Edge of Tomorrow – 4K UHD Blu-ray Review
Commissions Earned
Film Title: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Release Date: 2022
Rating: R
Runtime: 113 minutes
Region Coding: Region Free
Studio: Warner
Audio Format: Dolby Atmos
High Dynamic Range: HDR10
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Version Reviewed: 4K UHD Blu-ray
Release Date: 7/5/22
Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong, Tony Way, Kick Gurry, Franz Drameh, Dragomir Mrsic, Charlotte Riley
Jump to Sections:
Movie | Video | Audio | Bonus | Closing | Screenshots
Full 4K Tech Specs found at the bottom
click to view a 4K Screenshot
The Movie
“Edge of Tomorrow” or “Live. Die. Repeat.” [as it was originally released on home video] was a 2014 science fiction film, based on the novel “All You Need is Kill” (2009) written by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The screenplay adaptation of the novel was written by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth.
Christopher McQuarrie is best known for writing films like “The Usual Suspects” (1995), “The Way of the Gun” (2000), “Valkyrie” (2008), and “Jack Reacher” (2012). The second and last films there he also directed. In fact, McQuarrie directed and wrote the films “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” (2015) and “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” (2018). Most recently he co-wrote and produced [another Tom Cruise film] “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022). Jez Butterworth and his brother John-Henry Butterworth are known for also writing the films “Fair Game” (2010), “Get On Up” (2014), and “Ford v. Ferrari” (2019). On his own, Jez Butterworth wrote and directed the film “Birthday Girl” (2001) and he also co-wrote the screenplays for the films “Black Mass” (2015) and “Spectre” (2015).
The film was directed and produced by Doug Liman, best known for also directing the films “Swingers” (1996), “Go” (1999), “The Bourne Identity” (2002), “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (2005), “Jumper” (2008), and “American Made” (2017).
The story here, set in a future where aliens have invaded the Earth, involves a protagonist named “Major William Cage” (Tom Cruise) who has served as a media representative for the U.S. Army in a role they call public affairs officer. Basically, he goes on all the TV news shows recruiting people to want to come to fight in the war against the alien forces. That is, until one day when Cage arrives in London to surprisingly be thrown right into a suicide mission — and there’s definite meaning to that latter statement.
Cage is first introduced to a drill sergeant of sorts “Master Sergeant Farell” (Bill Paxton) who is less than understanding when he tries to explain he’s not supposed to be there fighting on the front lines. Next, Cage is briefly introduced by the Master Sergeant to his “J-Squad” and then he’s put right into an “Exo suit” which is basically a mechanical and robotic suit that allows the soldier to lift things they’d never be able to as a human and do things as well. It also fires a gun and launches explosives, all in an effort to arm the military to fight the aliens. The only problem is that they forgot to teach him how to use any of that stuff.
All this time, Cage has been promoting one heroic soldier and that’s “Sergeant Rita Vrataski” (Emily Blunt) who he will eventually encounter on the battlefield. Yes, he’s thrown right into battle, and let’s just say that things don’t work out too well. He dies, and then he dies again, and then he tries some other things and questions why he’s dying over and over, dies, and tries some other things, dies, and eventually tries to contact the hero soldier Rita. Yes, it’s a loop he’s stuck in. It takes some convincing to get anyone to believe him, but eventually, Rita actually listens to him. Cage has by this point lived the same day a few many times he is now able to guess what people say or do, which makes it a bit easy to convince Rita to listen to him. And, ironically enough, it turns out the two will be able to use that to help fight the “loop” that he’s stuck in and also defeat the aliens. I’ll stop there, to avoid dishing out any real “spoilers” about the film.
Movie Rating: 4.75 (out of 5)
click to view a 4K Screenshot
Video Quality
“Edge of Tomorrow” on 4K UHD Blu-ray is presented in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 form of high dynamic range. NOTE: The digital copy of the film includes the HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms but sadly you don’t get the latter here on the physical 4K release. The movie was shot on Super 35mm film using the Arriflex 235, Arriflex 435, Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2, and Panavision Panaflex Platinum cameras with Panavision anamorphic lenses.
