Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 21, 2019

Just when Spider-Man fatigue should be setting in, Sony Animation goes and makes a brand new, exhilaratingly scripted, beautifully assembled, dramatically relevant, socially current, and uniquely visualized origins story for a new generation in a film that hearkens back to Superhero basics, as in it almost literally brings the inky comic book art style from the page to the screen. The film's basic plot mechanics are not dissimilar from any other introductory Spider-Man film: a high schooler is bitten by a radioactive spider, struggles to deal with his newfound powers, and eventually embraces his new identity as a hero when he is thrust into action against unspeakable and highly determined evil. But, this time, he has help. Into the Spider-Verse introduces a number of "alternate" spider-heroes who stand side-by-side with New York's newest web-slinger, fostering his growth as a human being and as a masked hero. At the same time, the movie builds around a unique art style that recreates the comic book page on the screen. It's fresh and familiar at the same time, a blast to watch, and sure to become a new favorite within the Superhero cinema landscape.

Peter Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson) has been the “one and only” Spider-Man for a decade now. He has saved the city countless times. Each battle with every villain leaves him licking some wounds, but he’s always ready for more. Eventually. Things change when he faces off against a desperate Wilson Fisk (voiced by Liev Schreiber), a man who is attempting to open a dangerous portal to another dimension in order to reunite with his wife and child, who are deceased in his universe. Spider-Man is killed, but not before he passes the torch to Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), a young man himself recently bitten by a radioactive spider and discovering his newfound powers.

Morales is a high school student with a knack for art who goes to an “elitist” preparatory school. He would rather go back to his old school “among the people.” He’s sharp but deliberately fails his tests in hopes of getting the boot and returning to the life he knows and prefers. But his teachers see through the ruse and assign him an essay to share the story of the person he wants to be. He has “no expectations” for his life, but life, it turns out, has a plan for him. That spider bite see him grow taller overnight. He sweats profusely, his hands are sticky, and the voice inside his head grows louder and more dominant. When he’s witness to Spider-Man’s death, he joins a city in mourning but chooses to don the mask, if he can figure out how to harness his power.

Morales buys a non-refundable Spider-Man costume, pours through old Spider-Man comics, and finally works up the courage to test his abilities on the city’s rooftops. Until he chickens out and walks back down dozens of flights of stairs. But he’s going to have to grow into a hero in a hurry when he meets Peter Parker -- Peter B. Parker -- who has come to Morales’ universe from another. This Parker has packed on a few pounds, buried Aunt May, and broken up with Mary Jane. Turns out there are several other spider-based Superheroes in town, and they will all have to join together to set things straight and defeat Fisk once and for all.

Into the Spider-Verse challenges the first two Sam Raimi pictures as the best in the franchise. Considering the unorthodox yet highly effective presentation style that turns the screen into a living, breathing comic book or the surprising character depth and emotional content that counterbalance the frenzied action and nearly psychotropic finale, the film is an inspired take on the character, his world, and a welcome reprieve from the modern approach to Superhero filmmaking. It's a necessary shot of adrenaline and it never feels like a gimmick, even if it is one at its most superficial level. But the filmmakers have crafted such a well rounded story, populated by genuinely likable characters, that the visual style melts away and quickly loses its place as film's focal point. The art style does allow the film to reinforce its hold to comic roots while embracing a more modern story with a new hero who has only been on the comic book scene since 2011. The film offers a wonderful balance of new and old, crafting a cutting-edge motion picture grounded in today's world, with plenty of the fantastic, and focusing on a relatively brand-new character, all the while going back to comic's roots with a visual construction that literally brings the page to the screen.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 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.

Sony's upscaled 2160p/HDR-enhanced UHD presentation of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse delivers a terrific image, full of exacting detail and abundant color. It yields a favorable, if not sometimes modest, improvement over the Blu-ray, generally finding more complex textural yields as well as a more firm and deep color spectrum with special emphasis on the movie's climax. The lines and points that give the image its unique comic book texturing appear slightly sharper and more naturally defined on the UHD. There's certainly not a textural leap to be found in direct comparisons but that finer detailing and the sharper foundational attributes go a long way in solidifying the image's core animation style. Improvements are evident across nearly every texture, foreground and background alike, primary visual element or small supportive detail. Faces and costumes are of course the main beneficiaries, but the street-level shots, for example, are bountifully textured, too.

