The Marvels (UHD Blu-ray Review)
Plagued by the great Marvel franchise fatigue of 2023, The Marvels failed to make waves at the box office. Led by a predominantly female team of actresses, writers, and director, the film may be something worth revisiting at home. The Marvels will do just that on February 13th, with a Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray release. You can read my thoughts about the film, the presentation and whether my stance is shared by the majority. Be sure to click the cover art images at the end to get yourself a copy of the latest Marvel film.
Film 
Higher. Further. Faster. Together! Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau and Ms. Marvel assemble in this epic action-packed cosmic adventure. With the help of Nick Fury (and Carol’s pet Flerken, Goose!), they must band together to take on the powerful Dar-Benn, new leader of the Kree.
The Marvels begins following the events of Captain Marvel, Avengers:Endgame and the limited series Ms. Marvel. Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), is in deep space. She is busy working and not as concerned with everything around her including family and friends. Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) is now an astronaut for S.A.B.E.R. As the daughter of Danvers’ friend Maria, she has history with Captain Marvel and some slight animosity. On earth, Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) is still reeling from her experiences saving New Jersey. Her parents still just want her to focus on her schooling.
Still reeling from Danvers’ destroying of The Supreme Intelligence, The Kree and their leader Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), set forth a plan to take elements from any and all planets they can to restore Hala to its original power. Powered by a bangle that harnesses the powers of other superheroes, Dar-Benn gets into battles throughout the galaxy with our 3 heroines, and thrusts Nick Fury and his crew AND Kamala’s family into the fight. The kicker is that our three heroines also are able to teleport and switch spaces with one another. Their powers all interconnect to that bangle, and did I mention that Kamala has that same bangle? Will The Marvels survive and save all humanity, or will the fate of the other planets be in the hands of Dar-Benn?
There is something that I found very refreshing in The Marvels: its simplicity. The film is uncomplicated and easy. This is a definite compliment. Uncluttered and allowed to just flow free and be quick, funny and relatively easy to follow, you can just flow with the breeze. The action is smart and fast. The comedy ebbs and flows with some hitting and others falling flat, as is typical of most recent action movies with comedy in them. Overall, the simplicity of the story makes it more of a joy to watch in my eyes.
Where do I stand after watching and reading the critical response to The Marvels? I am sort of confused as to the negative responses. I am slightly confused by the tepid box office response. I am also a little disappointed by critics dismissing the film. I found myself fully engaged and wondering throughout what all the hate was about. The film is not an epic by any means, and that’s OK. The film is female dominated, so I know that notches some negative points because of the rampant masculinity demand for these films. Yawn. I see this as a good steppingstone into better quality Marvel films, and a great entry for anyone who likes to root for the underdog in these kinds of stories.
Now one more thought: Do I think we need more Marvel content anytime soon? Not really. I think everyone – audiences, critics, writers, directors, cast and crew deserve a break. We are truly fatigued, and while I find this entry to be a strong one, I am not in a hurry to get to another film or show.
Video
NOTE: Stills are provided for promotional use only and are not from the 4K or HD Blu-rays
Encoding: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 2160p
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
HDR: HDR10
Layers: BD-66
Clarity/Detail: The Marvels comes home with a tack-sharp beautifully rendered HDR10 transfer. The film is colorful, 4K crisp and full of CGI detail. The effects work here isn’t cartoonish thankfully and moments of softness are nowhere to be found. Taking trips to the various planets and in deep space itself we see a lot of different colors and textures on display, all given a nice look with no complaint points anywhere to be seen.
Depth: It’s eye-catching to see portions of this film. Depth is most at bay in outdoor scenes and while many of these are clearly CG, nothing looks at a loss. Background and foreground are shown equal love and it’s clear to see that even if the film garners hate, the production team and crew did their work with much care.
Black Levels: Deep space looks incredible in every scene we see it in. Nothing crushes and even in more bright environments black levels are wonderful.
Color Reproduction: We love to see a good color reproduction and The Marvels does just that. Whether it’s our main characters’ clothing or suits, fireballs blasting or the sun coming and going, everything is rich in color and color tone.
Flesh Tones: Flesh tones real and otherwise look great. Even the computerized people or creatures get their just representation.
Noise/Artifacts: None
Audio
Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, Japanese Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, French (Canadian) Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Japanese, Spanish
Dynamics: It appears that gone are the days of Disney At-Mouse. Thankfully, we are treated to a busy albeit static Atmos mix. The channels remain active throughout without the need of a huge volume bump. There is heft in the lower frequencies and nice crisp highs too!
Height: The height channels complement actions scenes well with the lower surrounds and things really come together above, especially when we have anyone or anything flying.
Low-Frequency Extension: The music, the ships, the explosions, the punches… Everything gets some love from the sub! The one pop tune included here Missy Elliot and Skrillex’s Ratata sounds fantastic too!
Surround Sound Presentation: Surrounds are active throughout and give nice ambience or even louder sound effects the glow! Nothing sounds out of place surrounding us.
Dialogue Reproduction: Thankfully, the dialogue is clean and clear, and we don’t have to adjust the volume to hear the characters talk.
Extras
Special features for The Marvels are slim but enjoyable – They come on the included Blu-ray and are all housed in a cute slipcover that mimes the box artwork. A Steelbook edition is available from Walmart.
- Entangled (10:57) is a good enough EPK-style making-of with cast and crew interviews. As she does in the film, Iman Vellani takes the cake in this mini-doc.
- Production Diaries (5:30) are far too short for the title. I wish there were more entries.
- Gag Reel (2:00) is short, but has a few laughs and gaffs along the way.
- Deleted Scenes (5:48 total) presents a few short scenes cut for time.
- Audio Commentary with Nia DaCosta and Tara DeMarco
Summary
The Marvels may not be everybody’s cup of tea, and that’s OK. As with all films, the content is subjective, and anyone can love or hate the film or show or album. For me, this is a good film, and Disney’s presentation is topflight. The audio and video are both excellent and this UHD Blu-ray is worth a pickup if you’re a fan of the film, trying to give it another shot or are a Marvel completist.
