Aquaman (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

It was only a matter of time I suppose, but here we are and low and behold we unbelievably, finally have an Aquaman movie.  The masterful James Wan pulled off the what was almost deemed the impossible.  He defied the odds and marvelously brought to the big screen an absurd superhero project, which has been in development hell since 2004.  That’s right we finally get the Aquaman!  Now I have never been that big on the character like most hardcore DC Comics fans, but Wan has my full attention now.  The character of Aquaman for me amounted to very little in both Batman v. Superman and Justice League.  However, here he finally has a spotlight shining brightly upon him and actor Jason Momoa and his larger-than-life charisma seized the opportunity.  As a result I was made not only a fan of Aquaman, but ultimately a believer in this property.

Film 

If you’re keeping count as I always like to say, you already know then that Aquaman is the sixth installment in the DCEU movie universe, but the third film the title character has appeared in.  James Wan directs from a screenplay written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall, from a story by Geoff Johns, Wan and Beall.  In addition to our titular hero Aquaman stars Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nicole Kidman.  In Aquaman, Arthur Curry (Momoa) must reluctantly fulfill his destiny by leading the people of Atlantis against the tyranny that threatens to invade the surface world.  It may or may not involve thwarting off evil pirates, but also a tyrannical brother too.  For continuity sake our adventure here takes place after the events in Justice League.  There’s a lot more to this, but I want to err on the side of caution to avoid spoiler territories, which it certainly can lead to.

There were many doubters out there including myself that thought this superhero film couldn’t be pulled off successfully, but mark my words James Wan delivers here!  It’s reminiscent of a big budget, summer action movie I grew up on as a kid.  Picture the serial adventures of an old school Indiana Jones flick by land, air and now by sea!  Sure it’s goofy, dumbed down and predictable, but the fun, production value and spectacle of it all outweigh all the cons you can possibly point out here.  It’s really a technical “marvel.”  I’m not always one for overblown war sequences, but there’s something really “marvelous” about seeing thousands and thousands of shark back riding underwater warriors attacking each other.  The CG will blow your mind!  Then there’s the soundtrack and score…

Let me just say this with all sincerity and get it off my chest.  You can pretty much drop Toto’s “Africa” into anything and I’ll be an instant fan of it.  Rupert Gregson-Williams’ score is fun, upbeat and almost Oblivion-like at times, but its Pitbull’s rap remake of “Africa,” titled “Ocean to Ocean” here, that literally sealed the deal for me.  Aquaman may have started off a tad slow and cliche, but once we cross this globe trotting threshold of traveling to the Sahara Desert it was all highs from there on out.  And it all started with you guessed it this song.  This version features original verses by Pitbull alongside Rhea covering the original’s iconic “I bless the rains” lyrics.

Now we already covered some of the brilliant VFX and insane action sequences on display throughout, but let’s be honest with ourselves.  Aquaman would not exist without the wild charisma, long locks and chiseled body of Jason Momoa.  He brings the comic book hero to life and suddenly makes being a fan of Aquaman a cool thing instead of traditionally taboo.  He even rocks that iconic orange and green suit.  Jason was born to wear this orange/green armor and to quote the Aquaman himself he looks “Bad@$$”!  So for those of you who were not completely sold on his green suit from the previous two films he appeared in you now have a reason to rejoice.  It’s both iconic looking and boss worthy!  In other words he’s now the worthy heir to the Atlantean throne.  Amber Heard’s wild red haired Mera ain’t too shabby either.  Let’s be honest too.  Amber’s great in everything she does, albeit with the exception being her personal choices in men.

At the end of the day Aquaman was a fun romp for me.  However, that’s not to say it’s flawless.  It’s far from it.  There are initial pacing and narrative issues to contend with, but like I said up above once Pitbull’s song plays on the plane it’s all soaring from there.  Wan’s use of CGI throughout is near masterful and I never said that before in regards to VFX.  Usually practical is always better, but when you have subject matter as lunatic as this there’s no other way to achieve these spectacles.  This Aquaman could not have been made in 2004.  It would have looked deplorable.  2018’s VFX is a game changer.  Wan has proved himself more than capable in the world of horror and now with two HUGE action films under his belt is there any stopping this guy?  There’s no doubt about it he deserves a much needed break after this one, but you can tell the guy put every drop of sweat and energy into making Aquaman not only a labor of love, but a bonafide fun hit within the DCEU franchise of flicks.  It’s BIG, WET and DELICIOUS.  Best of all it looks like we have a sequel incoming.  Hell yeah!

FYI…THIS IS THE CLOSEST YOU’RE GOING TO GET TO THE WAKANDA OF THE DCEU…THE 7 KINGDOMS…THE TECH…THE OCEANIC BEAUTY…

Video 

The below video score and related critique of things here are based solely upon my viewing of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Warner Bros’ Aquaman.

