Stuber 4K Ultra HD

In "Stuber," a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Nanjiani) picks up a passenger (Bautista), who turns out to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer. Stu is thrust into a harrowing ordeal in which he desperately tries to hold onto his wits, his life and his five-star rating. (Gary Reber)

Special features include five deleted scenes with optional commentary by Michael Dowse and Actor Kumail Nanjiani, (HD 04:35), a gag reel (HD 03:01), joke-o-rama (HD 05:14), "Georgia Film Works" (HD 03:01), upfront previews and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/HDR10+ picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed digitally using Arri Alexa Mini camera system and sourced from a 2K (not 4K) master Digital Intermediate format. As the 2K Digital Intermediate has been upconverted to 2160p, there is no real gain in native resolution. The picture is very urbanized natural. The color palette exhibits excellent fidelity with an appreciable wide color gamut that reveals perfectly natural hues and saturation. At times touches of color pop within scenes and settings. Fleshtones consistently retain the appearance of natural complexions. HDR contrast is perfectly balanced, exhibiting deep, natural blacks, revealing excellent shadow delineation, and natural whites and lighting effects. Resolution equally is excellent with fine nuanced detail exhibited in the rendering of characters and their Los Angeles settings. There is virtually no really striking WOW! segments but a standout is from 01:49:46 to 01:51:09 for its realism, 01:11:07 to 01:11:46 and 01:14:55 to 01:17:50.

This is an engagingly satisfying presentation set in Los Angeles that retains compelling attention throughout. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack delivers a lot of punchy sound effects, with sharp transients and solid bass accents. The orchestral score is never out front but subtle as a background element. Atmospherics are effectively defining and at times nuanced. In one scene, loud thunder and lightening, along with a rain downpour sound realistic. Punchy fights and shootouts are characteristics of the action sequences, including an intense car shootout chase with crashes and explosions and loud gunfire––all enhanced with sharp bass accents, at times deep and powerful with powerful .1 LFE energy. The driving environment on the streets of Los Angeles, no less than in a leased electric car that itself makes no sounds, provides effectively positioned and panned ambient environmental sounds. There is a huge maelstrom at the vet clinic and LFE can be quite forceful at times. Dialogue is rendered intelligibly throughout this enjoyable and nicely rendered boisterous soundtrack.

The Immersive Sound is essentially empty except for a brief crumpled paper flapping, light bulbs buzzing, a passing helicopter in the distance, gunfire spray, rain, thunder, a crash in the street, a water barrier and other extremely brief sound effects. This is a disappointing height layer with no music and limited ambience and sound effects.

This is an unusually action-packed holosonic® soundtrack experience at the eight-channel ear level that is fun and compelling. (Gary Reber)