The HDR color enhancements are sometimes at the level of "refinement" and sometimes at the level of "significant." Various scenes favor degrees of improvement and modest changes to color density and depth. Spider-Man reds and blues bear the fruit of HDR's ability to deepen and strengthen. These colors enjoy a small fine-tuning with the HDR process that renders them a little more realistically deep and a slight bit less bright than the Blu-ray. The movie's final act showdown is where the HDR proves its worth. The sequence is defined by the borderline psychedelic display of quickly alternating, fluidly moving, and brightly diverse colors across the background. Add in the variously colorful heroes and villains and the sequence is a dazzling display of color that will push any screen to its limits. HDR adds a critical depth and dazzle and luminance here. The swirling purples, dots of pink, splashes of blue and purple stand as one of the most amazing displays of HDR eye candy the format has yet seen. HDR also improves on white balance and deepens blacks. For what may be minimalist, but appreciable and appreciated, improvements generally, there are times, such as that final battle, when the image absolutely soars under the HDR parameters. Blu-ray viewers are not short-changed, but the movie is at its best on UHD.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unlike the day-and-date Blu-ray, which features a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack, the film's UHD release has a Dolby Atmos presentation on offer. It's not a drastically different listening experience. It maintains the prodigious bass, the expansive stage width, and the omnipresent surround integration while adding a top end layer that doesn't necessarily deliver a parade of discrete effects but that does fold in plenty of activity to create a more enveloping spatial awareness that helps solidify a number of shots, scenes, and sequences, particularly the multitude that involve movement in unusual places, such as up high, swinging through the air, or during the film's climax where everything goes everywhere in a sequence that is at once easy to follow but at the same time wildly unpredictable and varied. That climax embodies everything the track does well: the powerful but balanced bass, the seamless surround integration, movement dynamics, crystal-clear and enveloping music, and perfectly focused dialogue. It's quite amazing how the track can throw so much sonic information out of the speakers yet maintain a perfectly balanced level of object separation, elemental clarity, and seamless sense of movement, all the while the subwoofer offers a dynamically intense and perfectly complimentary thump. The Atmos track is degrees better thanks to the added channels afforded to it, but those who can only decode the 7.1 track are not going to be left wanting much more. But this is a reference quality Atmos track from the opening titles to the climactic battle.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse carries over two of the extras found on the bundled Blu-ray: the audio commentary track and the "Caught in a Ham" short film, which is presented in 1080p/SDR. Below is a review of all extras available on the Blu-ray disc. This release ships with a Movies Anywhere digital copy code as well as a non-embossed slipcover.

• Alternate Universe Mode (1080p, 2:23:31): From the Blu-ray: "Watch in Alternate Universe Mode to discover alternate scenes, plot lines, characters and more with the filmmakers as your guide!" This is an entirely different "cut" with a number of scenes presented in early black-and-white storyboard concept stages that build a familiar, but ultimately unique, take on the film compared to its finished product. It sometimes includes humorous "commentary" by Will Gluck.
• Audio Commentary: Co-Writer and Producer Phil Lord, Producer Chris Miller, Directors Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey, and Co-Director and Co-Writer Rodney Rothman deliver a fun and breezy but also deeply insightful track that covers a multitude of filmmaking details. It's compelling for this film's uniqueness and excellence both.
• "Caught in a Ham" Short (1080p, 4:01): Presented in the style of a vintage WB cartoon, the short film follows Spider-Ham battling the villainous "Dr. Craw-daddy."
• We Are Spider-Man (1080p, 7:51): Cast and crew talk up the benefits of folding multiple Spider-Man variations into the film and discuss some of the core character qualities, Shameik Moore's vocal performance, and more.
• Spider-Verse: A New Dimension (1080p, 5:09): A detailed discussion of the movie's visual style.
• The Ultimate Comics Cast (1080p, 15:02): An in-depth discussion of the film's key voice cast and the qualities the actors brought to the characters.
• Designing Cinematic Comic Book Characters: Heroes & Hams (1080p, 7:45): Filmmakers discuss designing the various Spider characters, both their physical appearances and their personalities.
• Designing Cinematic Comic Book Characters: Scoundrels & Scorpions (1080p, 5:11): Similar to the supplement above but focused on the villains who appear in the film.
• A Tribute to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (1080p, 8:34): Remembering the icons who first brought Spider-Man to life and passed away within months of one another in 2018.
• The Spider-Verse Super Fan Easter Egg Challenge (1080p, 5:02): The filmmakers share some of the secrets that appear in the film.
• Lyric Videos (1080p): Included are "Sunflower" by Post Malone, Swae Lee (2:47) and "Familia" by Nicki Minaj, Anuel AA, Bantu (3:00).
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse doesn't reinforce the concept of franchise fatigue. It reinvents the franchise. While clinging to basic storytelling principles and a predictable arc, it finds plenty of character depth in fresh faces and heartfelt relationships. Action is achieved at unparalleled heights that even the best live action CGI supports cannot yet fully bring to the screen. It plays with great familiarity but great novelty at the same time. There may not be a better Superhero origins story out there, dramatically, visually, or creatively alike. Sony's UHD is in every way of reference quality. Dazzling video with HDR colors to die for during the extraordinarily colorful climax, a superb Dolby Atmos soundtrack, and plenty of extras make this one of the 2019's best releases. Very highly recommended.