Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Man of Steel 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

In the Beginning

Reviewed by Michael Reuben July 27, 2016

In concert with the multi-format release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (in standard Blu-ray, 3D and 4K versions), Warner Brothers is also adding the film's predecessor, Man of Steel, to its gradually expanding UHD roster. Unlike BvS, however, Man of Steel in 4K doesn't offer enough of a noteworthy improvement in visual clarity or resolution over its Blu-ray counterpart to justify the double-dip. The real headline here is the new Dolby Atmos soundtrack, which, for these equipped to decode it, improves on the Blu-ray's already stellar DTS-HD MA 7.1 mix. As so often with UHD, however, this sonic upgrade comes at a price. The UHD package omits the Blu-ray's second disc of special features, which have been relegated to the Ultraviolet digital copy. Purchasers who care about extras should be forewarned.

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

For a discussion of Man of Steel, please see the Blu-ray reviews by my colleagues, Jeffrey Kauffman and Kenneth Brown, who rated the feature identically and whose joint score I have retained.

Man of Steel 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like the Blu-ray before it, Man of Steel's HEVC /H.265/2160p UHD was derived from a 2K digital intermediate. The Blu-ray looked great, and so does the UHD. The difference between them is marginal. Warner has continued its customary restraint in the application of HDR encoding, leaving the film's palette largely unchanged. HDR's improved brightness and contrast produce minor enhancements, but they're almost impossible to spot unless you switch back and forth between the two images (a tricky feat, given the HDMI handshake issues that continue to plague Samsung's UHD player). To take one example: In the shot where the Coast Guard vessel bearing Clark Kent/Superman first sights an oil drilling platform burning in the distance, the metallic structure and the flames engulfing it stand out with greater definition. This may be one of the few instances I've yet seen on UHD where HDR's intensification of flame imagery works to the film's advantage (although, in general, Man of Steel's fire effects do not seem to suffer from the animated artificiality observed in the 4K versions of Batman v Superman and Mad Max: Fury Road). Another example of the gains in depth and texture can be seen in the Kansas cornfields surrounding the Kents' farm, where the stalks of corn are slightly greener and more distinct. Least improved (or not at all) are the CG-laden sequences on Krypton and the massive destruction visited on Metropolis in the fight against General Zod.

Man of Steel 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Man of Steel's 7.1 soundtrack received a 5.0 rating in its DTS-HD MA presentation, which gives me no room to increase that score for the Dolby Atmos home-theater remix offered on UHD, but I would if I could. As my colleagues previously noted, the film's audio engineers achieved a remarkable balance between bombastic action sequences (notably, the Krypton battle and Zod's attack on Earth) and quieter dramatic moments set in aurally rich environments. The Atmos remix has refined the experience even further, with enhanced localization, immersion and differentiation among multiple competing sound elements. Even in the deafening orgy of destruction that climaxes the film, specific sounds are now more distinctly rendered.

Among the quieter moments that now register more forcefully is the conversation between Clark and Martha Kent after Clark returns from his Arctic adventure; as mother and son converse, they are surrounded by the murmur of the countryside's bird and insect life and the rustling of crops in the wind—and in the Atmos remix, they're really surrounded, to the point where you feel that you can almost reach out and touch the environment. Meanwhile, their dialogue remains clear and intelligible, rising above the farmland's low roar with just enough heft to achieve a perfect balance. (I suspect one could listen to this mix a dozen times and still keep finding new elements.)

Note, that, if your system lacks Atmos capability, you will get a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 "core", which replicates the Blu-ray's soundtrack.

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

The UHD disc contains no extras. The Blu-ray copy of the film contains the same extras that appeared on disc 1 of the previous standard edition (and disc 2 of the 3D). However, the UHD Man of Steel omits the second disc labeled "Special Features", which contained a second copy of the film in "Maximum Movie Mode", as well as a mockumentary entitled "Planet Krypton". These extras have been shifted to the digital copy of the film included with the UHD (and, as is typically the case with streaming extras, available only through a web browser).

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

If you're a first-time purchaser of Man of Steel and don't mind having some of your extras supplied by a streaming service, then consider the UHD for its Atmos track. Even if you don't yet have Atmos decoding, you'll probably get it in the future. If you already own the existing Blu-ray release, then the UHD has less to recommend it, offering only minor image enhancements and a 5+ soundtrack (as compared to a "mere" 5).