4K Ultra HD – Edition FR – Paramount Pictures – 144 min (Transformers) // 150 min (Revenge) // 154 min (The Hidden Face of the Moon) // 165 min (Age of extinction) // 154 min (The Last Knight) – 02 November 2017 and 05 December 2017
Video format
• Intermediate Master: 2K
• Standard HDR: Dolby Vision
• Ratio: 2.40 (opus 1 to 4) and 1.90 IMAX, 2.00, 2.39 (The Last Knight)
Soundtrack
• English Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles
• English
• French
It is brought to the attention of our dear readers as well as the viewing equipment specified and used by each tester of the MaG team, the rendering may differ from one installation to another, whether or not it is calibrated, as well as personal preferences and expectations may influence the rating. Moreover, the images in the article are not representative of the edition tested.
Contents
A merciless war has been between two races of alien robots since time immemorial: Autobots and cruel Decepticons. His stake: mastering the universe...
Transformers (2007)
Artistic note : 8 // Video quality : 9 // Audio quality : 10
Provided with always irritating adventures, confrontations between titanium robots, attractive characters, a well-occurring humour (too much at the moment), a tense rhythm, camera angles defying gravity, a magnificent photograph, dantesque SFX and a moving score (performing themes), Transformers is an amazing cinematographic tornado that, despite a light scenario to linear unfolding, adapts the series of our childhood with panache and brilliance. Highly spectacular and not caught up, this amphetamine-doped blockbuster is a real must of the kind!
An impressive silvery look with its uniform grain that goes well and its abundant textures. Unlike HD transfer, each detail is captured with increased precision and new clarity. Moreover, it is enough to look at the metallic complexity of the Transformers (the sharper lines of their interior components), the dirt on the faces and bodies of the actors (the traces of perspiration), as well as the chandelier or wear of the bodywork (the Chevrolet Camaro 1976) so that the difference comes to mind. For the rest we have the right to a perfect encoding, to colors of incredible richness, to sharp contrasts, to luxurious blacks and to a fluidity never taken in default. The only small flat is to pick up from the side of a handful of planes (with very contrasting backgrounds) which briefly reveal a slight strengthening of the contours.
More intensely warm than on the Blu-ray (the shades of the skin) but otherwise more alive (the unprecedented range of lavender shades on some laser beams), the colorimetric range is wider (the bright blue and deep red of Optimus Prime, the green of vegetation) and nuanced (the more realistic yellow of Bumblebee, the orange glow of explosions). Brighter whites, brighter images, more intense lighting (vehicle headlights, reflections on metal elements, sunsets) and much stronger night scenes, are other positive points due to HDR technology.
A Dolby Atmos XXL mix with striking precision, stunning scenic immersion and destabilizing dynamics, which gives the constant impression of being at the heart of the action. The effects revolve around the listening area with ease (movements of robots, shootings and other explosions), the atmospheres infiltrate in the least small corners of the room, the surrounds are constantly active, the aerial channels engage without counting (the voice of Optimus Prime, the passages and falls of machines, the rotor of helicopters, flying debris, etc.) until a final anthology (the most intoxicating use of the higher stage to date), the score gains enormously in presence and the bass are very far from shy. Full of energy but less subtle and enveloping, the VF nevertheless does not demerit.
Transformers 2: Revenge
Artistic note : 7 // Video quality : 9 // Audio quality : 10
Second opus of the franchise launched by Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg, Transformers 2: Revenge is a huge blockbuster with amphetamines. The more legible action scenes than in the first are pieces of bravery of anthology (the ultimate-spectacular final), the work accomplished on the innumerable SFX is breathtaking, the realization of Michael Bay combines camera angles defying the laws of gravity and warm photography always as neat, the cool-attitude of the Shia LaBeouf takes the song and humour is even more regressive. The film, on the other hand, is a little long and the story, simplistic and linear, is just a pretext to blow everything up.
