Xander Cage is left for dead after an incident, though he secretly returns to action for a new, tough assignment with his handler Augustus Gibbons. Director: D.J. Caruso Writers: F. Scott Frazier, Rich Wilkes Starring: Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone, Kris Wu, Ruby Rose, Tony Jaa Producer: Joe Roth xXx: Return of Xander Cage was digitally photographed, but it's in that rarified air of new material that's approaching film texture and quality rather than digital's smoother and glossier side. The image is very robust, yielding some handsome high end detailing and crispness. Skin textures are ridiculously complex. Every pore is not only visible, they're practically measurable. Other skin extremities, like tattoo ink, are also well defined in closeup. Other elements, like clothes, guns, and terrain, offer superb sharpness. Basic background definition is razor sharp as well; only some obviously phony green screen backgrounds betray the image's inherent complexity. Colors are very deeply saturated, arguably a little overly so in places, but the variety, intensity, and diversity the Blu-ray reveals is terrific. Black levels are very strong and flesh tones push a little warm. Source noise spikes in lower light shots but the transfer is otherwise free of any debilitating source or compression artifacts. |