Blue Beetle – 4K UHD Review
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.
Warner Bros. | 2023
PG13 | 2hrs 7 min | Comic Book | Action | Sci-Fi | Adventure
HD | 1080P | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Native 4K | 2160P | Dolby Vision | HDR10 | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Staring: Xolo Maridueña | Bruna Marquezine | Becky G. | Damián Alcázar | George Lopez | Adriana Barraza
Directed by: Angel Manuel Soto
Ratings & Reviews
Please see here for my comments on reviewing movies.
My ratings are simple being marked out of a maximum of 5+. My reviews are biased towards the technical production aspects of the film with brief comments about the story line. Extras, sorry, that’s just not my ‘bag’.
So what did the 4K HDR10 video look like? Almost reference, and the 7.1 soundtrack? Also almost reference.
Entertainment: 4+
Video: 5-
Audio: 5-
Technical Review – Native 4K UHD HDR10
Blue Beetle was captured digitally in the ARRIRAW format at 4.5K by cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski using
The image flies onto your screen with a solid looking presentation. This 4K release has very good overall image clarity with an excellent display of crisp, sharp detail with refined texturing throughout. Objects, costumes, clothing and facial close-ups provide excellent detail and definition, from the exoskeleton-like suits to the detailed screen readouts. Facial pores, stubble, wrinkles, eyelashes, hair strands and features are all accurately rendered without any undue exaggerations. CGI and special effects integration are very good, having realistic textures, blending well with the real action shots and never looking soft. Effects like explosions, flying objects, debris and smoke are well integrated into the live action with no distractions.
Contrast balance was excellent throughout, from the brilliant uncompressed whites of the daylight exterior shots and the dazzling specular highlights to the deep and noise free inky blacks of space, the Kord estate’s secret basement, the Cuban fortress island facility and various night scenes that showed excellent low level and shadow detail. Individual clouds, brilliant sunlight, various light sources, control panels, LED displays, screen readouts, metallic objects, exoskeleton-like suit reflections, weapons blasts and explosions sparkle with a true-to-live realism. All creating a very good dynamic contrast range and enhancing visibility of objects in both exterior and interior shots, creating a good depth of image.
Color fidelity is very good throughout with well saturated primaries and secondary’s, having good color depth and density, with bold and vibrant hues. From the opening titles and scenes in Palmera city with its myriad of colors, the neon lit futuristic corporate city and colorful weapons blasts, to the more dreary tones of the ramshackle homes in the ghettos. The color palette extending from warmer earth tones to the sterile, cool blues with neon-tinged highlights. From the brilliant blue of the Beetle costume and Scarab, the reds of the Carapax exoskeleton-like suit, the teal, cerulean blue and purple-hued glows, the deep blues, purples and brilliant red night time city lights, explosive reds, yellows and oranges of flames and weapons fire to the brilliant green vegetation and bright orange bugship eyes and car. Skin tones and facial complexions throughout looking very natural.
This video is very good on all fronts, providing an almost reference HDR10 image.
Audio – Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Blue Beetle flies into home theaters with an excellent, reference, Dolby Atmos mix that defaults to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 in my system. The soundtrack was thoroughly engaging whether during an emotional drama or an action scene having extended bass, clarity and dynamics. However, to my surprise I had to raise my volume by +6dB to get that visceral impact.
The overall sound presentation is quite dynamic, with good sub involvement and surround action. The soundstage is wide and surrounds are constantly active with ambience, directional cues and movement, delivering an active environment that drops the listener both into calm environments and action-packed spectacles alike. Effects placement are accurate and natural, with plenty of movement in both the rear and side surrounds, together with the general environmental and room acoustics effects consistently pulling you into the many locals and environments, the Kord estate’s secret basement, the corridors inside the island fortress and the the Reyes family home. From those quieter, dialogue-heavy sequences steeped in surrounding activity, inside the Reyes home, the secret lab, bug cockpit and island fortress, to the high energy rocket powered suit, energy weapons and blasters, roaring thud of helicopter blades and fly-by, gunfire and falling debris. All fill the surrounds pulling you into the scene and keeping you fully engaged.
Sub action is very supportive throughout, having a solid low-end that digs quite deep on occasions. Fully supporting the roar of the high energy rocket powered suit(s), energy blasters, roaring thud of helicopter blades, weapons fire, falling roof debris and vehicle impacts. Imaging continuously feels broad and expansive following the action as it moves on and off-screen. Dialogue is always crystal clear and well detailed having solid front-center imaging and prioritization, providing good clarity and detail no matter how loud and aggressive the action.
Flushing out the soundscape and supporting the movie throughout its entire length, the films score, composed by Bobby Krlic and supported by a number of American and Latino songs offers a very good mix, being seamlessly immersive, perfectly clear, and presenting with good bass. Hitting a good balance between the dialogue and effects the score provides a light spill into the surrounds and very good integration within the soundstage.
A very good audio track that almost makes reference.
Story Overview
Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), a recent college graduate, returns home to the outskirts of futuristic Palmera City, where he intends to celebrate with his mom and dad (Elpidia Carrillo and Damián Alcázar), sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), grandmother (Adriana Barraza), and uncle Rudy (George Lopez). Dreaming of pulling them all out of poverty he and his sister find cleaning work in the home of CEO Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon). Unfortunately both are soon let go, but not before he overhears a conversation between Victoria, her niece Jenny (Bruna Marquezine) and mysterious bodyguard Ignacio Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo). It turns out that Kord Industries is about to use their recent discovery of an ancient blue Scarab in Antarctica in the development of a new robotic police prototype, the One Man Army Corps (OMAC). Jenny tells Jaime to see her about a new job at Kord industries, and wanting to halt the prototypes production she steals the Scarab, hides it in a box and hands it to Jamie telling him never to open it. Eventually Jamie can resist the temptation no longer and opens the box. The scarab chooses Jamie as its new owner and grants him symbiotic superpowers making him almost invulnerable and having powerful offensive capabilities. Now Victoria and her thugs will stop at nothing to get the Scarab back from the new Super Hero Blue Beetle, but will they?
My 2 cents
I actually watched this movie twice as I found the general acting and script to be a little weak, with Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) lacking in energy and drive. The second time around I felt a little better about his role, but he, as with several other characters, were still less than stellar. For the most part the story kept me entertained, the CGI and special effects were good eye candy with an almost reference 7.1 mix adding sufficient impact to hold my attention. Just get a bag of popcorn, or whatever, crank up the volume and enjoy the presentation.
Purchase from Amazon here.
