Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

The Marvels 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 7, 2024

Not to mix super hero publishing house metaphors, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe evidently does have its own kryptonite. While the film under discussion is probably a salient example of a "franchise" (if the MCU can be so described) having at least moments of weakness, some with longer memories may remember a television series with at least a tangential relationship to this film, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which admittedly stuck around for several seasons but which saw its audience numbers decline pretty precipitously throughout its run. Another even lesser remembered but still somewhat linked effort, the 1998 television movie Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D (with the inimitable David Hasselhoff essaying the title role), was roundly decried and did not lead to its evidently planned on series. Nick (Samuel L. Jackson) is on hand again in this enterprise, in a film that tries to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the screen to see what will stick. That includes offering a combo platter of both big screen and television characters from the MCU, in a kind of meta-"crossover episode" that offers some intermittently winning humor but which is simply too chaotic to ever gel completely.

The big screen character comes courtesy of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), who is of course Captain Marvel, and who due to some overly ridiculous screenwriting ends up pulling a veritable Freaky Friday with not one but two characters from MCU small screen miniseries, Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), also known as Ms. Marvel (kind of interestingly still not available on either 1080 Blu-ray or 4K UHD discs as of the writing of this review), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) from WandaVision, who evidently needs to up her superhero(ine) game and get a nickname, stat.

The "story" here attempts to fitfully follow up the events of Captain Marvel while also providing a way to get Carol, Kamala and Monica together as some kind of distaff superpowered version of The Three Musketeers, here tasked with dealing with the craziness engendered by them switching places (when they use their powers simultaneously, which of course they do) while also trying to "clean up" a rather spectacular environmental catastrophe caused (however unwittingly) by Carol. It's this latter aspect that arguably might have been utilized to provide a less, well, cartoonish set of villains, since main baddie Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), while admittedly the very model of a modern MCU antagonist, is nonetheless trying to save her Kree species after events at least tangentially related to Carol's butt kicking antics in Captain Marvel. Alas, there's little to no subtlety in the writing, and several characters might as well be wearing white or black hats depending on their proclivities, though even that conceit isn't necessary since the screenplay (which has signs of having been "written by committee") telegraphs everything so blatantly.

While there are definitely enjoyable moments scattered through this often very noisy enterprise, either the writing, editing or directing (depending on your point of view) is never woven together, with characters in major jeopardy one second only to miraculously be okay the next without any real explanation, and some lapses in narrative sense that just kind of linger until the next big action set piece arrives. And there are a lot of action set pieces in this film, in what seems to be a patent realization that the basic story isn't quite cutting it, so maybe it's best to move on to some kind of diversion. There's the typical CGI wonderment on hand in these sequences, which may at least partially satisfy adrenaline junkies and others who prefer visual blandishments over clear scripting.

The film probably would have seemed more tonally consistent if it had simply gone for the comedic gusto, but instead it veers pretty wildly from almost slapstick elements involving Kamala's admittedly lovable family, to more "serious" explorations of Monica's backstory and how it connects to Carol's own story. But the fact that the whole Kree annihilation angle is basically a genocide, one only made further distressing due to Dar-Benn's own activities which may lead to another genocide, means the film probably has too many disparate elements to juggle, with the result seeming kind of like a bunch of disconnected plot points thrown together for no seeming reason, rather in fact like the joining of the film's three central characters.

The Marvels 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from Disney's 1080 disc.

The Marvels is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista and Marvel Studios with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb lists Arri Alexa cameras but perhaps just a little surprisingly given source capture resolutions of over 4K, only a 2K DI. That may arguably have deprived this 4K version of some amount of improvement in fine detail levels, but overall, this is another stellar looking release of an MCU production, one that offers secure and at times kind of jaw dropping detail levels on practical items like sets and costumes, but which also has some rather nicely rendered CGI. As I mentioned in the review of the 1080 version of this film, if there are any qualms to be had in terms of overall sharpness, they're probably going to be aimed mostly at some of the VFX work, and that softness and occasional lack of convincing detail is probably more overtly noticeable given the increased resolution of this 4K UHD disc. There's a beautifully wide array of hues suffusing the palette which offers some of the most observable upgrades on this disc courtesy of HDR, and everything from some of the rather subtly graded material, as in the opening vignette with Dar-Benn which has a kind of cool slate gray to blue ambience, to some of the more brightly lit and naturally graded Earthbound outdoor scenes all offer superbly vivid tones and remarkably consistent levels of fine detail.

The Marvels 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Marvels features a nicely immersive Dolby Atmos track that frankly may not be that much different from the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on Disney's 1080 release of the film, but which offers clear surround activity from the get go. As I mention in our 1080 review, there's somewhat intricately designed surround activity that almost offers "teases" in terms of what permeates various channels, so that, for instance, some of the booming thuds and weird ambient whistling noises in the opening sequence can dot various speakers just for a moment before "moving on" to somewhere else, and that includes some kind of intermittent sounds emanating from the Atmos speakers. The glut of action scenes and some flying material (including both spacecraft and individuals at various times) also offers great opportunities for enjoyable panning effects and provides some of the more noticeable verticality that the Atmos track can offer. The interweaving of sound effects with Laura Karpman's score is also very artfully handled and adds to the layered quality of the track. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, even in some of the noisier action scenes, where it's nicely prioritized. Optional English, French, Japanese and Spanish subtitles are available.

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

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentary by Nia DaCosta and Tara DeMarco

1080 Disc

• Entangled (HD; 10:57) is a decent EPK frankly stolen by the adorable Iman Vellani.


• The Production Diaries (HD; 5:30) offers Iman again as a quasi-tour guide through some backstage material.


• Gag Reel (HD; 1:59)


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 5:48)


• Audio Commentary by Nia DaCosta and Tara DeMarco

Additionally a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

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

It's kind of amazing that a film that takes in close to $200 million at the box office is still considered a "failure", but the fact that The Marvels' budget was considerably more than even that tidy sum may indicate at least allusively to how overstuffed the feature is. There's a lot to look at and listen to in the film, but as a wise Bard once opined, the film may well be a tale "told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". Technical merits are first rate and the few supplements enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.