Captain Marvel

You can read our full thoughts on Captain Marvel in our review of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray HERE.

 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment brings Captain Marvel to Blu-ray as a two-disc combo pack with a flyer for a Disney Digital Copy. The Region Free, BD50 disc sits opposite a DVD-9 copy inside a blue, eco-cutout case with an embossed, glossy slipcover. After several skippable promos, the screen changes to the usual menu with options along the bottom of the screen, full-motion clips and music playing in the background.

Carol Danvers discovers her true potential on Blu-ray thanks to a gorgeous, reference-quality 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode.

Boasting spot-on contrast from beginning to end -- in a movie littered with mesmerizing visuals and sensational action -- the brightest, hottest moments are crisp and clean while highlights come with a tight, controlled brilliance, allowing for extraordinary visibility and clarity. Likewise, brightness levels are interestingly restrained in a few areas, mostly in daylight exteriors, but not to any adverse degree, delivering inky rich blacks. Dark, stygian shadows never engulf the finer details in the background and penetrate deep into the screen, providing the 2.39:1 image with appreciable dimensionality. 

The freshly-minted transfer also debuts with spectacularly beautiful colors, displaying a dazzling array of vivid secondary hues. Our galactic hero is continuously showered in succulent fiery oranges and vibrant buttery yellows, and the Skrull clothing comes with a mix of deep eggplant and wine while marigold and butterscotch tones lavish the planet of Kree. Planet C-53 (aka, Earth), on the other hand, is shown in a heavy teal-orange palette, but primaries remain richly layered and full-bodied, from the sumptuously glamorous reds and blues of Captain Marvel's costume to the intensely lively greens everywhere else. 

At the same time, the HD presentation showcases razor-sharp definition in practically every scene. There are a couple minor but ultimately negligible moments of softness. Nevertheless, the buildings, streets and various vehicles are highly detailed, the thick threading in the alien costumes are plainly visible, and the ultra-fine stitching of Earth clothing is distinct. Facial complexions appear natural and accurately-rendered with lifelike textures, revealing every pore, wrinkle, and minor blemish, making for a fantastic, demo-worthy video. (HD Video Rating: 96/100)

Ms. Marvel soars through the sky and beyond with an enjoyable DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack. Granted, it's not the thrilling, ear-bleeding demo-worthy track that matches the wild, chaotic blockbuster visuals, but it's an enjoyable and decently satisfying design that weirdly retains the action to the front of the room. 

The front-heavy presentation is layered with lots of background activity, generating a wide and spacious soundstage full of convincing off-screen sounds and impressive room-penetrating clarity. The mid-range exhibits excellent definition, providing the music with outstanding warmth and fidelity while the loudest, most bombastic moments maintain good separation. But in all honesty, there's nothing particularly memorable or dynamic about it either, failing to ever extend into the higher frequencies. This makes for slightly shallow and uniform action sequences that never really envelop the listening area. Thankfully, the dialogue is crystal-clear and precise amid the rowdy mayhem. The low-end could arguably be stronger and more aggressive, sticking mostly the mid-bass levels, but it's nonetheless adequately responsive with plenty of rumbling weight and oomph to provide the visuals and song selections some depth and presence.

As mentioned above, much of the action is maintained across the fronts, leaving the surrounds feeling somewhat lackluster for an action-packed Marvel feature. Occasionally, a few atmospherics echo discretely to sides for a welcomed sense of envelopment, and the music lightly reverberates throughout the room. However, such moments appear reserved for action sequences and not consistent enough to generate an immersive soundfield while quieter segments are noticeably silent. Again, debris spreads into the other channels from time to time, but overall, it fails to fully and convincingly engage the listener. Added to that, the lossless mix also appears to have been redesigned for home theaters, coming in at lower decibels than normal, meaning owners will have to raise the volume some to fully enjoy it. (Audio Rating: 84/100)

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentary: Writing and directing team Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck cover the usual topics of the entire production while also sharing a few anecdotes and thoughts on the story.
• Intro (HD, 1 min): With Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, along with some BTS footage.
• Becoming a Superhero (HD, 7 min): Praise for Brie Larson and her physical training.
• Big Hero Moment (HD, 4 min): Brief discussion on the character's origins and her personality.
• The Origin of Nick Fury (HD, 4 min): The character's origins and history within the MCU.
• The Skrulls and the Kree (HD, 4 min): Some background and context on the warring aliens.
• The Dream Team (HD, 3 min): Several minutes praising the writing and directing duo.
• Hiss-Sterical Cat-Titude (HD, 3 min): Cute vintage-style featurette on Goose the cat.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 9 min).
• Who Do You Admire Above All Others?
• Starforce Recruits
• Heading to Torfa
• What, No Smile? 
• Black Box
• Rookie Mistake
• Gag Reel (HD, 2 min).

Digital Copy Exclusive

• Journey Into Visual Effects With Victoria Alonso (HD, 7 min).
• What Makes A Memory: Inside The Mind “Frack” (HD, 5 min).
• Concept Art (HD).
• Still Images (HD).

Despite a few elements I found rushed or uninteresting, Captain Marvel is wildly entertaining, full of spectacle, funny, inspiring, and visually dazzling.

The Blu-ray smashes into home theaters with a reference-quality HD video presentation and a generally satisfying DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack that also leaves much to be desired. Supplements are sadly on the disappointing side but still decently informative. Nevertheless, the overall package is recommended for fans everywhere and makes for a good addition to the MCU library.