All-Star Superman 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

All-Star Superman 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Solar flair.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 21, 2023

Two years after their excellent 10th Anniversary 4K treatment of Batman: Year One, Warner Bros. resurrects the fan-favorite DCAU film All-Star Superman in a new UHD package that aims to replace the 2011 Blu-ray. Armed with a new upscaled 2160p/HDR transfer and two new short retrospective featurettes, it's a welcome upgrade for one of The Man of Steel's greatest animated adventures: a solid adaptation of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's celebrated 12-issue limited series that runs viewers through an emotional roller-coaster in just 77 short minutes.

For a synopsis and appreciation of the main feature, please see Kenneth Brown's review of the 2011 Blu-ray. I'm in total agreement about the film's numerous merits, including its excellent visual design and judicious editing of the original comics, a feat accomplished by late screenwriter Dwayne McDuffie (who tragically died before the film's 2011 release) that was met with sincere approval and admiration by Grant Morrison himself. I'll add one small caveat for newer audiences, though: like its source material, All-Star Superman features a moderately deep supporting roster of somewhat lesser-known Silver Age characters and events that are introduced with little to no context, so it helps to have at least some familiarity with Superman lore. This is most certainly a film by fans for fans.

All-Star Superman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These screenshots are sourced directly from the included Blu-ray, which is identical to the 2011 Blu-ray.

Much like their treatment of Batman: Year One, Warner Bros.' 4K treatment of All-Star Superman provides a uniformly good "foundation upgrade" in the form of a brand-new 2160p/HDR transfer of the original 2K elements. This upscaled presentation obviously doesn't wring any noticeable fine detail or even much added clarity out of the source material... and if it does, it's more likely due to a tangible boost in real estate afforded by the dual-layered 4K disc (66GB), which easily outpaces the meager single-layered Blu-ray (25GB). Due to these obvious encoding improvements, a number of anomalies that reviewer Kenneth Brown picked out in his linked review -- including artifacts, banding, pixellation, and aliasing -- are either lessened or eliminated completely, although it's important to remember that some of these items are likely baked into the source material. Yet the clearly more thick, rich, and stable appearance of this 4K transfer's new and improved foundation makes it an instant winner in direct comparison, even though new viewers likely won't consider it a real knockout unless they pop in the Blu-ray out of morbid curiosity. (I've retroactively downgraded the included 1080p disc to a more fitting 3/5, which feels appropriate by today's stricter standards.)

Other improvements are gained by the new HDR grade, which obviously improves overall contrast balance, black levels, and distinct color saturation. Bold primaries, such as Superman and Lois Lane's coordinated costumes and the glowing yellow rays of the sun, stand out strongly without bleeding, while its more muted and gradient backgrounds likewise enjoy a richer and subtly varied appearance that look much smoother than their more processed 1080p counterparts. Only a few key moments benefit noticeably from the black/white boost of local dimming, such as any scenes in outer space and the creeping darkness of Lex's secret passage underneath his prison cell. These benefit more strongly due to the 2160p transfer's better black levels, which work in tandem with adjacent colors to provide better definition between objects that, in the lesser 1080p presentation, weren't quite as easy to "read". So while the upscaled roots and overall visual design of All-Star Superman mean that it's never going to soar head-and-shoulders above a well-authored Blu-ray, the benefits of this new 4K presentation certainly justify Warner Bros.' continued efforts to bring some of their earlier animated films into the next visual generation. The Dark Knight Returns next, pretty please?

All-Star Superman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The new 4K seems utilizes the same DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track as the 2011 Blu-ray. I found it to be an engaging listen but with some room for improvement -- a few moments, such as the scene where an escape hatch is blown with extreme force, don't register as strongly as they should. A new Atmos remix or even a 7.1 option would have great to have alongside the original and would have made for a nice bonus to complement the new 2160p transfer.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature and most extras.

All-Star Superman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc set ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with attractive (and slightly re-tooled) cover artwork, a matching metallic slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. Two brand-new retrospective featurettes are present on the 4K disc, with many of the 2011 Blu-ray's great vintage bonus features helpfully included on both discs.

NEW EXTRAS (4K DISC ONLY)

• An All-Star Adaptation (7:57) - Director Sam Liu, composer Christopher Drake, producer Bruce Timm, and character designer Dusty Abell (recorded separately) speak about the challenges and rewards of adapting Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's original series into a 75-minute animated film, from picking and choosing what to keep -- an effort that was well-received by Morrison, which includes a clever twist near the end -- to adapting Quitely's particular art style, as well as creating a suitable score and other fundamentals.

• An All-Star Salute to the Silver Age (7:16) - The same four participants return for a more general tribute to the campy charm established in Silver Age-era Superman comics, many of which were established or continued under the direction of editor Mort Weisinger from 1958 until his retirement in 1970. This era included some of the key supporting characters and various elements used in All-Star Superman's original story.

RETURNING EXTRAS (4K AND BLU-RAY DISCS)

• Audio Commentary - Featuring producer Bruce Timm and original writer Grant Morrison.

• The Creative Flow: Incubating the Idea with Grant Morrison

• All-Star Superman #1 Digital Comic

• Superman Now

RETURNING EXTRAS (BLU-RAY DISC ONLY)

• Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Sneak Peek

• Bruce Timm's Picks

• Trailers and Sneak Peeks

All-Star Superman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sam Liu's All-Star Superman is a solid adaptation of celebrated source material and an early standout among Warner Bros.' DC animated movies. It's a true "total package" production with very good animation, solid voice work, and of course a great story and direction to back it up. WB revisits this 2011 film with this new 4K combo pack that advances upon the original Blu-ray with a new 2160p/HDR transfer and two new retrospective featurettes. It's more than worth a purchase for those who haven't bought it on home video yet, but only die-hard fans may want to upgrade.