Game Night (2018) [4K Ultra HD]

Directors: John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein

Cast: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler

Release Date: August 13, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams star as Max and Annie, whose weekly couples’ game night gets kicked up a notch when Max’s brother (Kyle Chandler) plans a murder mystery party that turns out to be more than they bargained for.

‘Game Night’ tells the story of the perfect game-loving couple Max and Annie who after falling in love at a local trivia night end up married and hosting their own competitive game night with friends, while trying to keep their creepy next door neighbor out of the mix. But when Max’s brother attempts to join in the fun and hosts his own murder mystery themed game night, things quickly get out of hand. Before long the group of friends dive into the wild evening’s festivities but as one twist follows another, it’s not long until they all start wondering whether all of these occurrences are part of the game or something else altogether.

‘Game Night’ is directed by John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein from a screenplay written by Mark Perez and Daley and Goldstein do a tremendous job at the helm of the film guiding along the darkly hilarious and twisted fun with humor and even a bit of heart at times. The film’s noteworthy cast includes Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Jesse Plemons, Michael C. Hall and Danny Huston who each do a nice job of contributing to the fun and laughs throughout.

‘Game Night’ serves up a ridiculously fun, hilarious and at times slightly twisted ride into the game night from hell and keeps the fun, twists and laughs coming at full speed throughout. It’s a nonstop good time that takes a fairly simple concept and manages to craft something uniquely clever and original out of it and then keeps the viewer guessing as much as the characters within as the night continues and the various situations and events become increasingly more uncertain and concerning. What begins as a normal couples game night quickly escalates into kidnapping, car chases and shootouts, robberies, accidental shootings and even a bloody dog, all of which naturally only lead to hilarious results.

It’s a swiftly paced movie that never slows down and somewhat surprisingly manages to retain its high energy pacing until the hilariously over the top conclusion and it’s sure to offer at least one or two surprises for those who haven’t previously had the pleasure of the film. Directors John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein do a great job guiding along the laugh out loud mayhem and the star-studded cast led by Bateman and McAdams only helps it to become something quite special, and one that is extremely re-watchable in addition. If you’ve never seen ‘Game Night’ but enjoy a fun, vulgar and twisted comedy or are a fan of the cast, then this one shouldn’t be missed and is well worth your time.

‘Game Night’ arrives home for the first time on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and features a very solid full Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 that looks spectacular as a whole and surely better than the film has ever looked at home previously. The great new UHD video presentation is nicely boosted by a fully capable multichannel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that contributes nicely to the fun, in addition to a couple of archival extras that fans should enjoy. This new 4K catalog release doesn’t provide any new extras or additional discs, but for the fans of this delightfully twisted dark comedy that would like to own it on 4K and might already be considering a purchase, the new UHD presentation alone is probably worth the upgrade and the release is recommended, especially if you can find it at the right price.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Game Night’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 presented in the film’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks very nice as a whole and provides a sharp, smooth and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues to be uncovered along the way. Detail is sharp and solid on characters, interiors of homes and other locations and even during the fast moving sequences such as car chases and parking lot bullet treatments, the majority of which also occur at night and are somewhat dark to begin with. The Dolby Vision HDR also nicely boosts various elements within such as clothing, furniture and more and is perfectly complemented by deep, clean black levels that don’t disappoint. Overall, this is a pretty great Ultra High Definition video presentation that offers a nice upgrade for the film that should have fans fairly excited.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack is quite solid and offers a clean, crisp and often fairly immersive audio presentation throughout that repeatedly complements the onscreen fun. It takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send everything from music, vehicles and gunshots, along with a good bit more consistently zipping throughout the various speakers at every logical opportunity, while still ensuring that any dialogue or other audio elements occurring along the way remain clean and full audible. Overall, this is a rewarding 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that holds up well at every turn and shouldn’t have any trouble satisfying fans.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Game Night’ features a couple of enjoyable extras including a ‘Gag Reel’ (running approximately 7 minutes in length) and the Behind the Scenes Featurette ‘An Unforgettable Evening: Making Game Night’ (running approximately 4 minutes).

*Please note: The above images are taken from the film’s Trailer and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above images were utilized. All content and images from the film are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7/10

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‘Game Night’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can Purchase ‘Game Night’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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