Spider-Man: Far from Home 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Spider-Man: Far from Home 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 24, 2019

Spider-Man is the gift that keeps on giving. And Disney wants a bigger cut of that gift. Sony and Disney have fought over revenue sharing for Sony's Spider-Man films and the character's fate within the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe is all but sealed at this point. But if this is to be Spider-Man's swan song as part of Disney's MCU empire, it's a worthwhile one. The film explores Spider-Man in the aftermath of what happened in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (and its plot is built around major events from both films). The film deals in Spider-Man's faith in himself and the faith others have placed in him while battling a villain who wants to take up the mantle Spider-Man has been given. The film deals in thought-provoking concepts of faith, trust, perception, and duty, forcing the title character to grow into the powers he has been given, not just grow around them.

MCU plot spoilers appear below.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is in desperate need of a vacation. The battle with Thanos that changed the world and left the Avengers team broken and his mentor Tony Stark dead has pushed Parker away from battling evil and in desperate need of a normal life. A school trip to Europe just might be the ticket. He can enjoy a respite with his friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and hopefully, finally, tell M.J. (Zendaya) how he really feels about her. He needs to be a teenager, not a savior. But he can't escape the superhero life. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is on his back and his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) packs his Spider-Man suit just in case. When Venice falls under attack by a mysterious creature, Parker must swing into action. But he's not alone in fighting the villain. He's helped -- and overshadowed -- by a new superhero named "Mysterio" (Jake Gyllenhaal) who claims to hail from an alternate reality Earth. Parker sees in Mysterio a man who can take the mantle as the world's foremost superhero. Parker all but forces powerful Stark tech on Mysterio, happy to give away one of Tony's most valuable items -- an item he explicitly entrusted to Peter -- and thereby give up the responsibility of being a key cog in saving there world. But as the class trip through Europe continues, Peter realizes he may have made a horrible mistake.

The story is tailored to explore Peter Parker’s struggles with his identity, his purpose, and his ability. In the movie, the late Tony Stark entrusts him with incredible power and technology, but he believes he’s unable, and therefore also unwilling, to wield so much power. He’s come to the decision to give it up quickly and without much thought or serious consultation. He drops it on the first person he finds who is willing too take it, the first person in whom Peter sees as worthy of taking up the mantle, of shouldering the burden he so desperately wishes to surrender. Of course, the individual to whom he bestows it is all too happy to take it. Mysterio is not at all who he claims to be, and is in fact much the opposite of Peter: he seeks the power, the fame, the responsibility, all of which he believes to be rightly his. The film explores some secrets that shape his past and embolden his motivations, but the film is otherwise solely focused on the clash between the reluctant hero and the misguided villain and what it is that separates their pursuits and truly defines "heroism." It's an interesting concept that the movie explores to satisfaction within the larger fracases that are a result.

Certainly the movie doesn't allow too long to pass without various visual extravaganzas to remind everyone this is a Superhero film, not just a contemplative character study with more than a few thought-provoking undertones. Spider-Man does not escape the movie without being run through the physical ringer. The battles are large scale and uniquely envisioned, thanks in large part to the villain's own motives and how he achieves his goals. Battles are appropriately large-scale yet also intimately defined, and Spider-Man finds himself not only battling villainy but fighting to save those he cares about; his classmates are in perpetual danger, including once, in one of the movie's best and funniest scenes, more or less inadvertently by his own hand (or voice command as the case may be). The movie boasts effects aplenty, all of which are seamlessly integrated into the live action components. It's a modern spectacle at the peak of what current technology can offer, and the filmmakers use that tech to compliment rather than define the movie, even if it's so vast in scale and intimately integral to the larger, more human stories.

Spider-Man: Far from Home 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

One doesn't need spidey-sense to notice the UHD's improvements over the Blu-ray. Even if the image is not a total overhaul from the 1080p presentation, it offers more refinement to textural stability and overall sharpness and clarity that prove to be critical to the movie's visual well-being. Even as the UHD's 4K image has been sourced from a 2K digital intermediate, the UHD delivers more stable, more inviting, more precisely defined textures which reveal facial features, clothes, and environments with readily evident improvements to definition and crisp, authentic detail, critical considering the spectrum of richly constructed European locales or intricate superhero costumes, even getting down to nitty-gritty details like the visible scarring around Nick Fury's eyepatch which on UHD has a clarity and depth that the Blu-ray cannot match.