• Encoding: HEVC / H.265
• Resolution: 4K (2160p)
• Dolby Vision: Yes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 & 1.78:1
• Clarity/Detail: Despite the image here being a 2K DI I found this 4K presentation to be the best one yet of 2019. I couldn’t wait to tell all my friends about it. Even better the IMAX sequences are jaw dropping wow factors throughout. I’m pleased to report too that the majority of the film is in IMAX aspect ration and when it switches back to letterbox you severely feel it. However, that still doesn’t detract from how finely chiseled this 4K disc image is. I just wanted to cry when we washed up on shore with Aquaman and Mera and they met up with a long lost character near film’s end. The image was so impeccable and incredible that I dared to compare it to last year’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Every imperfection and perfection on an actor was clearly visible from pores and moles to acne and stubble. However, it’s the textures throughout that are paramount here. I’m talking about you wardrobe, you leather couch, rocks, sand and so much more. I suppose some of the VFX in backgrounds is a bit soft, but if you take the time to notice that, then you’re not watching the movie itself with much attention. Just enjoy the amaze balls visuals of this one. That’s an order!
• Depth: Depth in the overall image is in abundance here whether you’re in a tightly constrained submarine or enjoying the breathtaking landscapes, cliffs, bodies of water, etc. Even the VFX environments are rich with immersion to make you feel like you’re actually in the middle of the action here and not just watching a flat palette.
• Black Levels: The black levels are all natural and dark looking throughout. I’ll tell you what looks amazing though are the nighttime sequences thanks in part to the exceptional HDR infused throughout.
• Color Reproduction: I used this phrase up above before, but I can’t help using it again. The colors throughout here is amaze balls, perfection at its finest.
• Flesh Tones: The skin tones all look natural, pleasing and authentic throughout, especially those of Amber Heard (I’m just sayin’).
• Noise/Artifacts: I have zero complaints here so I’m moving along to the equally exceptional coverage of the audio surround track.

Audio 

Like I mentioned up above in the video section, the below audio score and critical comments of such are based solely upon my viewing of Warner Bros’ 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Aquaman.  I do want you to know that both the 4K UHD Disc and Blu-ray one comes armed with a Dolby Atmos surround track. Just an FYI as I mentioned in previous Warner Bros. 4K releases you must select the Dolby Atmos track from the main menu. It originally defaults to a DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix.

• Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English 5.1 DTS_HD Master Audio, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, French (Quebec) Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish (Castilian & Latin) Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Dynamics: The dynamics thrill you to no end here. From the bombastic underwater battles to the heartfelt love story and budding romance of it all absolutely nothing gets lost in the shuffle here. That goes for every spoken word to every water infused laser blast or gauntlet punch. There’s a sense of depth and priority to everything that goes down here. If I had only one minor complaint, it would be the following. When it comes to the “Africa” soundtrack moment for some reason it sounds a bit low in the mix compared to what I remember in the theater. Besides that everything is spot on with the utmost of directionality, oomph and immersion.
• Height: Since this is all about immersion underwater that’s probably all I need to say about the use of Atmos here, but I’ll embellish more. Other moments include gunshots above, score, explosions, seagulls, Aquaman hitting the submarine from underneath and one of my favorites, hearing Mera run overhead on the rooftop while the juggernaut guard runs below her during the rooftop chase sequence.
• Low Frequency Extension: Let the bass go boom! And it does here. Wind, score, the hefty weight of water, action sequences, pounding glass, gunshots, explosions and so much more give your subwoofer channel(s) a heavyweight workout throughout here. There’s a lot of action sequences and wartime moments so I’m pretty sure you know what kind of extra oomph to expect from a Warner Bros. DCEU Dolby Atmos surround track.
• Surround Sound Presentation: Equally impressive is the immersion throughout here thanks to the surrounds and rears feeding you endless lightning bolts, storms, score, voices, blasts, underwater moments and so much more.
• Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue levels are all clear and intelligible throughout. Most noteworthy is Jason’s loud narration over the film’s tender, bookend opening and ending sequences.

Extras 

This 4K Ultra HD disc release of Aquaman includes the theatrical version of the movie in 4K on the UHD disc, as well as in 1080p HD on the included Blu-ray. I’m sorry to say folks but there’s no audio commentary and all of the supplemental materials are only found on the Blu-ray Disc or digitally. However, that’s okay because the content of the extras is amazing to intake. The inspiration of James Wan’s filmmaking here is infectious while watching all of these. There’s actually quite an abundant of material to get through here. In addition you’ll also find the Digital Copy code good for the film in Movies Anywhere. So without further ado lets take a closer look at the extras housed on the Blu-ray Disc. Thankfully they all have a somewhat hearty run time and not just under 5 minute long EPKs we’re all so used to. Enjoy!