Increased definition, firmer details (textile fibres), more prominent textures (urban environments), surgical accuracy (transformer gears), beautiful warm colors, very high contrasts, preserved silver grain (a thin layer) and unwavering compression, are the assets of this high-flight UHD transfer to fantastic images.
The colorimetric palette is richer (the yellow of Bumblebee, the multicolored construction machines forming Devastator, the cherry red of Arcee, the saturation of green herbs, the electric blues) and increases in precision thanks to the addition of orange shades (it is evident during the part in Egypt), the photograph is now more energetic, the light sources shine with a new intensity (the innumerable reflections on metal surfaces, the planes in backlight) and the blacks, more stable, add depth to the dark scenes. However, the maximum score is not reached because small details are sometimes absorbed by the most powerful lighting (such as vehicle headlights).
A monstrous VO Dolby Atmos with dantesque basses, ultra-wide musical commitment, perfectly immersive sound design (the pyrotechnic effects that sweep generously the space), at the scene surrounds present at every moment, with prominent superior reinforcement (alarms, advertisements, aerial vehicles, fire, explosions, reverberation in the tomb of the Primes, etc.), with clear voices and thundering dynamics. The VF, clearly more choked, is cruelly lacking in comparison.
Transformers 3: The Hidden Face of the Moon
Artistic note : 8 // Video quality : 9.5 // Audio quality : 10
This gigantic blockbuster of action sprinkled with science fiction, certainly the best episode of the franchise Transformers, is quite a piece of popcorn cinema. Not by his script pretext to make everything burst in the most spectacular and heroic way that is or by his regressive humour even if less present than in the past (it no longer parasites the rhythm of the narrative), but thanks to the fact that he is entirely destined to enchain scenes of homeric mass destruction (the incredible piece of final bravery of nearly an hour) to the shocking special effects and to the demented cascades, which are nothing less than the most grandiose and jubilatory sequences in the already prolific career of the Michael Bay.
A magnificent UHD transfer and absolute stability to the dizzying definition (a better visibility of the background), to the surgical pique (unpublished details such as scratches or rust on the bodywork), to the sublime depth of field, to the warm colors well saturated, to the just perfect blacks, to the solid contrasts and to the light silver grain that brings a superb seal to the images.
A more animated colorimetric palette (the yellow walls of Sam's office, the vibrant red of the Delahaye 165, the blue eyes of the Autobots, the orange burning sunsets) and deep (the red of Sentinel Prime) that brings small golden touches to the photograph (absent on the Blu-ray), shrapnel on metal surfaces (vehicles, weapons and robots) that shine with more realism, lighting (monitors, energy projected by the pillars, headlights) much brighter and blacks that gain in depth without swallowing the elements of the frame. But once again, tiny details can disappear at the edge of the most intense lighting (the glow of explosions). Then I confess, it's really to find a little flaw.
A playful VO Atmos as possible with a very impressive mix that will delight fans of big sound. The spatialisation is incredible with subtle, powerful and ubiquitous effects on all the speakers (a almost uninterrupted pyrotechnic spectacle on the horizontal but also vertical plane -breathing, helicopter blades, Megatron voices, debris falls, flying vehicles, etc.), the basses that descend very low are devastating, the dialogues are of great clarity and never seem to be in retreat, the score of the Steve Jablonsky invades the listening room with enormous magnitude, and the dynamics of lightning on the spot. The VF is much less fished even if the extent of mixing (excluding ceiling) is kept.
Transformers: The age of extinction
Artistic note : 7.5 // Video quality : 10 // Audio quality : 10
Fourth opus of the saga Transformers adapted for the (very) large screen by the master engineer Michael Bay and the powerful producer Steven Spielberg, Age of extinction is a blockbuster of action and science-fiction doped with absolutely Titanic amphetamines, including the stunning visual delirium of the staging, the new much more charismatic casting, the introduction of the impressive Dinobots, the avalanche of XXL action scenes made of noise and fury where the stunning special effects and the flarding cascades are ultra-jubilatory (the final piece of bravery is once again homeric), the absence of regressive humour (finally!) and the lyrico-guerrier score that one owes to the encounter between Steve Jablonsky and Imagine Dragons, deliver nothing less than an astounding spectacle of mass destruction even longer, spectacular and staggering than its elders. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to shake!
