The Avengers 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Avengers 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

In conjunction with the release of Avengers: Infinity War, Disney has released the first two 'Avengers' films -- The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron -- to the UHD format. This release sees the image boosted with a gorgeous 2160p/HDR-enhanced video presentation and features a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack. No new extras are included.

The Avengers 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.

The Avengers was reportedly finished at 2K but that should in no way deter any "native 4K or bust" naysayers away from what is a reliable and highly enjoyable 2160p image. The picture is substantially and regularly crisp. It takes on a modestly glossy façade but it's in no way flat or lacking intimate detailing. Textures are terrific. Fury's leathery jacket, which is black, reveals impressive, tactile detail even in low light. Helicarrier interiors are shiny and refined, a nice combination of slick industrial, scuffed floors, and sharp digital readouts. Rubble-strewn city streets deliver amazingly intimate and sharp complexity during the climactic battle, and even distance shots and integrated visual effects maintain an effortless excellence. The 2160p resolution brings out the finest textural qualities of the various Superhero costumes, almost to the point of seeing how they look a little fake, such as the metal armor Thor wears. But the complexity on Cap's suit, for instance, is striking, with the fabric revealing rigidity and tangible definition. Colors are terrific. Black widow's red hair really pops in her debut scene. It's bright, intense, and wonderfully saturated while the entire palette dazzles with the HDR-10 highlights, notably added intensity to fiery explosions or the lightning Thor captures in and shoots from Mjolnir. Black levels are beautifully presented with very impressive depth and no major devouring crush. Whites are brilliant. Both texture and detail are a very nice step forward from the Blu-ray. Clarity is greatly improved, textures appear much more refined and complex, and colors are dynamically more intense without altering the film's fundamental color schemes. Viewers might spot the occasional, and very minor, flaw, such as aliasing on what appear to be blinds in the background of a shot on the Helicarrier's bridge a the 55:55 mark but otherwise this one's pretty legit. Fas are going to be thrilled with Disney's work on this one.

The Avengers 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Avengers' Dolby Atmos soundtrack, as usual for a Disney output, is lacking raw volume at usual listening levels and can be reserved and flat at the low end. But the latter seems scattershot in when and to what degree the low end checks out. Captain America's intro, with the volume cranked up, actually delivers some decent weight when he's throwing punches at a bag, combined with haunting flashbacks to his previous film. But then at the 28 minute mark, when a jet flies by, there's a good whoosh but no real low end accompanying it. In chapter eight, around the 40-minute mark when Loki demands people kneel before him, there's a very strong, positive low end whomp accompanying his staff's pounds on the ground. In chapter 11, an explosion rocks the Helicarrier but doesn't rock the stage with all that much low end intensity. And the end battle is a fairly uneven, but still relatively delightful and sonically eventful, teeter-totter of good and mediocre. Moral of the story: low end output and depth and density are very uneven, though certainly never prolific even at the track's best.

As for the other sound components, everything is rather good given that the listener adjusts the volume upwards a bit to compensate for the studio's engineering choices. Generally, beyond the uneven bass, what the track delivers is a rather wonderful sense of precise sound design and deployment. The integration of so many little background elements, whether minor (Black Widow's "interrogation" near film's start), moderate (Calcutta city din in the following scene), or major (the chaos of the final battle), is always a strength. Surrounds stretch the stage and capture a wonderful array of sound elements that present with flawless location-specific positioning, excellent stage traversing movement, or both. Overhead engagement comes early in the film when the Tesseract activates and brings Loki to Earth. Natasha, from a jet, ordering Loki to stand down in chapter eight, has the sound emanate from the jet's loudspeakers above him and the listening audience. Large scale battle effects, notably the Helicarrier battle and the climactic action sequence, enjoy a good amount of top end sonic content that is more finely interwoven into everything else rather than discreetly presented. Music is really quite good with the volume cranked up. The Germany scene in chapter eight delivers well rounded classical notes to prominent width and surround integration, and such holds the for the duration. Dialogue delivery is flawless, again with the volume appropriately adjusted.

The Avengers 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Avengers' UHD disc contains no extras, but the bundled Blu-ray carries over all the supplements from the original 2012 BD release. For convenience, below is a list of what's included. For full supplemental reviews, please click here. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Marvel's The Avengers: A Second Screen Experience
• Audio Commentary: Director Joss Whedon.
• Marvel One-Shot: Item 47
• Gag Reel
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• A Visual Journey
• Assembling the Ultimate Team
• Music Video: "Live to Rise" by Soundgarden.

The Avengers 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Avengers may have been eclipsed by Infinity War as the best in the series (at least "series" as it's defined by films distinctly labeled "Avengers" and not in the greater MCU landscape) but it sure does hold up as a ton of fun. Great character moments, zippy dialogue, first-class special effects, and terrifically executed action all contribute to a whale of a good Superhero film. Disney's UHD disc does right by the film, too, at least visually. The 2160p transfer is a stunner, the Atmos track has its moments of good-great and subpar-disappointing (though still a mostly enjoyable track with the volume cranked), and the carryover supplements are fine. Very highly recommended, and for packaging fans there's an accompanying Best Buy exclusive SteelBook.