Transformers 1-4 (4K HDR)

Michael Bay’s four films (we didn’t review the fifth one in 4K) have made it to 4K UHD HDR just in time for the holiday season. While I will say that I’m not a huge fan of Michael Bay’s take on the Transformers stories, as I felt they were too human-driven and not enough robot-centric, like the original television show, they still hold value with moments, cinematography and CGI beauty.

Now, if you’re a fan of the films, and you just purchased a 4K television/player to upgrade your visual experience, then you’re going to be in heaven with what Paramount has brought you. Every one of the films looks absolutely spectacular in 4K HDR, even the original which dates back to 2007 when HD-DVD was fighting Blu-ray (spoiler alert — Blu-ray won). That’s impressive considering other 4K upgrades tend to lose a lot in the translation due to age.

That said, without further delay, let’s dig right into it.

Transformers
The 4K HDR transfer shines through right from the start with the original 2007 film from Michael Bay. In true Bay fashion, there is a lot of visual intake that goes on during his films and the upgrade to 4K benefits from the style. The colors are rich and beautiful, while the blacks/whites beautiful balance with each other creating some visual harmony. I will say there are some artifacts/graininess in the picture due to whatever reason, probably just age of the film, which is generally the culprit, but nothing like what I saw in the early Harry Potter 4K, where the picture is incredibly noisy and the graininess gets in the way.

For the most part, Michael Bay’s lighting and color scheme, mixed with mostly sunny days in the film, present a buffet of visual delight that benefits from the 4K HDR treatment. In short, it’s a gorgeous film with some flaws, but nothing that will keep you away from enjoying the view.

Special Features:
– Commentary by Director Michael Bay
– Transformers H.U.D. (Heads Up Display)
– Our World
◦ The Story Sparks
◦ Human Allies
◦ I Fight Giant Robots
◦ Battleground
– Their World
◦ Rise of the Robots
◦ Autobots Roll Out
◦ Decepticons Strike
◦ Inside the AllSpark
◦ Transformers Tech Inspector
– More Than Meets The Eye
◦ From Script to Sand: The Skorponok Desert Attack
◦ Concepts
– Easter Eggs
Score: 7.7/10

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

The second film in the bunch comes to us via 2009, where we sadly see Megan Fox for the last time, though I’m not certain she was going to regret that as the movies seemed to tumble downwards in terms of entertainment. Ahem, anyway, the second film in the series ups the value of the 4K transfer quality, as you get a broader color scheme in the action, better CGI and another layer of Michael Bay visual pizazz to lead it all. There is far less graininess in this transfer in comparison to the previous film. I’m sure it was shot differently, as HD was on the rise during this period of time in film and television. The black/white contrast seems to be in harmony on this release as well, as some of the darker scenes in Revenge of the Fallen push through some details that aren’t typically seen, even in 1080p format. The high-dynamic range (HDR) is gorgeous.

Definitely one of the better films of the four.

Special Features:
4K
– Commentary by Michael Bay, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman

Blu-ray
– Commentary by Michael Bay, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
– The Human Factor: Exacting Revenge of the Fallen
– A Day with Bay: Tokyo
– 25 Years of Transformers
– NEST: Transformer Data Hub
– Deconstructing Visual Bayhem with commentary by pre-vis supervisor Steve Yamamoto (multi-angle)
– Deleted/Alternate Scenes
– Easter Eggs
– The AllSpark Experiment
– Giant Effing Movie
– Linkin Park – New Divide
– The Matrix of Marketing

I’m glad that 4K commentary made it to this one, as most of what you get on the releases are a bit of a re-hash, but that’s not necessarily bad, as they’re still good features.
Score: 8.5/10

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

The third and final installment of Transformers for LaBeuof is a mixed bag of visual nuts. While the 4K HDR upgrade is, overall, nice in the third film, the problem I have with this movie is the CGI. There is a noticeable drop-off in the CGI quality and it is magnified in 4K. I can’t tell whether it was the frame rate or just the overall quality of the CGI, but it isn’t as smooth as the first two films and, again, it’s noticeable with the upgrade in visuals.

The good news, when compared to the other films, is that the color range stays as sharp as the other two and there is absolutely no graininess, at least that I can detect, that says there is a drop in transfer quality. Being that this film arrived in 2011, I’m not surprised by that at all, but more recent movies with upgrades to 4K have dragged in comparison.

As it stands, the 4K transfer is superb, but the CGI seems to get visually worse with the transfer. That’s not the transfer’s issue, though.

Special Features
– Above and Beyond: Exploring Dark of the Moon
– Uncharted Territory: NASA’s Future Then and Now
– Deconstructing Chicago: Multi-Angle Sequences
– The Art of Cybertron
– The Dark of the Moon Archive
– The Matrix of Marketing

The features, while short in supply in comparison to the previous two releases, especially in the 4K department, are still solid.
Score: 8.0/10

Transformers: Age of Extinction

AH! The last of the four, and this isn’t counting The Last Knight, but it’s a pretty note to end on, though the movie itself dropped the ball on the story side of the tracks. I’m not here to judge it on story, as Brandon Parker reviewed it the first time out, so let me just say how absolutely gorgeous and near-perfect the 4K transfer was for the fourth film in the bunch. Age of Extinction was a pretty film that seemed like Michael Bay hung his hat on with his style and grace. Visually it returned to the greatness of the first two, especially in the CGI department, and brought with it some beautiful color schemes, perfect contrast and some fantastic layers of lighting that put the 4K transfer to the test.

While the story might be so-so, the visuals are exquisite and some of the best that 4K has to offer.

Special Features:
– Bay on Action
– Evolution within Extinction The Making of TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION
– Just Another Giant Effin’ Movie
– A Spark of Design
– T.J. Miller: Farm Hippie

Less features here in comparison to the previous three, but it contains some of the better features in the bunch with the ‘Bay on Action’ and the ‘making of’ featurette. While the movie didn’t turn out too well, it’s cool to see Bay’s passion with his projects, which is evident in those two features.
Score: 9.0/10