Guardians
Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2
(2017/Marvel Studios/Disney 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B Sound: B+/B Extras: B
Film: B
Sequels
are always a dilemma, especially if the first film is a surprise and
so many people love it, made more complicated yet if it was a
surprise hit. Thus is the situation with James Gunn's Guardians
Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2
(2017), a hugely-budgeted sequel that could have made so many
mistakes so many ways, but Gunn was the director of the original and
even owned by Disney now, Marvel Studios is still the original
studio. They got the original cast back including Chris Pratt, Zoe
Saldana, Dave Bautista and the voice acting of Bradley Cooper and
(now for Baby Groot, which the makers do not overplay) Vin Diesel.
This
time, they're in more trouble by creatures trying to kill them,
people who hate them and might want them dead and then they have
their own emotional and psychological issues, angst and Star-Lord
(Pratt) might just find out who his father is! But not before they
battle a giant creature in the opening that sets the tone that the
film will be much like the first one: outrageous, wild, crazy, funny,
bold, daring, highly genre-adept and still have a good story to tell.
Adding to old friends and enemies turning up, along with more great
choices of classic hit songs, a deadly new opponent in Ayesha
(Elizabeth Debicki in a near star-making role) leads her planet of
people to try to catch the gang as Rocket (Cooper) has stolen a
valuable fuel substance that EVERYBODY wants.
What
I really like is how well thought out this all is, the wit is top
rate and the 1970s sense of sass that made the first film here is
totally in tact, even as they veer (hopefully not for the worst in
the long run) into early 1980s pop culture, which is a different
culture. The cast continues to keep its chemistry, new characters
work (Howard The Duck gets another cameo in) and to say much more
would ruin the film. However, this is on par with the original and
one of the best films of the year. With a third film on the way, I
hope they can at least keep the momentum going.
This
is the first film shot almost totally with the new 8K RED Weapon
Ultra HD camera and the stability and color shows it to be worthy of
the better 35mm prints, though it also remains HD. We get two
versions of the transfer starting with a Disney first, a 2160p
HEVC/H.265, HDR (10-Bit color; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced 2.35 X 1
Ultra High Definition image in their debut in for the great Ultra HD
4K Blu-ray format. A solid choice, this does look better than how it
looked on the olderD projector I screened the film in. With the
usual flaws of old HD hardly here, you can really enjoy the film that
much more and this instantly will become one of the most demand 4K
Blu-rays on the market. Dolby Vision was expected over HDR here, but
I guess they'll save that for a future edition down the line.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer second version
on regular Blu-ray is a bit more pale in parts than expected, in
comparison to my theatrical digital screening and just in general, so
I have to say I was a little disappointed by this, yet to go from 8K
to standard Blu-ray means maybe some quality had to be compromised.
We'll see how later 8K and even 6K shoots look in the standard 1080p
Blu-ray format in future releases from all the studios, but Director
of Photography Henry Braham (Legend
Of Tarzan,
The
Golden Compass)
manages to recreate the look of the first film on a new format and
that was not easy. Cheers to him definitely.
The
two formats offer different best soundtracks for their presentations
with the 2160p 4K Blu-ray giving us a lossless Dolby Atmos 11.1 mix
(the film was also issued in IMAX 11.1 where available theatrically)
and the improvement is nice, while the regular 1080p Blu-ray has a
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 or 5.1 lossless mix. While both have
more than their share of state-of-the-art sonic moments that will
impress, the Atmos 11.1 mix is better. Unfortunately for both, with
better clarity and fidelity (the original film still sounds great
too), the one gripe is that some of the hit records do not sound as
good as they should and it is a worse situation here.
While
some albums and even songs have been lucky enough to get new sonic
transfer from their original audio master tapes for high-def audio
streaming, high end expensive 12-inch vinyl record repressing and
even the still-alive, the highly underrated Super Audio CD format we
still
review
and even audio-only Blu-rays (primarily from Universal Music), not
enough of our music heritage is getting this treatment. This can
even include the music being not just in 2.0 Stereo, but in 5.1 sound
itself, lending itself well to films such as these. Instead, the
sonics of the great songs chosen can sound a bit off. The other
debate is should they sound their age (the cliche of worn out copies
being the only ones) or sound as clean, clear and great as possible.
I lean towards the latter strongly. Aside from that, you're certain
to be impressed.
Extras
include a comical poster and Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC
portable and other cyber iTunes capable devices, while the Blu-ray
adds The
Making of ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2''
in four-parts, Guardians
Inferno Music Video
with David Hasselhoff and special guests, a Gag Reel, Four Deleted
Scenes, Feature Length Audio Commentary by director James Gunn and
additional digital-only features you need to get the discs to access
on-line.
For
more on the first film, try this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13188/Guardians+Of+The+Galaxy+(2014/Marvel/Disney
-
Nicholas Sheffo