Next, let me get technical, for a bit, in regards to the 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc itself here. This release is using a BD-100 (100 gigabytes) disc, 81.82 gigabytes total, and 79.8 gigabytes for the film itself. Let’s take a look back at the original 2014 Blu-ray Disc release of the film. That release was using a BD-50 (50 gigabytes) disc, 37.9 gigabytes total, and 27.5 gigabytes for the film itself. So, the 4K version is almost three times as large as the original HD version. In fact, that’s very impressive and I calculated it to be 2.9x larger, to be exact. Based on my observations via my 4K UHD Blu-ray player, this seems to be running an average (roughly) of 75 to 82Mbps in the HEVC (high-efficiency video coding) codec, hitting peaks as high as 92 to 102Mbps at times.
Now, I want to do a visual comparison here between the original Blu-ray and the 4K UHD Blu-ray. So, I’ll be offering you the still screenshots for both the 2014 Blu-ray Disc and the new 2022 4K UHD Blu-ray releases. For those who want to see more Blu-ray VS. 4K screenshots, click the text below.
Blu-ray VS. 4K Screenshots Comparison:
SOURCES: 2014 Blu-ray (left), 2022 4K UHD Blu-ray (right)
So, as you can tell from the comparisons above they’ve just slightly altered the color timing that combined with the addition of HDR caused it to add a new sense of shading and vibrance to the 4K presentation. The black level on 4K is perfectly solid, the colors are bright and bold, and the flesh tones are more accurate. You’ll notice a lot more detail now in the 4K presentation, as you’d expect for something using a file almost 3 times larger [than the Blu-ray did] in size on the 4K disc.
The presentation may seem visually different than the Blu-ray to folks, and that’s because it is different slightly, but I think that it works in my own personal opinion. Lastly, there’s a certain amount of film grain ever more so visible now in 4K that didn’t really feel as true on the Blu-ray, due to the limitation of bandwidth of a BD-50 disc versus the BD-100 this is using.
The 4K presentation here with HDR10 is really one hell of an improvement not only technically [judging by the file size] to the Blu-ray but it also adds some new type of life to this 2014 film. Yes, film, as shot on film and that was something that was starting to phase out around that time. It’s great to see a movie shot on Super 35 presented in a 4K style that feels like something beyond theatrical — in a very good way. That all being said, “Edge of Tomorrow” on 4K UHD Blu-ray earns itself a very impressive and respectable 4.5 rating for video quality.
Video Quality Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)
click to view a 4K Screenshot
Audio Quality
“Edge of Tomorrow” arrives on 4K UHD Blu-ray in Dolby Atmos, with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core — for those not able to decode the Atmos. It’s worth noting that the previous [original] 2014 Blu-ray included a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix, so this comes as an improvement with the addition of height channels.
Holy hell! This has a mix that starts out with one superb amount of LFE that will leave you likely feeling that subwoofer. It always sounded impressive before in lossless 7.1 on the previous Blu-ray but now in Atmos, it seems to be louder. There’s nothing like using a helicopter 3 minutes into a film to test out the height channel additions via Atmos. It’s taking full advantage of the extra channels and also using the rear channels accordingly for pans and such.
6 minutes into the film and you’ll subtly hear an aircraft behind pan from across the left to ride side of the height and rear channels primarily. This is pretty low-key, as I said, but then again it is also noticeably effective in putting you in a sound atmosphere where you feel to be in near lifelike surroundings, from also above and not just behind. You’ll feel immersed by this sound mix within the first 10 minutes, I’m sure of it, or you’re not on a true Atmos capable sound system. There are tons of aircraft overhead, even in a typical flyover manner they are deep in terms of bass — especially the blades of helicopters and roars of engines.
As if you weren’t impressed already, just wait until 14 minutes in when you’ll hear the mechanical body suits making some noises that really work nicely with the rear channels. The music briefly around that time stamp, from a background radio even, will be used for the height channels, in a very unique choice. It works. The front channels and center channel drive every bit of this with dialogue being primarily if not entirely in the center. The music will be driven from the front left and right channels throughout with some rear channel presence as well to really make it feel full.
By 20 minutes into the film, you should be hearing what I’d only compare to a futuristic version of “Saving Private Ryan.” It’s intense. That doesn’t last constantly throughout the film, but during the segment, I’m referring to it’s downright incredible to hear and visually witness together. Here you’ll be hearing gunfire come from behind in the rear channels along with a bit of the original score seeping over from the front channels and heights. The explosions are intense as all hell and will knock you back for a bit if this is your first time seeing this film. Sound effects for everything here are just downright incredible and come from everywhere. This is one of the most powerful Dolby Atmos mixes that I’ve ever heard in my entire life. No shitting you!
