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Captain Marvel – Blu-ray 4K Review
Captain Marvel – 2019
Disney/Buena Vista | 2019
PG13 | 2hrs 4 mins | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
HD | 1080P | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Upscaled 4K | 2160P | HDR10 | Dolby Vision | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1 | DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
2.39:1 Aspect Ratios
Staring: Brie Larson | Samuel L. Jackson | Ben Mendelsohn | Jude Law | Annette Bening | Djimon Hounsou
Directed by: Anna Boden | Ryan Fleck
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’.
Not having immersive audio yet, what did the 7.1 soundtrack sound like? Good in most respects, and the upscaled 4K HDR10 video? Quite good.
Entertainment: 4+
Video: 4+
Audio: 4+
Technical Review – Upscaled 4K UHD HDR10
Captain Marvel was shot digitally in the ARRIRAW and Redcode RAW codecs (in 6.5K and 8K) using Arri Alexa 65, Panavision Millennium and Red Weapon cameras and Panavision Sphero lenses. It was finished as a native 2K digital intermediate, upsampled to 4K for Ultra HD release and graded for high dynamic range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The presentation is framed in the 2.39:1 theatrical aspect ratio. The 2K digital intermediate may seem an impediment to image quality, and it is, but the higher resolution capture does help in this regard providing generally strong details together with nice texturing. This is reduced a little in darker scenes with atmospherics like fog and smoke. The HDR grade and wider color gamut render rich and nicely nuanced hues, with deep and detailed blacks, bold highlights, and good contrast. There were no visible signs of black or white crush.
Overall the image was a little dark and not over colorful except for Captain Marvels’ final costume, her photon blasts and some well saturated yellows, reds and colored clothing. There was little sign of noise or grain. Details are well defined showing excellent costume detail and alien makeup effects for the Kree. Human skin tone looks natural with well defined facial features including pores, hair and wounds etc. Urban areas like LA and the military buildings all showed strong detail with facial and environmental closeups revealing very good sharpness and detail.
Overall a good quality up-converted 4K UHD release from Disney, but it is far from stellar.
I saw no up-conversion or compression artifacts and no banding throughout the movie.
Audio – Dolby TrueHD 7.1
First things first. Disney still haven’t fixed their audio mix levels. I had to raise the level by +4db to reach my typical room levels and the LFE channel was still less than stellar! Generally is was better than many earlier Disney 4K movie mixes but there is NO excuse for this continuing audio level issue. Virtually none of my several hundred Blu-rays and 4K UHD movies suffer from this problem unless produced by Disney/Buena Vista. With Disneys’ recent purchase of FOX I hope that this audio affliction is not contagious!
So after adding +4dB above my reference level how did it sound? Generally the mix was quiet enjoyable with adequate surround and LFE action even though the LFE channel was a little stymied at times. This despite several instances of deep extension during explosions, gunfire, the Kree warships launching into space and some, but not all, of the Vers’ photon blasts.
There was no shortage of surround activity, taking as it does, the opportunity to fully exercise sides and rears with both discrete and atmospheric effects matching the on-screen action and environments. The atmospheric effects providing a real sense of space like the swirling airy voices as Vers memories are being probed. While environmental support elements are well detailed and precisely located drawing the listener further into the movies various locales.
The score, both orchestral and 90’s pop, are well balanced, with dialogue always clear and detailed having solid front-center imaging and prioritization. This is far from the most aggressive mix I have ever heard in 4K, but compared to many of Disney’s previous Ultra HD soundtracks, it’s considerably better.
Story Overview
The Kree Starforce of planet Hala protects the universe from the shapeshifting Skrulls who can mimic any organism. Their modus-operandi is to infiltrate planets societies and cause chaos. This army of invader is kept in check by the Starforce Commander Yonn-Rogg (Jude Law) who has trained a young officer, Vers (Brie Larson), to develop and use her extraordinary super powers to fight the Skrulls. During a battle Vers crash-lands on planet C53, earth in the 1990’s in LA where she encounters S.H.I.E.L.D.S. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). They team up in pursuit of the shapeshifting aliens but all is not what it appears to be. There is much she cannot remember, having many flash backs to here previous life. But through it all her worlds leader, an A.I. known as Supreme Intelligence (Annette Benning) keeps emerging from her memory. Vers slowly pieces her previous life together as she remembers the truth about who she was, who she has become and the origins of her amazing super-powers.
My 2 Cents
Overall the movie was very entertaining and a good watch with a its 90s soundtrack driving it along and its continuos ‘digs’ at the 90’s fashion, music and technology. However, it’s Brie Larson who steals the show and delivers an excellent performance as a character in search of herself.
You MUST watch the credits ALL the way to their end or you will miss some important scenes, including the cat Goose as he steals the last scene.
Unfortunately it doesn’t make my unconverted 4K reference library like Aquaman and The House With A Clock In Its Walls do.
