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DISNEY

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Nia DaCosta
Cast:
Bree Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani
Writing Credits:
Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik

Synopsis:
Carol Danvers gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, forcing them to work together to save the universe.

Box Office:
Budget:
$270 million.
Opening Weekend:
$46,110,859 on 4030 Screens.
Domestic Gross:
$84,500,223.

MPAA:
Rated PG-13.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio:
English Dolby Atmos
English Descriptive Audio 2.0
Spanish Dolby+ 7.1
French Dolby 5.1
Japanese Dolby+ 7.1
Subtitles:
English
French
Spanish
Japanese
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
French
Spanish

Runtime: 105 min.
Price: $39.99
Release Date: 2/13/2024

Bonus:
• Audio Commentary with Director Nia DaCosta and Visual Effects Supervisor Tara DeMarco
• 4 Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• “All in the Family” Featurette
• “Formidable Foes” Featurette
• Blu-ray Copy


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
-LG OLED65C6P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV
-Marantz SR7010 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Surround Receiver
-Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Dolby Vision Blu-ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


The Marvels [4K UHD] (2023)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (March 6, 2024)

Back in 2019, Captain Marvel became a major hit, at least partly because it acted as the final “lead-in” to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) saga-capping Avengers: Endgame that hit screens less than two months later. 2023’s The Marvels gives the title role her first true sequel, though as we’ll see, she didn’t remain dormant since spring 2019.

Carol “Captain Marvel” Danvers (Brie Larson) takes down “the Supreme Intelligence”, the AI behind the Kree empire. This prompts a Kree civil war and the ruin of Hala, the Kree homeworld.

As part of an attempt to return the Kree to glory, their new leader Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) uses a Quantum Band to skip through space, and this creates an anomaly that causes a variety of concerns – including abrupt jumps in the superpowers possessed by Danvers as well as fellow heroes Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala “Ms. Marvel” Khan (Iman Vellani). The three Marvels must work together to patch this hole and deal with the threat from Dar-Benn.

Much has been written about the decline of the MCU in the years after Endgame. The second highest-grossing movie worldwide of all-time, Endgame capped 11 years of build up and became a dominant hit.

To summarize, after 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, the COVID-19 pandemic clearly did a number on ticket sales. The MCU skipped 2020 entirely before it put out four movies in 2021.

Of those four, only Spider-Man: No Way Home lived up to pre-COVID box office expectations, as it became a massive hit. On the other hand, Eternals seemed to find a low point for the MCU in terms of box office.

Until 2023, that is. Although Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 found a good audience, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania became a moderate financial disappointment.

That said, its $475 million worldwide didn’t fall severely below the $519 million of the 2015 original film or the $622 million of its second chapter.

On the other hand, Marvels - the third of the three 2023 MCU releases – genuinely flopped. Whereas the 2019 Captain Marvel snagged a sizable $1.1 billion, Marvels struggled to take in a weak $206 million – or about 18 percent of the first film’s gross.

This made Marvels the lowest-grossing MCU movie of them all, below even 2008’s Incredible Hulk, the second film in the franchise. That one made about $265 million – and that was in 2008 dollars, not adjusted for inflation circa 2023.

“Ouch” feels like an understatement, so the question becomes what went wrong? My best guess is that Marvel simply watered down the cinematic appeal of their properties due to excessive ambition.

Unmentioned in this discussion so far: the slew of MCU TV series that aired on Disney Plus. This part of the franchise proliferated during the pandemic, and in a cocky move, Marvel connected the shows to the movies in ways that essentially “required” viewers to see everything if they wanted to make sense of the films.

I put “required” in quotes because I think the MCU theatrical flicks still work without foreknowledge of the various series. For instance, I went into 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness without awareness of the elements that connected to the TV shows and still enjoyed it just fine.

Still, I get that this “need” to see so many television programs in addition to multiple movies acts as a turnoff to folks who just want to take in the occasional MCU movie without the requirement to prep ahead of time. This issue reaches its peak with Marvels, a flick that does struggle to make sense to the less than initiated.

Sure, I saw Captain Marvel as well as all the MCU theatrical releases, but I don’t stream so I never saw any of those TV series. Again, I didn’t think this much impacted my enjoyment of the Doctor Strange movie, but Marvels provides a more complicated kettle of fish.

I won’t say it becomes incomprehensible to those of us without the requisite exposure to the TV shows, as the filmmakers kinda sorta bring us up to speed. However, more than with Madness, I couldn’t help but feel I missed out on a lot of backstory during Marvels that would’ve allowed me to understand it better.

As such, a fan unfamiliar with all those TV series will probably find it a bit difficult to really engage with Marvels - at least on first viewing. When I saw the film theatrically in November 2023, my moderate confusion about some characters/situations meant I remained a bit detached.

Now on second screening, I can better judge Marvels on its own merits. Does this greater familiarity allow me to like it better this time?

Yeah, though I didn’t dislike Marvels on the big screen. I found it to become a mixed bag, one that I felt worked okay but that didn’t do much for me.

Given the way that initial viewing “educated” me, this second time allows me to better enjoy the story without the need to incessantly attempt to connect all the links I didn’t get. When seen in this manner, I think Marvels fares better.

Though not exceptionally well, though, as I’d still view it as second-tier MCU. As noted, I really liked Captain Marvel, and my hopes the follow-up would live up to its thrills don’t come true.

Part of the issue stems from running time. The MCU flicks tend to go long, perhaps due to the studio’s apparent need to make everything seem as “epic” as Endgame.