• Going Deep Into the World of Aquaman (HD, 19:28) – This extra is all about how James Wan brought the unbelievable world of Aquaman to life here complete with cast and crew thoughts and whatnot. His mission was to make the laughable hero one that was cool. It all started off with showing people what Aquaman’s seahorse would look like and then from there the sky was the limit. This extra though is so much more as we walk through the many incredible physical sets created, the shooting days and even the premiere of the film. It was very inspiring and amazing to witness all of this. It makes you appreciate the film so much more.
• Becoming Aquaman (HD, 13:04) – This one is all about Jason Momoa becoming the King of the Seven Seas complete with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews throughout here. There’s even a big James Wan hug to be found here. What’s fascinating about this extra is I feel closer to Jason after watching it and discovering how big of a family guy he really is. I feel like underneath the energy he’s really a kind soul. They even throw a birthday celebration surprise for him on set.
• James Wan: World Builder (HD, 7:43) – This one goes even deeper into the world Wan created here complete with challenges of both performances and visual effects. You can tell this was truly a labor of love for James Wan as he got to create this world from scratch. This one also touches upon how they made the hair flow underwater. Brilliant stuff!
• Aqua-Tech (HD, 5:43) – The innovation and technology on display throughout this movie is simply amazing and this extra goes deeper into the filmmaking tools James Wan used to push the boundaries and tell the tale no one thought possible. He obviously did not settle for second best as shown and told here.
• Atlantis Warfare (HD, 4:40) – This one is all about the breathtaking VFX and stunts utilized to create the epic all out war finale. James Wan kind of calls it a space fight under water. The property master comments how amazing it was creating something that has never been done before and the physics involved.
• The Dark Depths of Black Manta (HD, 6:39) – This one explores the big screen debut of one of Aquaman’s greatest foes, Black Manta. Obviously Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has something to say here coupled with comic book history on the villain. He also says we haven’t seen the last of Black Manta onscreen. Yahya shows us in detail here every aspect of the upgraded suit he dons in the film.
• Heroines of Atlantis (HD, 5:32) – This one is obviously all about the women of the film as Kidman and Heard discuss the making of the film. How can you not love these two? Rhetorical question! It was interesting to learn James Wan always wanted Kidman in this role he chose and all the original concept art was of her face before she was even hired on. That’s ballsy!
• Villaneous Training (HD, 6:22) – The villains of the show, Orm (Wilson) and Abdul-Marteen II (Black Manta), gives us a first-hand look at what it’s like to square off against Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. It was funny to learn how both gentlemen instantly wanted to bulk up and workout to compare with Jason’s physique.
• Kingdoms of the Seven Seas (HD, 6:59) – Dolph Lundgren shows us around here and hosts this tour of Atlantis following the destruction of the above ground kingdom and the aftermath…the seven distinct undersea regions. It’s a nice quick recap and I love what Wan did with the creatures of The Trench. I think the highlight here is seeing Xebel since its not shown in the film.
• Creating Undersea Creatures (HD, 7:15) – This one is all about the artists who created the memorable and diverse creatures of the deep in Aquaman. This extra covers not only the creatures from the Seven Kingdoms, but also the ones they ride too. The best point made was how Wan embraced the joke of Aquaman riding a seahorse in comics and didn’t shy away from making it cool onscreen.
• A Match Made in Atlantis (HD, 3:12) – The lucky Momoa and his red hot Heard sound off on their chemistry both onscreen and offscreen complete with behind-the-scenes footage and bloopers. I love how Jason calls it a Han Solo and Leia kind of relationship. Nice!
• Scene Study Breakdowns (HD) – This extra features three equally exciting key scenes: Submarine Attack (2:45), Showdown in Sicily (3:52) and The Trench (3:35) with an option to Play All too. All I can say is wow! James really knocked it out of the park here and I can’t wait for The Trench movie too.
• Exclusive Sneak Peek of Shazam! (HD, 3:27) – Here we have duh a three minute sneak preview of Shazam, the upcoming live action feature film starring Zachary Levi as the DC Super Hero. The film will be released in theaters next month on April 5th. Can’t wait!

Summary 

I just can’t give you enough reasons why Aquaman is a MUST-SEE, MUST-OWN 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release for all of us.  The DCEU is a very cherished franchise for me and this title is no exception to that rule. Aquaman hits the 4K format with the 4K presentation to beat thus far this year. I can’t do justice in words explaining how amaze balls it looks and sounds here. You’re just going to have to take my word for it and experience the VFX masterpiece yourself. On top of all this you actually get some nice hearty extras from Warner Bros. Come to think of it they’re usually really generous with these DCEU titles anyway. So up, up and away! Aquaman is here to stay! Enjoy Wakanda in the water today!

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DISCLAIMER: This 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review was judged and graded using the following 4K certified Ultra HD Premium television set found here and player here.  Make sure to check out all our 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews archived here.

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Aquaman

Swims, Punches and Kicks Onto 

4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

March 26th

PRE-ORDER NOW!

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