Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness – 4K Review
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Disney/Buena Vista | 2022
PG13 | 2hrs 7 min | Action | Comic Book | Adventure | Fantasy
HD | 1080P | DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Native 4K | 2160P | HDR 10 | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Aspect Ratio 2.39:1
Staring: Benedict Cumberbatch | Elizabeth Olsen | Benedict Wong | Chiwetel Ejiofor | Rachel McAdams
Directed by: Sam Raimi
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 7.1 soundtrack sound like? Excellent, and the 4K HDR10 video? Reference class.
Entertainment: 5
Video: 5
Audio: 5-
Technical Review – Native 4K UHD HDR10
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness was captured digitally using the Redcode RAW codec at 8.0K by cinematographer John Mathieson using Panavision Millennium DXL2 cameras with Panavision Sphero 65 lenses. It was finished as a 4K Digital Intermediate at the 2.39:1 aspect ratio and graded for HDR for this 4K release in HDR10 only, reserving Dolby Vision for the streamed version. This dual-layer BD66 disc has been well authored and shows no excessive use of noise reduction or edge sharpening and no obvious compression artifacts. The package also contains the HD version with DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and a redeemable digital code.
This movie is colorful and bright and with the film being shot at such a high resolution format, this 4K release benefits tremendously having stunning overall image clarity and an abundance of crisp, razor sharp detail with plenty of refined texturing, although occasionally some medium shots seem to loose a little detail. Clothing, threads and facial close-ups provide outstanding detail and definition. From the intricate designs of Doctor Strange’s tunic and cape, the patterns on America Chavez’s denim jacket, small background objects, the cracks and minute debris in Evil Strange’s universe to the individual bricks of Kamar-Taj. Even the wider city shots with their bustling activity and chaos are nice and sharp. Facial pores, stubble, wrinkles, eyelashes, hair strands and features are all accurately rendered without any undue exaggerations. Skin tones look wonderfully natural having a peachy-rose glow. Heavy-duty CGI and special effects integration are generally very good, having realistic textures, blending well with the real action shots and rarely looking soft. Effects like explosions, flying objects, debris and multiverses are well integrated into the live action with few distractions.
Deep inky blacks abound throughout, were noise free, and showed excellent low level and shadow detail as found in the Kamar-Taj rooms, the castle on Mount Wundagore and the New York Santcum. Peak whites and overall highlights provide clean detail with no clipping, from the array of magic spells, energy beams and portals to the shimmer of Gargantos slimy body and tentacles and sheen off metallic surfaces. All providing a terrific dynamic contrast range and enhancing visibility of objects in both interior and exterior shots creating a good depth of image with an impressive three-dimensional quality.
Color fidelity is excellent throughout with vivid and well saturated primaries and secondaries, all having good color depth and density, hues are bold and vibrant. Virtually every color of the rainbow appears at some point in the movie. Reds in particular get their moments ranging from the crimson of Strange’s cloak, the candy rose swirls during the reading of the Book of Vishanti, to the deep, fiery, cherry and ruby combinations associated with the Scarlet Witch. Rich and varied hues abound from the vivid oranges, full-bodied yellows, cotton-candy pinks, lavenders, violets and cerulean blues of various multiverse jumps, like that of Karl Mordo’s universe Earth-838, to the natural greens of the grass and leaves and the grays and browns of the various city and urban landscapes. All were wonderfully captured.
This image is excellent on all fronts, providing a ver good HDR10 reference image.
Audio – Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness provides a Dolby Atmos primary audio track that defaults to a stellar Dolby TrueHD 7.1 in my system. I found the track highly engaging, particularly during all action scenes with good bass and impactful dynamics. NOTE: I had to raise my level by +4dB to overcome the usual Disney audio afflictions.
The overall sound presentation is dynamic, with good sub involvement and plenty of 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 sonic spectacles alike. Effects placement are accurate and natural, with 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. From bits of flying debris, explosions, collapsing buildings, general chaos and mayhem, shouts and screams, water drips, the surrounding portal glowing red ring, to the quieter moments with subtle ambient effects. All fill the surrounds pulling you further into the scene and keeping you fully engaged at all times.
Sub action is good providing a solid and extended bottom end that certainly hits down low, providing the subs with something to get their cones into. Really making itself felt during many of the action sequences, having good punch and muscle from the spells, explosions, general chaos and mayhem and collapsing buildings. Imaging continuously feels broad and expansive following the action as it moves on and off-screen. Dialogue is always crystal clear and well detailed with solid front-center imaging and prioritization, even during the more intense sonic moments with the mid-range continually providing good clarity and detail no matter how loud and aggressive the action.
Complementing the movie throughout its entire length, the films soaring score, composed by Danny Elfman offers warmth and stellar instrument definition also giving a “nod” to several other MCU movie tracks and various classical numbers, all nicely flushing out the soundscape. Hitting a good balance between the dialogue and effects the score envelopes the whole listening environment with light spill into the surrounds and effortless integration within the soundstage.
An excellent soundtrack that just manages to rise to reference level complimenting the reference class video
Story Overview
Following on from the events of Spider-Man No Way Home, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) unwittingly casts a forbidden spell that accidentally opens up the multiverse and forces him to confront the various versions of himself.
Strange is now heart broken and shocked when; he discovers that the love of his life, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), is to marry another man and he continues to have nightmares about an alternative universe where he tries to save a young girl, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), that continually haunts him. The questions are; are these just dreams, real lives in these alternative universes and is America a real person? Strange is about to find out.
Recognizing America during a street attack on her by a Gargantos, Strange soon discovers that she has the ability to travel at will through the multiverse, a power that is sought after by another. As things start to unravel and in desperation, Strange turns to Wong (Benedict Wong) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) for help, only to discover that Wanda is responsible for the various ongoing attacks and that as the Scarlet Witch she will stop at nothing to secure America’s powers, even if it means her death. Now Strange with the help of another self, Wong, the MCU team and ultimately America must now do battle with The Scarlet Witch in order to end her reign of terror.
My 2 cents
Another highly entertaining movie from the MCU stable that tries a little bit of horror but doesn’t quite hit the mark. Despite that and a few complaints from other reviewers regarding the movies rather “perfect and sterile” appearance, that I for one do not agree with, it had a good story line that was complimented by reference class video and reference audio. I am sure that all Marvel fans will thoroughly enjoy this movie.
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