Ant-Man 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Ant-Man 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Disney has released 2015's Marvel Cinematic Universe film 'Ant-Man' to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/HDR video and a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. No new extras are included, but the bundled Blu-ray, identical to that which released in 2015, carries over the legacy supplemental content. Note that the included Blu-ray is 2-D only; the 3-D disc has not been made available in this collection.

Ant-Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Like most of the Marvel movies Disney has recently reintroduced for the UHD format, there's a tangible increase in quality for Ant-Man, though the UHD is certainly more of a refinement and less a radical departure, more of a pleasing uptick and less a showstopper. The film was reportedly photographed at a resolution of 3.4K and finished at 2K. The source's inherent excellence is more fully realized even upscaled from the 2K digital intermediate. The picture is clearly more crisp, shaper, more flattering, obvious to eyes long accustomed to Blu-ray's limitations. When pulling comparisons, there's no mistaking the UHD's intrinsic benefits, such as firmer skin details, more finely precise clothes, sharper environments, and better texturing and intricacies to be found on the Ant-Man suit, which is made of all sorts of ridges and textures and combinations of fabrics and electronics that make it a complex treasure trove of information for the UHD to reveal in the greatest clarity currently possible. The UHD has a slicker, cleaner, more stable look to it. It's quite nice in the aggregate, texturally, and is only bolstered by the HDR color spectrum.

Like the textural bump, HDR's benefits are readily apparent but not in a manner that greatly alters the movie at its most fundamental state. There's an added tonal precision, an increase in color depth and nuance and splash all at once. Skin tones enjoy more fruitful balance and lifelike contrast, cooler where applicable, warmer when necessary, fuller all around no matter the lighting condition. Bright light sources greatly impress under the HDR tuning, with intense luminosity that's more brilliant and bold, more true and telling in giving visual definition to any given element. White balance is greatly improved, too. Dress shirts are transformed from creamy and flat on the Blu-ray to bold and crisp on the UHD. Black level depth finds another gear of accuracy while maintaining full integrity. This is a very nice all-around presentation; fans should be pleased.

Ant-Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney has increased the size of Ant-Man's audio presentation by way of a Dolby Atmos soundtrack but it has reduced the track's volume and range. With volume adjusted upward the track presents well enough, with wide berth front stage engagement considering both music and action alike. Surrounds are folded in with regularity, too, creating an effortlessly assembled sound field that presents a full, enveloping sound mix with positive stage command and attention to placement detail for both static sound elements and those that engage with some level of movement around the listening area. The overhead channels primarily present in a support capacity, folding in various elements for greater spacial awareness and immersion, though a few more discrete effects do find their way into the presentation. Unfortunately the track has a flatness to its would-be most dynamically intensive moments, coming across as compressed and lacking the feeling of fullness. Like most others of this variety it's passable-to-good with the volume knob adjusted, but audiophiles will likely find it somewhat lacking. Dialogue does present with good clarity and front-center positioning. It is well prioritized for the duration.

Ant-Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Ant-Man's UHD disc contains no supplemental content. The bundled Blu-ray, which is identical to that which Disney released back in 2015, brings over all of this package's extras. See below for a list of what's included and please click here for more coverage. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Featurette: Making of an Ant-Sized Heist: A How-To Guide
• Featurette: Let's Go to the Macroverse
• Featurette: WHIH NewsFront
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Audio Commentary

Ant-Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ant-Man and its sequel may very well be remembered as two of the least popular films in the MCU, even if Lang's Ant-Man plays a pivotal role in the series' final film, Avengers: Endgame. No matter its standing, Disney has given it the typical MCU UHD treatment: a modestly upgraded picture quality that looks very nice in sum, an iffy Atmos soundtrack, and no new extras. The movie certainly benefits from the UHD video presentation and comes recommended to fans.