Mr. Nice Guy 4K UHD Review

“Chan plays a TV chef, inadvertently pulled into a pure ‘90s story about a videotaped drug deal and the guilty thugs chasing said tape down. “The kitchen is a safe place,” says Chan’s on-screen uncle, soon proving untrue in a movie like this. A thin narrative plays to career irony, referencing the danger in police work and safety in professional cooking. Somehow, Chan managed to make both equally harrowing in his prime.”

Read our review of Warner’s previous Mr. Nice Guy Blu-ray for more

A satisfying UHD debut doesn’t eclipse the Warner Blu-ray by much. Already bright in saturation, the color here with an added punch of Dolby Vision is bettered, however slightly. Primaries have an intensity and gloss that’s attractive without being oversaturated. While black levels have sufficient weight, the contrast isn’t punched up or particularly bold.

The clean grain structure isn’t an issue for the encode, and grain is barely present. There’s no sign of manipulation or digital reduction, but rather a clean film stock and perfect encode.

Mr. Nice Guy brings excellent clarity and sharpness to 4K. The resolution allows facial texture to shine, and wide shots of the cities look impeccably precise. There’s no damage to the print itself.

Note the international cut looks notably improved over the Blu-ray, with a fresh restoration and no print damage, unlike Warner’s own disc.

Stereo and 5.1 tracks are available. Both tracks are relatively equal in terms of fidelity, pinched and muffled at the top-end. The flatness of the audio is a turn down from the otherwise excellent (and earlier) First Strike. This is more apparent in the 5.1 mix, where those flaws amplify across the soundstage, with the score aggressively placed in the rears.

Channel separation is limited, confined mostly to the stereos anyway, making the only genuine difference the low-end. That’s used for explosions (lightly) or truck engines (not lightly). This is almost certainly the same mix Warner used for their Blu-ray.

Two discs, one for the Japanese and Hong Kong cuts, the other the international cut. Extras reside on the homegrown cuts disc, beginning with a commentary from critic James Mudge. The fifth part of a continuing Breakout documentary (spread across Arrow’s Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits box set) is here, along with an appreciation from Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng. Alternate English credits, outtakes, trailers, and stills finish out the set.

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided to us for review. This has not affected the editorial process. For information on how we handle review material, please visit our about us page to learn more.