Ignore the haters and see it!