Tag 4K Ultra HD Review

THE MOVIE — 3¾/5

Probably obvious, but Tag is one of those based on a true stories where the core is likely real but everything else is played up with Hollywood storytelling. This is one of those cases, but frankly, it doesn’t matter as the moral is the same: the power of long-lasting friendships.

The plot revolves around five childhood friends: Hogan ‘Hoagie’ Malloy (ED HELMS), Bob Callahan (JON HAMM), Randy ‘Chilli’ Cilliano (JAKE JOHNSON), Kevin Sable (HANNIBAL BURLESS) and the elusive Jerry Pierce (JEREMY RENNER), who has plans on retiring from a 30+ year game of tag. Every May the game would open and the person who is “it” could pop up anytime and anywhere. This time, the friends gather specifically to tag Jerry who has eluded them with his quickness and ability to get out of any situation and remain tag-less.

The friends see an opening to tag Jerry as he’s about to get married and they hatch a plan. Along for this ride is Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Crosby (ANNABELLE WALLIS) who is writing a piece on a bunch of grown men playing a childish game, as well as Hogan’s incredibly intense wife, Anna (ISLA FISHER).

Tag was a surprisingly funny movie though probably not so much for the material, even the insane premise, but instead the ensemble cast that was put together. Each of these actors pull their own weight, for the most part, and really make what otherwise could’ve been a generally stupid movie into something that was genuinely funny even with the thin set-ups, not to mention some rather thin character development.

Of the ensemble, the highlights are Ed Helms, even if generally is playing similar characters from Vacation and The Hangover Trilogy, Jon Hamm which isn’t surprising, Jeremy Renner seemingly having a great time playing a bit of a dark character and Isla Fisher more or less playing a version of her character from Wedding Crashers, a bit of a loose cannon.

The others contribute well, though no stand outs among them with Jake Johnson playing the stoner with conviction; otherwise you’ve got Annabelle Wallis once again playing a rather blank slate, Hannibal Buress has his moments but of the five friends, does get short-changed, Rashida Jones is fun in her small role (has maybe 10-minutes of screen time) and Leslie Bibb is at times a scary bridezilla.

This movie, directed by Jeff Tomsic in his feature debut and loosely based on a Wall Street Journal article adapted by Rob McKittrick (Wating…) and Mark Steilen (1999’s The Settlement), while certainly dumb in its concept, did manage to consistently make me laugh from beginning to end. No, Tag is not some comedy classic but does make for a great double-feature with the equally entertaining Game Night.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 2/5

Features are on the lighter side with Meet the Real Tag Brothers (5:23) which are interviews with the men who inspired the film as they visit the set; 8 Deleted Scenes (6:20) and a Gag Reel (8:05).

VIDEO – 4½/5

Tag debuts on 4K Ultra HD through I believe a MOD program. Presented in its original theatrical 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p high-definition transfer, the picture quality here is quite good, though I can’t say it’s a particularly notable upgrade over the 2018 Blu-ray. Even so, detail here is excellent and the noise is still noticeable and gives the picture some texture.

AUDIO – 4¼/5

The movie comes with a standard DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which was pretty strong outputting crisp and clear dialogue levels via the center speaker, including some nice depth when it came to the Sherlock Holmes-esque slo-mo scenes when Jerry counters the “attacks”. The front and rear channels are relegated for ambient noises or the generic score or rockin’ soundtrack.

OVERALL — 3½/5