Roofman (2025) (4K UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Paramount
Release Date: January 20, 2026
Rating: R
Film: 2.5/5

Plot
Based on an unbelievable true story, Roofman follows Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), an Army veteran and struggling father who turns to robbing McDonald's restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname: Roofman. After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys "R" Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mom drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in.

My Thoughts
The film opens with a disclaimer that it’s a “true story,” but typical Hollywood embellishments are everywhere for entertainment value—events are compressed, characters are softened, and motivations are polished to make the central figure more likable. I take issue with some of the themes: the protagonist is portrayed as a really good guy we should sympathize with, but I’m sorry, I don’t have sympathy for someone who commits multiple armed robberies. Although, I do have sympathy for his kids, who have to grow up without a father (although maybe that’s a blessing considering he’s a criminal), and for the impact he had on Leigh and her two kids—so in effect, his crimes negatively impacted two families.

Furthermore, the script does everything it can to make you root for him because he’s polite while holding a gun to his victims, who probably still have nightmares from the experience. The polite-robber trope is pushed hard, but it doesn’t erase the terror he inflicted. At 125 minutes the film is much too long and should have been trimmed a good 20 to 25 minutes to improve the pacing—several montages and side stories drag without adding meaningful depth. In conclusion, I found it to be the typical underdog Hollywood story trying to manipulate the audience that criminals aren’t bad guys, they just are doing what they do to survive. Sorry, that’s bullshit.

The video transfer from Paramount is what you’d expect from a 2025 production with excellent detail in the dimly lit rooftops, security camera footage, and close-ups of Tatum’s weathered face. Colors are natural and somewhat muted, contrast is deep, especially in night exteriors, and the film grain from the 35mm footage looks very cinematic.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track delivers clear dialog with good surround use for ambient city noise, police sirens, and the claustrophobic feel of crawl spaces. The score has solid dynamics, and the low-end is utilized during an explosion scene, although overall the mix is fairly restrained.

Video 9/10
Audio 8.5/10  (Dolby TrueHD 5.1)

Special Features:

• Deleted and Alternate Scenes
• Based on Actual Events and Terrible Decisions
• Chasing the Ghosts: The Director's Methods
• A Good Place to Hide
• Driving Lesson
• 4K + Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Conclusion
This is a technically strong movie with sharp video and solid audio that suit the crime drama genre, but the film fell a bit flat for me due to its manipulative sympathy for the robber, overlong runtime, and for refusing to fully confront the damage he caused with his horrible decisions. I really like both Tatum and Dunst as actors and if you’re a fan as well, you may want to give this a look, but go into it knowing that Hollywood is pushing an agenda that “polite crime pays” and we should feel sympathy for the main character—I didn’t.


Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(I utilized Portrait Displays' Calman color calibration software)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110” 2.35:1 Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Zidoo UHD8000 Media Player
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
Dual Rythmik FV15HP2
Mini DSP HD
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[Barry]

Conclusion

“This is a technically strong movie with sharp video and solid audio that suit the crime drama genre, but the film fell a bit flat for me due to its manipulative sympathy for the robber, overlong runtime, and for refusing to fully confront the damage he caused with his horrible decisions. I really like both Tatum and Dunst as actors and if you’re a fan as well, you may want to give this a look, but go into it knowing that Hollywood is pushing an agenda that “polite crime pays” and we should feel sympathy for the main character—I didn’t.”

This is a perfect description of the movie. I saw it about a month ago by streaming so I didn’t post about it because I did not know what the disc would look like. when Hollywood makes movies about the bad guys. They are always too sympathetic towards them. This includes the Birdman from Alcatraz, who was a murderer, to Catch Me If You Can’”.

One of the most interesting parts of the movie is during the end credits when the real people get to talk about what happened

[David Vaughn]

Conclusion

“This is a technically strong movie with sharp video and solid audio that suit the crime drama genre, but the film fell a bit flat for me due to its manipulative sympathy for the robber, overlong runtime, and for refusing to fully confront the damage he caused with his horrible decisions. I really like both Tatum and Dunst as actors and if you’re a fan as well, you may want to give this a look, but go into it knowing that Hollywood is pushing an agenda that “polite crime pays” and we should feel sympathy for the main character—I didn’t.”

This is a perfect description of the movie. I saw it about a month ago by streaming so I didn’t post about it because I did not know what the disc would look like. when Hollywood makes movies about the bad guys. They are always too sympathetic towards them. This includes the Birdman from Alcatraz, who was a murderer, to Catch Me If You Can’”.

