Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

In the Heights 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Washington Monument.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 29, 2021

Lin-Manuel Miranda's career-establishing In the Heights began its successful Broadway run in March 2008, racking up four Tony Award wins (with 13 total nominations) and even a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. While it was eventually overtaken in pop culture recognition by the playwright's own Hamilton! in 2015, this full-circle adaptation of his first major work was directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) with Anthony Ramos standing in as In the Heights' central character Usnavi, a role originally played by Miranda himself on Broadway. It's designed to be a celebratory film, with its delay post-COVID release doubling as a great reason to finally, finally, come back to the movies. But while the colorful, capably made In the Heights occasionally serves up flourishes of cinematic magic, its overlong running time and occasionally off-balance pacing keep it from feeling like the life-changing experience it wants to be.

The soft center of In the Heights, as with most musicals, pulses with the prospect of young love. Deep in the upper-Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, charismatic bodega owner totally Usnavi de la Vega (Ramos) totally crushes on lovely Vanessa Morales (Melissa Barrera). At the urging of his younger cousin Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV) and best friend, dispatch operator Benny (Corey Hawkins), he asks her out. Their budding relationship mixes nicely with In the Heights' other primary focuses: family, culture, and community, as it quickly paints a collage of colorful characters representing the vibrant neighborhood while weaving a broad narrative that occasionally dials into specific people and places. From Washington Heights' unofficial matriarch "Abuela" Claudia (Olga Merediz) to college student Nina Rosario (Leslie Grace) and her doting father Kevin (Jimmy Smits), a bustling nail salon with its gossipy clientele, roving artist Graffiti Pete (Noah Catala) and more, almost no stone is left unturned. Hell, there's even a fierce rivalry between treat vendors as a Mister Softee truck driver (Christopher Jackson) squares off against the local piragua vendor (Miranda). But if you want to see how that all turns out... well, you'll just have to stick around after the credits.

It's a bold and fitfully captivating experience, framed around the somewhat ominous approach of a blackout that renders most of the borough without power on a particularly hot and turbulent evening. There's no Do the Right Thing explosion of fire and thrown trash cans; instead, the event ultimately triggers the second major will-they-or-won't-they question mark between Usnavi and Vanessa. As their relationship waxes and wanes, other livelihoods hang in the balance as well: Abuela's health declines, Nina resists a return to college despite her father's financial sacrifices, and Sonny has trouble with his alcoholic dad Gapo (Marc Anthony). Meanwhile, Usnavi has another big fork in the road: he's hoping to rebuild his father's beloved business in the Dominican Republic, and he's also searching for the owner of a mystery winning lottery ticket sold at the bodega that's worth a cool $96,000. And as In the Heights chugs along to a crowd-pleasing conclusion, we actually want to see where most of its likable characters end up.

Its an intoxicating experience overall, with In the Heights opting for a big-budget blockbuster feel meant to bring its larger-than-life community to the forefront. And while its visual flourishes and huge, choreographed numbers do sell the magic in their own way, the overall effect is kind of numbingly over-the-top. The fundamentals are more than covered: capable performances, enthusiastic dancing, slick visuals, catchy-as- hell songs, and an extremely colorful palette that showcases the community's vibrancy in a unique way. But it's the big-screen equivalent of an overproduced pop album, and one that lumbers on for close to two-and-a-half hours. I can't say that it's ever boring, but this may be the first musical I've had to watch over the course of two separate evenings due to pure sensory overload.'

Regardless, Warner Bros.' 4K edition of In the Heights swings for the fences in that regard, serving up a pitch-perfect A/V presentation that includes a near-lossless 2160p transfer and immersive Dolby Atmos audio. The bonus features, though limited in number, also cover the bases nicely. While it may not be a musical you'll return to regularly, this is clearly a well-rounded package that should please die-hard fans of the creative team's previous work.

For a slightly warmer take on the film, please see Brian Orndorf's theatrical review.

In the Heights 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These screenshots are sourced from the included Blu-ray disc and are thus not representative of the 4K's picture quality. Please see my separate review of that edition for 25 more images.