The Dolby Vision color spectrum is a revelation. Colors are more deeply and intensely saturated. Brights are crisper, luminance is greatly improved, and so many tonal nuances are captured with much more stability and accuracy. Look at a bright daytime scene in chapter 11 when Peter borrows a random man's cell phone to make a call. The earthy brick street, the multitudes of fruit, and the orange soccer jersey Peter wears all bear witness to the Dolby Vision's vast improvements. Factor in more perfectly refined skin tones and tighter, deeper, more perfect blacks and there's no mistaking the UHD's superiority over the Blur-ay, even as a couple of minor issues appear, such as a hint of aliasing at the 1:16:49 mark.

Spider-Man: Far from Home 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Spider-Man: Far from Home's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is far from where it should be. The track has befallen the increasingly common (albeit mostly with Disney titles) plague of limited range and low volume. It's hushed at reference volume and even an increase in volume yields only modest returns. This is a flat, uninspired track with some fleeting moments of generous weight but little to show for it, particularly against the more potent, powerful, and fully engaging DTS track found on the Blu-ray. There's not a total absence of low end depth -- some of the action elements throughout, notably in the final act, do find some rumble and heft -- but there are other moments when the entire thing falls painfully flat. At the 1:20:05 mark a crane falls with practically no low end report. Admittedly it's curiously not of major sonic impact on the Blu-ray, either, but it's a jarring moment of nearly nothing on the UHD. A number of moments that should offer more intensity fail to do so. The Blu-ray is far more dynamic and dramatic, more capable, more enjoyable, more complimentary. Here, with the volume cranked, there's a feel that some of the deficiencies are made less obvious but there's no mistaking the track's essential shortcomings. The Atmos presentation does offer plenty of directional movement and stage involvement but with a penalty to depth. The overhead channels do enhance several key moments, including in chapter 10 when Mysterio's voice emanates from all sides and positions (also the same scene in which that aforementioned crane can be found). Dialogue approaches whisper-quiet with the volume knob at normal position and music cannot carry any scenes, either, at reference volume.

Spider-Man: Far from Home 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Spider-Man: Far from Home's UHD houses no extras, but the bundled Blu-ray contains plenty of extras, mostly of the fluffy featurette variety. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Peter's To-Do List - A Short Film (1080p, 3:22): Peter prepares for the European trip.
• Gag Reel & Outtakes (1080p, 3:35): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Deleted & Alternate Scenes (1080p, 6:07 total runtime): Included are Betty Blips, Bus Rest Stop with Class, Beck's Green Juice, Peter & MJ on Plane and May Sees Glasses, and A Film by Flash Thompson's Phone.
• Teachers' Travel Tips (1080p, 4:58): Peter's teachers fumble at customs and babble around the students.
• The Jump Off (1080p, 6:19): Exploring Tom Holland's physicality and the film's stunt work.
• Stepping Up (1080p, 3:42): A quick exploration of the movie's themes and Peter Parker's growth in the film and through the MCU.
• Suit Up (1080p, 4:38): Looking at several of the different Spider-Man suits seen throughout the film.
• Now You See Me (1080p, 6:30): An exploration of the film's villain: Quentin Beck/Mysterio.
• Far, Far, Far from Home (1080p, 5:14): A run-through of the European locales seen throughout the film.
• It Takes Two (1080p, 3:09): A look at the Jon Watts/Tom Holland collaboration.
• Fury & Hill (1080p, 3:29): A brief study of two of the film's most important secondary characters.
• The Ginter-Riva Effect (1080p, 1:32): A very minor character from MCU past becomes a more important part of this film.
• Thank You, Mrs. Parker (1080p, 3:35): Looking at this younger, more vibrant, more enthusiastic version of Aunt May.
• Stealthy Easter Eggs (1080p, 4:23): A few of the film's secrets are revealed.
• The Brothers Trust (1080p, 11:44): An extended advertisement for the organization that champions some of the more underfunded and under appreciated charities.
• Select Scene Pre-Vis (1080p, 8:20): CG animatics juxtaposed against the final film version. Included are Hydro-Man Part 1, Hydro-Man Part 2, Molten Man, Final Battle, and Spider-Man Through NYC.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

Spider-Man: Far from Home 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Spider-Man: Far from Home intertwines sincere dramatic content and larger-than-life action. It's a purposeful movie of self-discovery beyond power, and it more than any other Spider-Man film explores the "great responsibilities" that come with "great power," particularly as that responsibility comes from trusting in oneself. The movie is very well acted, the effects are many and seamless, the action is splendid, and the humor is never allowed to overwhelm the narrative. This is a rock-solid Marvel and Spider-Man movie. Honestly, while the UHD looks nice, the Blu-ray looks pretty great, too, and the soundtrack is vastly superior over there. Extras are a wash. Pick up the BD version instead.