Justice League 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Justice League 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

The League of Extraordinary Colors.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 15, 2018

Warner Brothers and Best Buy have collaborated on a store-exclusive SteelBook release for 'Justice League.' This review by-and-large focuses exclusively on the UHD video presentation, with emphasis on the Dolby Vision color presentation. Michael Reuben has reviewed the UHD presentation with its HDR-10 coloring. This is not a replacement of his review but rather a companion first look at a second color format option available on the disc.

Justice League is the Superhero film's answer to comfort food. The film is hardly daring. Its narrative whittles down to a basic story of "build the team, stop the bad guy," and the movie is all Flash, literally, as every Justice League member, outside of Ezra Miller in a Justin Long-inspired performance (there's no doubt that Long would have played the character had this script been green-lit a decade ago), fails to elicit much more than a gruff, stoic façade, save for a fun scene when Aquaman is surreptitiously lassoed into sharing his true feelings. The remainder of the cast plays stiff-as-a-board (perhaps appropriate in Aquaman's case, whose epic abs make him, essentially, the human surfboard), each of them failing to liven up the mood or sell the movie as anything but a special effects and costume film. Even as Steppenwolf, about as generic a monster as a Superhero film has seen ("Rarrr! Get the box, kill the heroes!"), fails to deliver a credible threat. Yes he's tough and the League is tossed around like ragdolls until a certain man who is more powerful than a locomotive can lead the charge against him. The film does boast quality action pieces and technical workmanship. Zach Snyder, Joss Whedon, and the editing team maintain a tidy pacing, parsing the film down to a much more agreeable two hours compared to Snyder's previously overstuffed Batman v. Superman. The film works well enough as an escape but offers little beyond a throwaway good time at the movies.

For a full film review, please click here; while Michael and I share the same essential likes and reservations, I feel I enjoyed the film a little more and the score above reflects my own.

Justice League 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Brightness level increase and color saturation intensity are the main beneficiary's of Justice League's 2160p/12-bit Dolby Vision UHD presentation. The film offers an assortment of intense colors across number of unique locales, each with their own lighting constraints (an opening sequence across classically dreary Gotham rooftops) or more fundamentally lively locales that allow for a greater diversity of background color and clarity of essential foreground primaries. That drab opening sequence makes for a fine introduction to Justice League's Dolby Vision color grading. Shadow details are beautifully rendered, particularly in foregrounds, as the black-clad Batman maneuvers about, first battling a criminal and then a strange alien creature. Blacks are dark but never devouring, offset by brilliantly saturated neon signage in the background. From there, the film offers an abundance of wonderfully intense colors that benefit from the added brilliance Dolby Vision provides. Many battles against the grotesque and oversized Steppenwolf are awash in large swaths of orange that pop against both darker backgrounds as well as some with a little less forgiving color elements getting in the way, such as variations on the same essential shade. Bright white lightning dazzles with raised intensity and clarity in various scenes featuring funny man Flash, who generates electricity as he moves, whether in an effort to supercharge an object or simply to quickly zip around a location to save a family or push a sword back towards a desperate Wonder Woman. One of the greatest examples of the Dolby Vision improvements comes during a sequence introducing Cyborg, the man who is mostly machine. Audiences meet him in a darkened apartment, his head covered by a gray hoodie. His red left eye and a blue orb embedded in his forehead beam much more brilliantly when compared to the Blu-ray, which itself offers stout colors but not to this extreme.

The movie's textural brilliance earns a healthy uptick under the UHD resolution as well. Even as the film was reportedly upscaled from a 2K digital intermediate to achieve a 4K output resolution, there's no mistaking its inherent, filmic excellence both on its own merits and in direct compare to the Blu-ray, which is, itself, certainly no slouch in revealing the movie's fine-point and extremely intimate details. Here, it's not simply the clarity and depth brought about by the added resolution. While costume textures -- which are substantial, particularly getting down to fine little bumps and ridges on Superman's chest crest and Batman's mask -- appear exceptionally robust with a firm, tactical advantage that's only boosted on the UHD, it's often in less critical but no less enjoyable details where the UHD shines. Those early-film rooftops delight. Chimneys and stonework along the background are as enticingly refined as basic near-field character details. Action scenes produce plenty of rubble and environmental carnage that offer raw and sharp yet refined edges clashing with unblemished center and surrounding portions that have otherwise survived damage. The 2D image additionally reveals superior depth, even without the added benefit of a proper 3D rendering. It's small things, like the tangible shape of Diana's headpiece or the space between Cybrog's hood and his face, that allow the viewer to assess spatial qualities in the image. Additionally, the UHD improves the presentation's filmic credentials. While grain is prone to mild fluctuations -- the image is smooth here, grain is a little more prominent there -- the movie's basic ebbs and flows reveal a wonderfully organic and complimentary presentation; it's nice to see filmmakers returning to the medium for various "event films" such as this and The Last Jedi, both of which could be said to be showcases for both the benefits of shooting on film in the digital age as well as the capabilities the UHD format provides a filmed product. Justice League's Dolby Vision/4K presentation is a blast to watch and a technical achievement.

Justice League 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For a full analysis of the film's Dolby Atmos sound presentation, please click here.

Justice League 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

For a full breakdown of the extras included on the bundled Blu-ray, please click here.

Justice League 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Justice League may be disposable entertainment, but it's a movie that truly benefits from HDR and Dolby Vision coloring, particularly with plenty of bright light sources -- reds, oranges, electric whites -- often contrasted against a fairly bleak background whether gray and cold and dark or just a little desaturated for effect. The movie's overall UHD presentation stands a notch above a very capable Blu-ray for both color output and textural efficiency alike. Best Buy's exclusive SteelBook is handsome and a worthwhile addition to any collection. Recommended.