In the Heights roars to life on Warner Bros.' 2160p transfer, delivering high-quality visuals that showcase the film's stylized visuals with energy to spare. Its HDR enhancement, which arrives in form of either HDR10+ or Dolby Vision depending on your setup, pulls double-duty to perfectly port its rich colors, from the vivid interiors of Usnavi's bodega to bright store exteriors, warmly-lit interiors, enticing food, and of course the often candy-colored dance numbers with their colorful clothes, tempered lighting, and occasional visual flourishes. Close-ups are stunning with excellent textures and fine detail, whether on Usnavi's freckled face or the caked-on makeup of the gossipy salon crew. Shadow detail, contrast levels, and difficult lighting schemes are all handled nicely, especially the red-hot club sequence and, of course, the resulting blackout. But the most satisfying moments are often the most ordinary, with soft filtered light pouring in through cramped apartment windows or the soft glow of incandescent bulbs over the table of a family dinner. All told, it's a rich and outstanding presentation that fully captures the film's ambitious style and is perfectly encoded on Warner Bros.' triple-layered, 100GB 4K UHD disc, which runs at a proportionately high bitrate during all 142 minutes.

For my thoughts on the included Blu-ray, please see the separate review linked above.

In the Heights 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Almost equally impressive is In the Heights' Dolby Atmos audio which, as always, automatically folds down to lossless TrueHD 7.1 if you're not set up for the fancier format. Huge presence is the name of the game here, with most of the film's musical numbers and more boisterous exchanges occupying most or all of the front soundstage, often extending into the rears where the situation or location demands it. Scaled-back conversations, on the other hand, come through cleanly and, for the most part, require no major adjustments to volume levels; this doesn't appear to be remixed for home theaters, but it's actually one of the more tolerable big-scale experiences in recent memory. Scattered background effects, whether in the crowded club or city streets, pop up discretely in a natural and well-placed way, really selling the environment without sounding all that overcooked. Overall, it's a fine effort that often flirts with breaking genre boundaries, pushing for a larger-than-life experience rather than just "singing to the crowd".

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH) and obviously Spanish, are included during the main feature and extras.

In the Heights 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in a standard (not eco-friendly!) dual-hubbed keepcase with attractive cover artwork, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. The bonus features listed below can all be found on the Blu-ray, although the final one is helpfully also included on the 4K disc.

• Pacienca y Fe: Making "In the Heights" (43:59) - This surprisingly detailed six-part behind-the-scenes documentary -- obviously recorded in 2019, thank goodness -- covers its development from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes' original Broadway show, casting, the characters, music, cultural representation, and much more. Plenty of first-hard participants offer comments including Miranda, Hudes, director Jon M. Chu, actor Stephanie Beatriz, actor Jimmy Smits, actor Daphne Rubin-Vega, actor Anthony Ramos, cinematographer Alice Brooks, actor Corey Hawkins, actor Melissa Barrera, assistant choreographer Princess Serrano, and many others. It's a little repetitive in spots but very robust -- kind of rare for behind-the-scenes pieces these days.

• Sing-Alongs - Two of the film's most complex and celebratory musical numbers are presented in a karaoke-style format, which really just amounts to clips from the movie with slightly enhanced subtitles. The trade-off is Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, so maybe just stick with the "Musical Numbers" below and turn on subs.

• "In the Heights" (7:44)
• 96,000 (6:06)

• Musical Numbers - Instant access to all 17 of the film's main music breaks, as well as a handy "Play All" option. Highlights include the title track, "Benny's Dispatch", "It Won't Be Long Now", "96,000", "Piragua", "Blackout" Carnaval del Barrio", "When the Sun Goes Down", and the two-part finale.

In the Heights 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

After the hugely successful Broadway run of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes' In the Heights, the original creators envisioned its eventual big-screen adaptation as a modest, independent production, but director Jon M. Chu convinced them to take the big-budget blockbuster approach. While this occasionally yields great results, complete with striking visual effects and huge dance numbers -- many of which intensify the story's communal, celebratory focus -- the experience is overwhelming at times, with a bulky running time and an overall feel not unlike an overproduced pop album. It's still lots of fun overall and loaded with catchy musical numbers, but part of me wishes it'd been dialed back a few notches. Regardless, Warner Bros.' most welcome 4K edition plays to the film's fully loaded strengths, pairing a pitch-perfect 2160p transfer with a roundly immersive Dolby Atmos mix -- even the bonus features, though limited in number, are pretty good. This one's Recommended overall, but mostly to established fans.