# Eddie The Eagle - 4K UltraHD Blu-ray Review



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=74689[/img] 
*Title: Eddie the Eagle* 

*Movie:* :4stars:
*Video:* :4stars:
*Audio:* :4stars: 
*Extras:* :2.5stars: 

*HTS Overall Score:*77




[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=72873[/img]*Summary*
Everyone loves a good sports story. There’s just something about rooting for the underdog as they overcome incredible odds to either win, or just realize their dreams. It’s an innate part of us I think. That inspirational story of someone that we can super impose ourselves onto. That ability to want to see the little guy actually make it, because if HE can then that gives us the hope that our dreams aren’t too big to achieve. That’s what makes “Eddie the Eagle” so inspiring. Not due to the fact that he overcame all odds and comes out a superhero, but that he was a regular Joe who never let life get him down. The fact that the real life Eddie was NOT spectacular is what makes it so much more spectacular. His story is not some unbelievable superhero tale where the little guy suddenly becomes the best athlete on earth. In fact he was a mediocre athlete and came in just about dead last in the 1988 Calgary Olympics, but that’s not exactly the point of this highly entertaining sports story.

Eddie Edwards (Tom Costello as a child and Taron Egerton as an adult) is not exactly what one would expect from an athlete. He grew up as a slightly under powered kid, with bad knees and a knee brace, but that never once deterred him from his dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. Trying every sport under the sun, Eddie finally settled in on skiing, but was told very plainly that he would never be an Olympic athlete and was cut from the British Ski team. Never taking no as an answer in his life, Eddie figured out a workaround. England didn’t have an Olympic Ski Jumping team, and all he had to do was modify his skiing background into becoming a ski jumper. However that turns out to not be as easy as it sounds. That is until he meets a drunken and seemingly washed up manager of a German ski jumping spot. An old man who just so happens to have been Bronson Peary, an Olympic Ski Jumper who skied for the American Olympic team back in the 70s. 

Begging Bronson to teach him, and despite being told no a thousand times from the grumpy ex-skier, Eddie plows forward with that Olympic spot firmly in his mind. Refusing to be overcome by his lack of athletic skill, or the fact that the British Ski association tries their best to force him out of the sport, or even the other skiers taunting his every move, Eddie does what he always did his entire life. Move forward. 

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=72881[/img]
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to foresee that Eddie’s making it to the Olympics, and it’s definitely for certain that he will never win a medal, even if you haven’t read his biography, but the statement by Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin says it best “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well”. The tale of Eddie the Eagle is a blast from beginning to end, with only a few hiccups in the center act to keep the story from being more spectacular. 

Almost a complete opposite from his cocky, butt kicking character from “Kingsman: The Secret Service”, Taron Egerton adopts the awkward, boxy and slightly chubby role of Eddi with apparent ease. The script takes no time at all into getting us to root for the awkward boy. No matter the obstacle he faces, Eddie takes it in stride with a sweet and humble attitude. He knows very well that he isn’t the greatest, but he believes in himself and the ability to stretch himself past what other people think of him. With the added under bite and geeky “Top Gun” style eye glasses, Egerton makes for an incredibly accurate portrayal of the British athlete. Hugh Jackman compliments him well, as the extremely SKILLED athlete who frittered his life away with his own excesses. 

As much fun as the movie really is, there are some hiccups in the second act that keep it from being a truly great movie. While we root for Eddie early on, the second act takes a bit too much saccharine sweet storytelling into the game and there are some cheesy moments to make you wince once or twice. Not to mention the fact that the middle section starts to get a bit dull as the fictionalization of Eddie’s training comes into play. Well, that and Christopher Walken’s character only comes into the film for like a total of 5 minutes, and EVERY movie is enhanced by having Christopher Walken in it more.




*Rating:* 

Rated PG-13 for some suggestive material, partial nudity and smoking 



*Video* :4stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=72889[/img]“Eddie the Eagle” was shot using the Red Epic camera system at a 6K source resolution, but was rendered to DI and finished at a 2K resolution where the film was then upconverted to the 4K UltraHD disc we have today (surprised they didn’t just do the DI in 4K), and while the disc certainly looks better than the regular Blu-ray it’s not THAT much better. The color gamut is decent but not wildly more colorful or crisp than the regular gamut we’re used to on 1080p, and the blacks are just mildly deeper. The one nice thing that 4K and its HDR and wide range colors is the fact that it suffers a LOT less with banding than 1080p Blu-ray does, and the already great looking blacks are just that much better. Fine detail is well refined and shows off plenty of intimate details, making “Eddie the Eagle” a joy to watch. 






*Audio* :4stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=72897[/img]Given a nice upgrade to Dolby Atmos on this disc, “Eddie the Eagle” maintains a very strong audio experience, if not a rather pedestrian ATMOS experience. The 7.1 DTS-HDMA track was simply superb from the get go, and the Atmos track is very much in line with that presentation. Strong dialog, deep LFE, and a great use of the surround channels. Interestingly enough, the expanded heights don’t add as much directionality as I expected from the upgrade. There’s some cool swooshing effects overhead as Eddie pulls off his jumps, but it’s not as impactful or noticeable as I was expecting. It’s a very good track, and works as a slight upgrade to the 7.1 DTS-HD MA track available on the Blu-ray, but only ever so slightly.






*Extras* :2.5stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=72905[/img] 
(all extras are on the Blu-ray not the 4K disc)
• Let the Games Begin: Soaring with Eddie the Eagle
• Picture Gallery
• Trailers










*Overall:* :4stars:

“Eddie the Eagle” is a sweet and inspiring sports tale that was a whole lot of fun from beginning to end. Sports movies seems to have hit a lull lately, as I’ve watched quite a few that left me feeling rather luke warm inside after viewing. Something that I didn’t have happen with “Eddie”. Egerton did a fantastic job at absorbing himself into the role of Eddie, and while there were a few rough landings with the script, the movie did a fantastic job at keeping your spirits high with the energetic track and beautiful cinematography. Audio and video are great, but sadly aren't THAT much better than the regular Blu-ray, but still the best presentation of the film in both departments., and the extras aren’t too bad at all. Definitely a good watch for the whole family. 



*Additional Information:*

Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken
Directed by: Dexter Fletcher
Written by: Sean Macaulay, Simon Kelton
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish, French DD 5.1
Studio: Fox
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 106 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 14th, 2016



*Buy Eddie the Eagle On 4K UltraHD Blu-ray at Amazon*


*Recommendation: Recommended​*







More about Mike


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

It's interesting that this happened at the same time and place as the true story of the first Jamacian bobsled team later turned into the movie "cool runnings" (a classic) I miss John Candy :sad:
I'm going to have to give this a watch.


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

holy cow, I completely forgot about cool runnings... talk about a blast from the past


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Mike Edwards said:


> holy cow, I completely forgot about cool runnings... talk about a blast from the past


Last I looked you still can't get cool runnings on Bluray. I would get that for sure.


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

tonyvdb said:


> Last I looked you still can't get cool runnings on Bluray. I would get that for sure.


Me too


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## NorthSky (Jun 28, 2016)

This was a cool flick...'Eddie the Eagle' (normal BR 1080p lo-def). 

'Cool Runnings'? Lol, that too, on lo-def 480p DVD.


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