That all being said, this film continues to be just as impressive as it repeats [loops] over for our protagonist and you’ll be treated to a lot of the same sounds from before but slightly different each time. Plus, there’s a climactic ending as you’d expect that really has some great material that sounds incredible here in a new Atmos mix. All and all, this earns every bit of a perfect 5 rating for audio quality and is absolute “demo material” from start to finish.
Audio Quality Rating: 5 (out of 5)
click to view a 4K Screenshot
Bonus Materials
- A Digital Copy of the film is included via a paper insert with redeem code, which is compatible with either AppleTV (iTunes) or Vudu. NOTE: If you are trying to watch the AppleTV (iTunes) version it’s only in 4K with Dolby Vision and HDR10 forms of high dynamic range and sadly just 5.1 surround sound. However, if you use VUDU it’s in all of those aforementioned stats but has Dolby Atmos sound [like on this disc]. Also, as mentioned, the digital version here includes Dolby Vision and that’s sadly not included on the physical 4K release. What gives? Oh well, at least it’s there as an option for those with Dolby Vision on their display who want to see it in that form of HDR, even if it is only streaming. Lastly, you will get all of the same extras found on this physical release on the digital versions via things like iTunes Extras or VUDU special features.
- A Blu-ray Disc of the film from 2014 is included. This features a 1080p HD video presentation in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio and DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless surround sound. It’s also where you’ll find all of the extras — listed below.
Bonus materials included on the Blu-ray Disc are listed below. These are all in HD (high definition) with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound — unless otherwise noted below.
- “Operation Downfall” consists of:
- “Operation Downfall – Adrenaline Cut” (2 minutes, 34 seconds – HD) features DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless surround sound.
- “Storming the Beach” (8 minutes, 59 seconds – HD) features on-set footage, pre-viz shots, models, concept art, and behind-the-scenes footage, as well as features interviews with Doug Liman (director/producer), Tom Cruise (Major William Cage), Jeffrey Silver (producer), Oliver Scholl (production designer), Erwin Stoff (producer), Bill Paxton (Master Sgt. Farell), Simon Crane (stunt coordinator/2nd unit director), Emily Blunt (Rita Vrataski), and Nick Davis (visual effects supervisor).
- “Weapons of the Future” (8 minutes, 25 seconds – HD) features, behind-the-scenes footage, concept art, on-set footage, and interviews with Tom Cruise (Major William Cage), Emily Blunt (Rita Vrantaski), Doug Liman (director/producer), Bill Paxton (Master Sgt. Farell), Oliver Scholl (production designer), Pierre Bohanna (Exo-Suit designer), Simon Crane (stunt coordinator/2nd unit director), and Jeffrey Silver (producer).
- “Creatures Not of This World” (5 minutes, 38 seconds – HD) features behind-the-scenes footage, concept art, on-set footage, models, animation tests, pre-viz footage, and interviews with Doug Liman (director/producer), Erwin Stoff (producer), Oliver Scholl (production designer), Tom Cruise (Major William Cage), Jeffrey Silver (producer), and Emily Blunt (Rita Vrantaski).
- “On the Edge with Doug Liman” (42 minutes, 37 seconds – HD) is the real highlight extra on this disc and for the making of the film. This serves as a bit of a video journal of sorts of the filmmaker’s journey making this film — starting in August of 2012 at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, England during pre-production. Here you’ll get tons of behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with Doug Liman (director/producer), Tom Cruise (Major William Cage), Simon Crane (stunt coordinator/2nd unit director), Oliver Scholl (production designer), Emily Blunt (Rita Vrantaski), Kate Hawley (costume designer), Jeffrey Silver (producer), Erwin Stoff (producer), Pierre Bohanna (Exo-Suit designer), Kick Gurry (Griff), Tony Way (Kimmel), Jonas Armstrong (Skinner), Charlotte Riley (Nance), Franz Drameh (Ford), Bill Paxton (Master Sgt. Farell), Dan Lyons (assistant to Doug Liman), Lisa Vick (script supervisor), Gregory Jacobs (producer), and Nick Davis (visual effects supervisor).
- Deleted Scenes (7 minutes, 38 seconds – HD) play all as one set.
