Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Guardians of the Galaxy 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Disney has released 2014's Marvel Cinematic Universe film 'Guardians of the Galaxy' 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 2014, 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.

Guardians of the Galaxy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

The opening titles deliver a satisfying add to color depth and vitality. The gradating orange and yellow colors appear far more complete and prominent on the UHD. The same can be said of Star-Lord's red-eyed helmet, which presents with impressive intensity and depth beyond the Blu-ray's capabilities. Indeed, points of intense light are electric. Digital readouts, beams of light, anything of high intensity luminance finds another gear for brightness and accuracy. The flip side is that the movie's more shadowy low light scenes look significantly darker. Compare a scene where Quill is speaking to Yondu in chapter three at the 12-minute mark. It's almost shocking how much the HDR alters the color temperature. The image transitions from evenly lit to dense and dark on UHD, and the scene to follow with Ronan, Gamora, and Nebula enjoys superior blacks and shadow detail but the scene is rendered far darker, reducing the vitality of the blue and green character face paint to dim shadowy tones. Same thing at Kyln. That said, the scenes do look subjectively better -- richer, deeper, healthier, more natural -- and it's a case where watching the UHD rather than stopping to compare one version against the other will likely not yield any disappointment. On the contrary, the HDR spectrum looks quite nice and organic in isolation. Add in superior contrast and color depth in the brighter scenes -- Gamora's green skin pops on Xandar -- and the HDR color spectrum is only a boon for the movie, even if some might understandably have a few reservations.

The UHD does have more of a clean, healthy sheen about it. The movie was shot at a resolution of 2.8K and reportedly finished at 2K. The result isn't really here nor there, not in any drastic way vastly superior to the Blu-ray but differentiated just enough to appreciate the cleaner lines, crisper textures, and greater overall clarity and sharpness. There's certainly not any landscape altering changes here, nothing approaching the HDR color spectrum's occasional tonal variances. This is a fairly basic, standard-stuff UHD upgrade of a digitally shot film that comes from a 2K digital intermediate. Viewers will appreciate the finer points of textural awareness and tactile definition on the various costumes and appliances that define the real and digital characters both. Tighter makeup definition, more robust environments, more naturally realized instrument clusters, and sharper digital readouts are some of the areas of improvement. Nothing is a game changer, but the complimentary increases do add up to a pleasantly manicured image.

Guardians of the Galaxy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Guardians of the Galaxy's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is of good general quality with the volume boosted to adjust for Disney engineering norms. The track is not wanting for greatly added low end raw power, spacial awareness, or overall detail. From subtle core dialogue exchanges and light music to the most rambunctious action scenes and expressive Pop music beats, the track handles core duties admirably with good stage presence that includes quality front side width, hearty surround integration, and enough bass to get by. The track prove effortlessly expansive, and the extra channels certainly work to immerse the listener with more fluid and full effects that push music, action, and atmosphere through the stage with effortless feel for spacial harmony. The most aggressive explosions certainly want for more range and detail. Take a huge blast in chapter 10. It's throaty but sounds condensed. It's baseline effective but ultimately disappointing. The track is fair overall, supported by efficient dialogue, but it could have been more.

Guardians of the Galaxy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Guardians of the Galaxy's UHD disc contains no supplemental content, but the Bundled Blu-ray is identical to that which Disney released back in March 2014. There was a Target exclusive that contained exclusive bonus content; it's disappointing that Disney didn't at least throw those extra onto the UHD, even in standard definition, just to add a little more value. See below for a list of what's included. For full supplemental content reviews, please click here. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Guide to the Galaxy with James Gunn
• The Intergalactic Visual Effects for Guardians of the Galaxy
• Exclusive Look at Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Audio Commentary

Guardians of the Galaxy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Guardians of the Galaxy finds favor on the UHD format. The picture is certainly a bit dark overall but its color depth is improved (including blacks), its brights brighter, and its tones more stable. Texturally the UHD image more tinkers around the edges, adding mild sharpness and modest clarity. The net result is a fairly pleasant UHD image, but not one that towers over the still very serviceable Blu-ray. The Atmos audio is of typical Disney quality: OK above and beyond reference volume but struggling to deliver a complete sonic experience. No new extras are included but the bundled Blu-ray carries over the legacy content. Recommended.