Of the 10 post-Endgame MCU movies prior to Marvels, the shortest still went for 119 minutes. The longest lasted 161 minutes.

At 105 minutes, Marvels cuts substantially shorter than any of the 10 MCU flicks mentioned. On the surface, I should view this as a positive, as it should come as a relief that we finally get a Marvel film that doesn’t feel the need to pretend it’s Lawrence of Arabia.

However, given all its characters and situations, Marvels brings a tale that could’ve really used more real estate. The film feels like someone ordered the filmmakers to cram the narrative into 105 minutes or else.

As a result, Marvels charges through its tale with alacrity and it loses nuance along the way. Another 10 to 15 minutes could’ve added some depth and not made the end result feel like a longer movie brutally chopped down to a shorter length.

Despite this issue, Marvels becomes an enjoyable ride. The three main heroes offer contrasts that enable their interactions to provide entertainment.

Marvels also tosses out plenty of action, and most of these scenarios kick into gear. While added character/narrative exposition might make these a little more impactful, they still seem creative and exciting.

Ultimately, Marvels winds up as middle-tier MCU. It doesn’t excel but it brings a lively adventure that deserved a better box office fate.

Footnote: do you need me to tell you to stick around for extra footage during/after the end credits? You shouldn’t, but I will anyway, though I’ll add that the bit after the text finishes offers just a cute soundbite and nothing more or consequential.


The Disc Grades: Picture A-/ Audio A-/ Bonus B-

The Marvels appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The movie looked great.

Sharpness always felt distinctive and tight, without any issues connected to a lack of definition. The film consistently felt accurate.

The image lacked jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also remained absent.

While we found some of the standard teal and amber, the palette expanded into purples, blues, and reds. The disc replicated the colors as intended, and HDR added impact to the hues.

Blacks seemed dark and dense, and shadows seemed smooth and clear. HDR gave whites and contrast extra oomph. This became a satisfying reproduction of the image.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the movie’s Dolby Atmos audio added great dimensionality to the effort. With many action scenes, the mix used the various channels to create a lively, vivid soundscape.

This meant various vehicles and the heroes zipped around the room in a smooth, convincing manner, while other aspects of battles and mayhem brought out well-placed material that blended together in a nicely integrated way. The soundfield meshed together to deliver a well-rounded impression.

Audio quality also impressed, with speech that seemed natural and concise. Music appeared vivid and full, with dynamic tones.

Effects fared best of all, as those elements seemed accurate and tight, with crisp highs and deep lows. As I expect from a movie of this sort, the soundtrack excelled.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? The Atmos mix added a little involvement compared to its counterpart but both worked well.

I also thought the 4K’s visuals showed a bit more range and definition versus the Blu-ray, but it didn’t blow away that disc. Still, I preferred the 4K.

As we go to extras, we launch with an audio commentary from director Nia DaCosta and visual effects supervisor Tara DeMarco. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, wardrobe, sets and locations, effects and visual design, music, photography, and related domains.

Expect a competent but not stellar commentary, partly because it leans toward happy talk. While we find a good number of insights, the level of self-praise becomes a bit of a drag on the track, and this trend becomes even more dominant in the movie’s third act.

The remaining extras all appear on the included Blu-ray copy, and Entangled spans 10 minutes, 57 seconds. It offers info from DaCosta, DeMarco, executive producer Mary Livanos, writers Elissa Karasik and Megan McDonnell, set decorator Jille Azis, supervising art director Ben Collins, ILM VFX supervisor Pietro Ponti, director of photography Sean Bobbitt, special makeup effects designer David White, costume designer Lindsey Pugh, HOD costume EFX Jim McKeown, 2nd unit director Peng Zhang and actors Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Mohan Kapur, Zenobia Shroff, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, and Saagar Shaikh.

“Entangled” looks at story/characters, connections to the wider MCU, cast and performances, sets/production design, makeup, costumes and various effects. We get a mix of insights along with a fair amount of fluff.

The Production Diaries occupy five minutes, 30 seconds. We find notes from DaCosta, Vellani, Larson, Parris, Ashton, Pugh, White, Azis, and stunt coordinator Jo McLaren.

As implied by the total, we get a lot of footage from the set along with bubbly thoughts from the participants. I like the glimpses of the shoot but the remarks add little.

Four Deleted Scenes fill a total of five minutes, 48 seconds. We see “Captain-In-Residence” (2:23), “It’s Under Control” (1:29), “Space Yoga” (0:48) and “The Chase” (1:08).

“Residence” offers a fun interaction between Ms. Marvel and Valkyrie that probably didn’t need to end up in the final cut but nonetheless entertains. “Control” delivers a little added exposition.

“Yoga” gives us a bit of comedy but nothing necessary in terms of plot, while “Chase” just pads some action beats. “Residence” becomes the best of the bunch, but all seem enjoyable.

A Gag Reel runs one minute, 59 seconds. Most of it shows the usual goofs/giggles, but some improv lines from Samuel L. Jackson add mirth.

Because it flopped at the box office, The Marvels seems destined to suffer from a poor reputation among its MCU peers. Taken on its own merits, though, it offers a pretty enjoyable adventure, even if it doesn’t compete with the best superhero flicks. The 4K UHD boasts excellent picture and audio along with a mediocre mix of bonus materials. Though not a classic, Marvels delivers an enjoyable ride.

To rate this film visit the prior review of THE MARVELS

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Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main