Why So Blu?

Hawkeye: The Complete Miniseries (4K UHD Blu-ray Steelbook Review)

Confession Time:  I was fearing a little bit of series fatigue after watching two Star Wars series back-to-back.  Delving into Hawkeye: The Complete Miniseries, I was pleasantly surprised by the developments.  Imperfect but charming and a whole lot of fun, I was happy to move from episode to episode.  Read more about the team of Barton and Bishop and don’t forget, a paid link to get your own copy of Hawkeye is at the end of the review!

Season:

Hawkeye, is a delightful addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), offering a refreshing blend of grounded storytelling, holiday charm, and rich character development. It centers on Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) as they navigate a holiday season filled with danger, humor, and heart.

Jeremy Renner brings a grizzled humanity to Clint Barton, portraying him as a weary hero dealing with past trauma and the challenges of balancing family life. Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop is the perfect counterpoint, embodying youthful enthusiasm and idealism. Their mentor-protégé relationship drives the series and is a joy to watch, with their chemistry capturing both humor and heartfelt moments.

Unlike many MCU projects, Hawkeye embraces a street-level narrative that feels intimate and personal. The stakes, while significant, are more grounded, focusing on Clint’s efforts to return to his family for Christmas and Kate’s journey to prove herself as a hero. The smaller scale allows for deeper character exploration. The series strikes a balance between thrilling action sequences and lighthearted humor. The incorporation of trick arrows, including absurd yet effective designs, adds a unique flair to the fight scenes. The Tracksuit Mafia provides comedic relief with their over-the-top antics, making them memorable despite being less formidable antagonists.

Set during the holiday season, *Hawkeye* uses its Christmas backdrop effectively, blending festive visuals with the story’s themes of redemption, family, and legacy. This adds warmth and charm to the series, making it a unique entry in the MCU. Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez (Echo) is a standout addition, bringing depth and complexity to the character while setting the stage for her future series. Florence Pugh’s return as Yelena Belova injects energy and emotion, especially in her scenes with both Clint and Kate.

At six episodes, the series occasionally feels rushed, particularly in its resolution. Some subplots, such as the mystery surrounding Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton), could have benefited from more development. While Vincent D’Onofrio’s return as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin is a treat for fans, his portrayal feels slightly underutilized. The Tracksuit Mafia, though entertaining, lacks the menace to make them truly compelling adversaries.

Hawkeye is a heartwarming, action-packed series that celebrates the legacy of its titular Avenger while introducing a worthy successor in Kate Bishop. It shines as a character-driven narrative within the MCU, offering fans a blend of humor, action, and heartfelt moments. While it has minor flaws in pacing and villain development, its charm, performances, and festive spirit make it a standout entry in Marvel’s Disney+ catalog. Hawkeye is Perfect for fans of grounded superhero tales and those seeking a holiday-themed adventure with a dash of Marvel magic.

Read about another Marvel series HERE

 

Video:

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1

Layers: BD-100 (3 Episodes per disc)

HDR: Dolby Vision

Clarity/Detail: Hawkeye: The Complete Miniseries comes to 4K UHD Blu-ray with a triple-layered 4K disc that boosts the clarity of the digital stream and makes the show sparkle! Even the Dolby Vision is better on disc. Set pieces indoors and outdoors are handled lovingly and the stability of the image on disc is much more stable.

Depth: A lot of Hawkeye takes advantage of it’s NYC locations, and revels in the grit of the city.  Taking the images of New York in during day and night shots, you see plenty of depth of field moments looking spot-on, with no flat imagery in the episodes.

Black Levels: Inky blacks look perfect throughout the episodes. Of note is the difference in comparing the streaming version to the disc, as blacks turn dark scenes into moments of talking or fighting blobs.

Color Reproduction: Color palettes for the show lean towards autumnal, with greens and browns dominating in some scenes.  A lot of the brighter colors come in quicker moments, especially in fight scenes and other moments of action.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones look just as expected, natural as can be.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio:

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles:  English SDH, Spanish, French

Dynamics: Disney+ series are available with Dolby Atmos, but those mixes always feel hobbled and not up to snuff.  Toggling between my 4K set and the Disney+ stream, I noticed better surround activity and bass response and an overall better listening experience on disc.  Compression will never be a good thing for video and audio quality and this mix is proof of that.

Height: Up top, superheroes battle, fire alarms and sprinklers blare, and action sequences present themselves in proper immersive fashion.

Low-Frequency Extension: Music, fight scenes, explosive moments and more give deep bass some good work throughout the series.

Surround Sound Presentation: Lower surrounds keep you in the series with ambience, city noise, passing traffic, and of course the ever-present superhero battles.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is reproduced perfectly.

Extras:

Hawkeye: The Complete Miniseries comes home on 4K UHD Blu-ray in the third wave of Disney’s 4K UHD Steelbooks for their Marvel and Star Wars series from Disney+.  As with the other releases that came with this wave, the artwork is gorgeous and the steelbooks are glossy. The release comes with 2 4K UHD Blu-ray discs and art cards inside.  No digital code or HD Blu-rays are included as has been the case with previous series releases.

 

BONUS FEATURES

• A Tale of Two Hawkeyes — Discover how the cast and crew extended the Hawkeye legacy, bringing together Clint Barton and new character Kate Bishop.
• Gag Reel — Take a look at some of the hilarious outtakes on set with the cast and crew of Hawkeye.
• Deleted Scenes
  • Follow the Trail — Young Kate leaves behind clues for a scavenger hunt.
  • At The Stake — Clint reluctantly celebrates with a group of fans in the city.
  • Burning of the Suit — Clint burns the Ronin suit.
  • Kate’s First Day at Work — Kate uses her awkward first day at work to her advantage.
  • Ice Cream — Little Maya finds out her dad can’t pick her up from practice.
  • Detour — Clint and Kate find an unmarked car in front of her apartment.
  • Friends? — Little Maya and Little Kazi meet for the first time when their fathers do business together.
  • You Never Miss — Clint’s relationship with his mom is revealed through childhood memories. Clint and his mom attempt to rob a convenience store, which ends up a disaster.
  • Moira Comes Home — Moira chases Clint and Kate out of her apartment.
  • Old Friend — Clint prepares a familiar weapon.
  • Sorry — Maya and Clint have a moment of understanding after a battle.
  • Until It’s Done — Eleanor takes a trip to have dinner. A shocking insight is revealed.
  • Boomerang — Clint and Kate gather supplies at a sporting goods store to build trick arrows.
• Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye — Peer behind the scenes of the show with Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, and the rest of the cast and crew.

Summary:

Hawkeye: The Complete Miniseries captures the sly humor and team chemistry that Marvel fans have come to love.  While the series is imperfect, with some moments dragging and some of the villains being a tad underwhelming, the show still delivers the goods.  Powered by the duo of Renner and Steinfeld, it’s easy to see this as a top tier Marvel series.  In its 4K UHD Blu-ray form, the show is also great watching at home!

Get your copy of Hawkeye: The Complete Miniseries HERE