Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom appears in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Expect a top-notch Dolby Vision presentation for this native 4K film.
Sharpness seemed strong. Nary a hint of softness impacted the image, so it remained tight and concise.
I saw no shimmering or jaggies. Both edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.
Like every other modern action movie, Kingdom opted for an amber/orange and teal orientation, though it came with splashes of greens, reds and purples as well. The disc depicted them in an appropriate manner, and HDR added range and impact to the tones.
Blacks showed good depth, and shadows offered largely nice clarity and smoothness. HDR contributed power and force to whites and contrast. In the end, the movie provided pleasing visuals.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Kingdom brought us a strong Dolby Atmos soundtrack. As one would expect, the soundscape opened up best when it indulged in its many action sequences.
These used the various channels in a vivid, immersive manner that placed the elements in logical spots and meshed together well. The track gave us a strong sense of place and action.
Audio quality also pleased. Speech remained natural and distinctive, while music was full and rich.
Effects came across as accurate and dynamic, with tight low-end. I liked this mix quite a lot.
Eight featurettes follow, and Finding the Lost Kingdom runs 21 minutes, 22 seconds. It offers notes from DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee, director James Wan, production designer Bill Brzeski, prop maker Sophie Tarver, supervising props painter James Wickerson, stunt coordinator Jon Valera, producers Rob Cowan and Peter Safran, visual effects supervisor Nick Davis, and actors Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Randall Park, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Indya Moore, Dolph Lundgren, and Patrick Wilson.
“Finding” looks at story/characters, sets and locations, cast and performances, props and production design, visual effects, stunts and action.
While we do get information on those topics, much of “Finding” acts more as glimpses of the set. In that regard, we find some interesting shots, even if the comments lean to the fluffy side.
Worlds Above and Below goes for nine minutes, 38 seconds. It involves Wan, Safran, Brzeski, Davis, and Moore.
As implied by the title, we get more info about sets and production design as well as characters and visual effects. It becomes a decent view of some of the movie's fantastic domains.
Next comes Atlantean Blood Is Thicker Than Water. A four-minute, 17-second reel, it brings comments from Wan, Momoa, and Wilson.
"Blood" looks at the Arthur/Orm relationship. We get minor insights along with happy talk.
It’s a Manta World spans 10 minutes, eight seconds. Here we find info from Abdul-Mateen, Wan, Cowan, Brzeski, special effects supervisor Mark Holt, costume designer Richard Sale, FBFX co-founder Grant Pearmain, and supervising art director Tom Still.
Like we expect, "World" covers the movie's take on Manta and related domains. Though some fluff appears, this one becomes more substantial than its predecessors.
With Necrus, The Black City, we find a five-minute, 51-second piece. It provides remarks from Wan, Safran, Momoa, Brzeski, Davis, Valera, Sale, and special makeup effects designer Justin Raleigh.
More details about sets emerge along with thoughts about stunts/action, costumes, and character makeup. We find a fairly solid recap.
Escape from the Deserter World occupies eight minutes, five seconds. We locate statements from Wan, Safran, Brzeski, Wilson, Momoa, Cowan, Sale, Valera, supervising prop modeler Paul Marsh and costume prop modeler Kevin Giles.
We learn about additional sets/production design, costumes, stunts, effects and locations. This becomes another useful program.
After this we see Brawling at Kingfish’s Lair. This one fills four minutes, seven seconds with notes from Wan, Momoa, Safran, Cowan, Brzeski, and Still.
"Lair" looks at the same sorts of topics from the last few but focused on the Kingfish's territory. It seems short but worthwhile.
Finally, Oh, Topo takes up two minutes, 12 seconds. Look for comments from Wan, Wilson, Safran, Cowan, and Still.
Aquaman's octopus sidekick comes to the fore here. We don't learn much, however.
With Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the DC Extended Universe of films comes to a close. While I can’t claim it sends off the series with a bang, I like it more than the 2018 Aquaman and think it offers decent entertainment after a slow start. The 4K UHD boasts stellar picture and audio as well as a collection of featurettes. This winds up as an inconsistent but decent superhero tale.