Downsizing – 4K UHD Blu-ray Movie Review

Synopsis

Downsizing imagines what might happen if, as a solution to over-population, Norwegian scientists discover how to shrink humans to five inches tall and propose a 200-year global transition from big to small. People soon realize how much further money goes in a miniaturized world, and with the promise of a better life, everyman Paul Safranek (Damon) and wife Audrey (Wiig) decide to abandon their stressed lives in Omaha to get small and move to a new downsized community – a choice that triggers life-changing adventures.

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Specifications

Paramount Pictures
2017, 2160p with Dolby Vision, DTS-MA 7.1, Rated R, 2 hours and 15 minutes,
2.39:1 Aspect Ratio
Starring: Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz, Udo Kier & Hong Chau
Directed By: Alexander Payne

Rating

Entertainment:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Violence: No
Sex: Yes
Language: Yes

Commentary

What a wasted opportunity! The movie starts out with a comedic premise of shrinking humans down to a point where they will have minimal impact on the environment. Of course, this is a metaphor for living on less for the good of the planet and a great way to stretch your dollars. The first half of the film runs with this idea, then it starts going down different paths like, helping your fellow man, saving the environment, living your life in the pursuit of altruism and by the last few minutes of the movie, giving it all up for love.

These are nice topics, but the movie never sticks to any of them for more than few minutes before shooting off into another direction. The whole last half of the movie plays out like a slightly whimsical drama with very little comedy involved. It starts out cleverly, then wanders. Too bad. The acting is great and even has a funny scene with Neil Patrick Harris, but alas, the laughter is too… little.

Technical

The picture quality is top drawer, with wonderful detail and immaculate contrasts. The colors are quite vivid, especially in the disc party montage with intense specular highlights and ink black night shots. The CGI is excellent as well with “little people” and regular folk occupying the same scenes in visual harmony. The sound is quite nice too, with plenty of surround effects and an occasional blast for the subwoofer. Shot in 3.4K and with a 2K DI, the picture still looks sharp without any evidence of aliasing or jaggy edges.

Extras

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Included are a BD version of the movie and: Working With Alexander, The Cast, A Visual Journey, A Matter of Perspective, That Smile and A Global Concern.

Jim Milton

Jim Milton has been interested in high fidelity since his college years in the late 70's. It was there that he first became interested in classical music. He has been part of choral music, both in opera and oratorio and is an avid collector of classical music from the Baroque through the Romantic periods. He enjoys an occasional night at Boston Symphony Hall or attending an organ concert at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME. Currently he is the director of Nuclear Medicine at the North Shore Medical Center, located just outside of Boston. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Salem State University where he teaches a course in nuclear instrumentation. During his leisure time, he enjoys listening to his music collection and an occasional movie with his wife of 30+ years. Living on the longest stretch of sandy beach north of Boston offers him plenty of opportunities to take a relaxing stroll or soak up some sun. "Remember, acquiring good A/V gear takes lots of time...but doesn't necessarily take lots of money."