Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 4K Blu-ray Review
By Chris Heinonen on
Audio Quality
Video Quality
Overall
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Summary
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the iconic mask. As Kingpin uses a supercollider beneath Brooklyn to try to bring his family back, Spider-Man, in many forms, must try to stop him and prevent the universe from falling apart.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Movie Review
Going into Spider-Man in theaters, I was expecting a great film based on reviews, but they sold it short. My favorite film of 2018, the level of creativity and wonder that fills the whole film is amazing to watch. I enjoyed it more than my kids did because the level of depth to the story and characters is fantastic, and there are plenty of jokes that parents are more likely than kids to enjoy. They did enjoy it, but having now watched it twice on disc at home in just four days, I can say they didn’t enjoy it as much as I did. A fantastic film that you should pick up today and enjoy.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Technical Review
Though no details are available, it’s likely that Spider-Man uses a 2K digital intermediate because it is animated and no one renders animation at 4K resolution right now. The transfer also doesn’t have a Dolby Vision layer, though in the theater it was shown in Dolby Cinema. And that is where the negatives end on this transfer. It is effectively perfect, showing every pixel of resolution that the source contains with no flaws that I could see. There are a couple of cases where I thought I might have seen banding, but upon looking again it was just how the animation was designed to look. HDR is used very well, especially in the nighttime scenes with heavy Manhattan traffic headlights providing great specular details on the screen.
As good as the image is, the soundtrack might be better. From the opening notes, the subwoofer gets a workout and the dynamic range is absolutely huge. Dolby Atmos is used extensively to put you into the middle of the action and voices are overall very easy to understand. Surround channels are used to their full effect, and there isn’t anything in this soundtrack that I can complain about at all. If anything, having the volume set to -20 from reference was too loud and it was a complete reversal of some of the soundtrack lacking dynamics from some other studios recently. Completely fantastic for demoing your theater with.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Special Features
- We Are Spider-Man: Exploring and celebrating one of the key themes of the film, We Are Spider-Man takes a deep dive into the diversity of the characters and aspirational core that any person from any gender or cultural background can wear the mask.
- Spider-Verse: A New Dimension: With a stunning visual style and state of the art animation designed to take the viewer into the pages of a comic, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is not only a love letter to comic books but a groundbreaking take on the super hero genre. Hear from the artists and filmmakers who pushed the boundaries of the artform as they discuss their journey.
- The Ultimate Comics Cast: Enjoy this showcase of all of the fan favorite characters featured in the Spider-Verse and the spectacular cast who were chosen to bring them to life.
- A Tribute to Stan Lee & Steve Ditko: Celebrate the amazing legacy and powerful spirit of the creators of Spider-Man.
- The Spider-Verse Super-Fan Easter Egg Challenge: The Spider-Verse is loaded with Easter Eggs, from cameos to comics references. Fans are challenged to find them all!
- Designing Cinematic Comics Characters: A breakdown of all aspects of the character design including costume, movement in animation, and distinct powers for each character.
- Heroes & Hams: Meet the amazing Spider-people of the Spider-Verse.
- Scorpions and Scoundrels: Explore the classic villains who wreak havoc on the Spider-Verse.
- Alternate Universe Mode: In this all-new viewing experience, discover alternate scenes, plotlines, characters, and more with the filmmakers as your guide.
- 2 Lyric Videos
- “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee
- “Familia” by Nicki Minaj & Anuel AA (feat. Bantu)
- All-New Original Short “Spider-Ham: Caught In a Ham” It’s another normal day for Peter Porker, a.k.a. the Spectacular Spider-Ham, fighting bad guys and loving hot dogs, until a mysterious portal starts messing with the very fabric of his cartoon reality.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Review System
Sony A1E OLED, Vizio PQ LCD, Panasonic UB820 UltraHD Blu-ray Player, KEF Ci5160RL-THX Fronts, Ci3160RL-THX Center, 2x Ci200RR-THX Surrounds, 4x CI200RR-THX Atmos Speakers, Anthem MRX 1120 Receiver, SVS PB-3000 subwoofer.
Pros
An amazing movie full of creativity and a great story, reference class image and soundtrack.
Cons
Wish it was Dolby Vision.
Summary
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a flat-out fantastic movie that looks and sounds as good as possible on 4K Blu-ray. I can't say enough positive things about it and you should own it.
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