One of the most interesting parts of the movie is during the end credits when the real people get to talk about what happened

I found that interesting as well, but even those real people were charmed (or better yet, conned) by the thief and they said he "wasn't a bad guy." Seriously, the guy pointed loaded guns in people's faces....good people don't do that. Also, by all accounts, this guy is very intelligent and could actually work for a living and probably be successful, but like most criminals, he didn't want to put in an honest day's work. 

[Barry]

I found that interesting as well, but even those real people were charmed (or better yet, conned) by the thief and they said he "wasn't a bad guy." Seriously, the guy pointed loaded guns in people's faces....good people don't do that. Also, by all accounts, this guy is very intelligent and could actually work for a living and probably be successful, but like most criminals, he didn't want to put in an honest day's work.

I agree. Also, he put people in the freezer where they really could have had serious injuries and problems if they weren’t rescued. and he held up a toy store, with guns, where children were. But I am guessing that when actors make a movie such as this, they tend to look for a valid reason why the person is doing terrible things. they don’t relate to pure evil. 

he also escaped from prison several times.  He committed arm robbery,  several times broke out of prison several times, but will still be eligible for release in 20 36, 10 years from now

[AVSCraig]

I haven't seen Roofman yet, but there are a lot of entertaining movies about criminals - real and imagined. The Wolf of Wall Street is a hoot, as is The Gentlemen. Catch Me If You Can's Frank Abagnale Jr. did go on to work as a security consultant. My wife heard him talk at ADP once. 

[bmoney]

Was a very interesting watch. Was a little too long. But I enjoyed it 

[David Vaughn]

Was a very interesting watch. Was a little too long. But I enjoyed it

It wasn't a bad movie, per se, but I just had a philosophical issue with creating sympathy for a very bad person (in real life). 

[Paul Heroy]

David, interesting that you mention the philosophical conflict derailing your enjoyment of this movie.

I had a similar issue with the recent Fantastic Four movie and the key moral dilemma that drove it. Most movies gloss over these kind of things at some level, but sometimes it's more stark. I had a similar feeling for the TV show The Americans, where it's FAR more nuanced and well done, but the Russian couple as moles that were humanized and probably had much of the audience sympathizing with them, always had me hoping they would be caught and imprisoned or executed. But again, in that show they had the time and writing chops to handle it with much more nuance and didn't just shy away from showing them doing the bad things, with bad consequences, so I enjoyed that show a lot more than the movie example.

[David Vaughn]

David, interesting that you mention the philosophical conflict derailing your enjoyment of this movie.

I had a similar issue with the recent Fantastic Four movie and the key moral dilemma that drove it. Most movies gloss over these kind of things at some level, but sometimes it's more stark. I had a similar feeling for the TV show The Americans, where it's FAR more nuanced and well done, but the Russian couple as moles that were humanized and probably had much of the audience sympathizing with them, always had me hoping they would be caught and imprisoned or executed. But again, in that show they had the time and writing chops to handle it with much more nuance and didn't just shy away from showing them doing the bad things, with bad consequences, so I enjoyed that show a lot more than the movie example.

Paul...very interesting comment regarding The Americans. I felt the same way--I enjoyed the show mainly due to the cast, but there was that underlying feeling that I shouldn't be rooting for this couple. The same could be said about Breaking Bad too. Whatever happened to rooting for the actual "good guys" ?

[bmoney]

Agreed with sympathy for a bad person. They made him
Out to be the antihero which is ok for non real
Life actions lll

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

I understood going in that this was a film that was going to glorify the person, not the deed. I took the story for its basis in uniqueness rather than focusing on his crimes. He is in prison and paying for them. As for his victims, I agree that they got the short end of the stick. But as pointed out there are many films that depict bad people in a good light. "Catch Me if You Can" is certainly chief among them and I love it. I didn't rate this film based upon how I felt about the real Jeffrey Manchester, but about how entertaining it was.

Regards,

[bmoney]

preach.  and agree. good way to look at it

[Paul Heroy]

Good points Ralph, as usual. 

There is a whole genre of crime movies, caper/heist films, that have the bad guys as the protagonists and the audience cheering for them and against the law & order folks. Of course they are usually given some justification like taking from greedy jerks who done someone wrong, or something they are avenging, to generate sympathy.

[SRW1000]

We watched this movie with a friend over the weekend and we all enjoyed it.

I can certainly understand the misgivings about glorifying a criminal, but he doesn't get off scot-free.  

What I did like is that it showed a clever guy doing clever stuff, well most of the time anyway, with the addition of some good humor.  Not that any of that made his actions sympathetic, but his approach to the logistical aspects were relatable, even if the morality wasn't.

For those interested, the movie has been added to Amazon Prime.

[bmoney]

I never once felt like I was rooting for a criminal. Just man how is this gu getting away with this lol