Overall, the bonus materials here are nothing more than the Blu-ray extras including on the original 2014 disc and you get a digital copy of the film which ironically includes a 4K version with Dolby Vision that you don’t get here physically. Still, these extras are worthwhile, with the addition of a digital 4K and the inclusion of the original Blu-ray. It all makes for a pretty decent experience after you’ve finished watching the 4K disc.
Bonus Materials Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)
click to view a 4K Screenshot
Closing Thoughts
“Edge of Tomorrow” [a.k.a. “Live. Die. Repeat.”] was one great and in my opinion underrated Science Fiction film that had its blends of action and drama. It felt like the memorable Normandy Beach scene in “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) meets “Groundhog Day” (1993) as some futuristic version of hell. I’m not going to lie. The whole “loop” thing is unique and there are only a few films that fall under this category or genre as one of my friends pointed out, which of course includes Groundhog Day as crazy as that sounds.
The film offered some excellent performances from both Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt as well as the supporting cast, most notably the late great Bill Paxton. The aliens really were mysterious and creepy as all hell in this film, a bit quick and hard to really make out but enough to be something you’d be afraid of, unlike most alien invasion scenarios. Speaking of “Saving Private Ryan” (1998), the film’s second assistant camera operator Robert Palmer also worked on this film as the first assistant camera second unit. So, that’s a bit fitting and worth mentioning.
It’s also worth mentioning that this film was released on home video under the alternate name that I mentioned before and they’ve kept that as a tagline this time around for the film on the packaging. And, lastly, it’s been announced [via IMDb] that Doug Liman, Tom Cruise, and Emily Blunt will be reuniting for a sequel to this film titled “Live Die Repeat and Repeat“ with no release date yet known.
In terms of video quality, the 4K presentation comes with one hell of a lot more detail and that’s partially thanks to the amount of disc space [bandwidth] it is allowed for. And, yes, they have slightly changed the color timing it seems here and that may seem different to most fans but you’ll get used to it and start to appreciate what it adds to the visual experience. The Super 35mm source material from a 2K DI [digital intermediate] master comes through nicely with a subtle amount of film grain visible all throughout. The colors really pop more now and the black level is solid. The movie looks rather impressive and way better than it ever did on Blu-ray.
In terms of audio quality, the Dolby Atmos mix here brings one whole hell of a lot of LFE from the very start of the film and more so than the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 on the previous Blu-ray ever did. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that they have amplified that some to make this mix come across way more intense. The sound effects are really amazing here, be it the sounds of aircraft passing by subtly off in the distance or closely and louder. The height channels add so much to this and use everything from the sounds of typical things like aircraft above to the sounds of a radio playing music briefly. It’s effective and especially when the action is going on. You’ll be really on the edge of your seat at times if it’s your first time with the film.
In terms of bonus materials, you get all the extras from the Blu-ray included with the disc itself as well as a digital copy [in 4K] of the film. It’s funny but also sad that the digital 4K version of the film that you get included here is actually in Dolby Vision, a form of HDR not found on this disc release. That said, this still has a decent set of extras that are worth watching.
This is a great BD-100 using the disc space [bandwidth] effectively. It looks great and sounds downright amazing. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment continues to thoroughly impress me with its catalog titles as well as new releases on 4K UHD Blu-ray. This is no exception to impressing me. In fact, it is a “demo disc” [as mentioned in regards to audio] for certain. This finally does the film the justice visually and in terms of sound that the tech allows for. “Edge of Tomorrow” on 4K UHD Blu-ray comes as A Recommended Upgrade.
In terms of 4K UHD Blu-ray release, this gets:
4.5 (out of 5) for video quality
5 (out of 5) for audio quality
2.75 (out of 5) for bonus materials
Overall Verdict:
A Recommended Upgrade
Available As:
Commissions Earned
2022 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook Release
4K UHD Blu-ray Screenshots:
Blu-ray VS. 4K Screenshots Comparison:
SOURCES: 2014 Blu-ray (left), 2022 4K UHD Blu-ray (right)
Packaging:
4K UHD Blu-ray Technical Specifications:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Exact Runtime(s): 1:53:27
Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos (with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core), DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (with a DTS 5.1 core), Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, Czech, Hindi, Hungarian, Polish, Japanese
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Korean, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Hindi, Japanese
HDR: HDR10
Disc Size: BD-100
Disc Use: 81.82GB total / 79.8GB for the film