A UHD transfer of reference to exceptional vitality and surprising clarity (small objects in the distance will never have been as clear). In fact, the definition is delusional (more complex and refined than in 1080p), the piqué delivers a dreadful precision (more visible textures than in HD such as damage to robots or pores on the face of humans), there are details almost everywhere (which are necessarily more distinct in 2160p), the colorimetric palette is pointed and displays fantastic hyper-saturated warm hues, the contrasts impress long-lastingly, the deep blacks as precise are of any strength, and the whole sometimes benefits from a light silver grain. A simply huge visual experience!
The colours have much more punch (orange-red of fires/fires, sky blue, green or red of lasers, yellow of Bumblebee, red cherry of Stinger) and magnify the already sumptuous photograph concocted by Amir Mokri, the whites are more persuasive, the scenes are all much more contrasting with a more radiant luminosity, the light sources are much brighter (reflections on metal parts, lighthouses) and the poorly lit sequences benefit from more nuanced shades. In many passages, if the screen was a window, then the image of Age of extinction Would be the landscape!
Whether it is with the VO Dolby Atmos (with an aerial scene that frequently diffuses its effects including mini drones, rotors of helicopters, military or alien jets, the voice or movements of Transformers, a waterfall, debris, various metal objects, pyrotechnic sounds and j The mix is balanced and nuanced, the dynamic is ruining everything on its way, the reproduction of dialogues is strong, the spatialization is incredible precision, the front scene is in constant effervescence, the use of surrounds is exciting, the subtle or chaotic effects make sensation, the atmospheres are a natural disarming, the music is perfectly spaced and the basses are insane. An epic sound experience!
Transformers: The Last Knight
Artistic note : 7 // Video quality : 10 // Audio quality : 10
From Transformers pure juice with what it involves of noise and fury, XXL action scenes (the final piece of bravery is once again homeric), stunning special effects, iconic images (a virtuoso staging), lyric-warrior score and joyous nawak adventures. More muscular than intelligent (the slogan of the saga), this fifth opus is an absolutely dasque action entertainment. The dumber it is, the more fun it is!
When you grab your jaw so beautiful, this phenomenal visual slam, with its terrifying sharpness and dazzling brightness make you feel, delivers a delusional definition (as if you were at your window looking out!), a staggering level of detail (a very perceptible gain vis-à-vis the HD master), an unthinkable depth of field, wonderful solar colors, contrasts of a solidity to any test and glorious blacks. Ultra HD Blu-ray reference!
The colorimetric palette is much wider (the energetic yellow of Bumblebee, the fiery orange of the sun, the deep blue of the sky, the nuanced green of the lawns) with even warmer hues, the flames and explosions are more ardent, the small reflections and the shines are more sparkling (it is clearly visible on the metal bodies of the Transformers), the light sources are much brighter and the dark scenes are open (the flashback during the Second World War).
To explode the eardrums so rich and powerful acoustically speaking, this Atmos soundtrack that breaks the barrack is a particularly immersive and tastyly balanced experience. The dynamic breaks everything in its passage, the dialogues are always clear, the spatialisation is incredible precision, the pyrotechnic effects make sensation, the atmospheres are enveloping, the front scene is in permanent effervescence, the use of the surround channels is generous, the high sounds are not lacking (fire balls, flying means of transport, echoes, deflagrations, etc.), the music is large and the low frequencies colossal. While the VF obviously cannot compete, it remains consistent and very energetic.
« We can all be the hero of our own lives, all as much as we are, provided we have the courage to try. »
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