[Blu-Ray Review] ‘Captain Marvel’: Available On 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD June 11, 2019 From Marvel Studios

Captain Marvel [Blu-Ray]

Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn

Release Date: June 11, 2019

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

Set in the 1990s, “Captain Marvel” is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that introduces the MCU’s first stand-alone, female-franchise title character—Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. When we first meet Danvers, she already possesses her superhero powers, having left her earthly life behind and become a member of an intergalactic elite Kree military team called Starforce, led by their enigmatic commander, Yon-Rogg. But after Danvers has trained and worked with the Starforce team, and become a valued member, she finds herself back on Earth with new questions about her past. While on Earth she quickly lands on the radar of Nick Fury, and they must work together against a formidable enemy in the form of the Skrulls—the notorious Marvel bad guys made even more dangerous by their shape-shifting abilities—and their leader, Talos, who is spearheading a Skrull invasion of Earth.

‘Captain Marvel’ takes viewers back to the 1990’s (a previously uncovered period of time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and accompanies Carol Danvers (Larson), a proud member of the elite Kree Starforce military team who finds herself stranded on a mysterious planet (aka our Earth) in the 1990’s after a military encounter. Upon arriving in this unfamiliar land and forced to hunt down enemies that arrived along with her, small pieces of another life begin finding their way back to her memory, and thanks to the help of young S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury (Jackson) Danvers begins to unlock the secrets of her past, as well discover the potential her future holds in this action-packed, out of this world adventure from Marvel Studios.

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Sugar, TV’s The Affair) from a screenplay they additionally co-wrote with Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Tomb Raider 2018), Boden and Fleck do a wonderful job at the helm of ‘Captain Marvel’ guiding along the action-packed, space soaring fun with style and humor. The film also owes plenty of credit to the talented and well-chosen cast which includes Brie Larson (Avengers: Endgame), Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers), Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Jude Law (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Clark Gregg (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Annette Bening (American Beauty), Lashana Lynch (Fast Girls), Djimon Hounsou (Serenity 2019), Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy) and more, nearly all providing capable performances in each of their respective roles at the very least, and Larson proving that she’s quite worthy of joining the MCU roster of superhero greats.

‘Captain Marvel’ is another humorous, heroic and space-soaring addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that does a solid job of introducing us to the character of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel and offering us a glimpse at what she’s truly capable of. While additionally providing some fun background on the earlier days of Nick Fury and his (at the time) rookie trainee Agent Coulson, all the while bombarding us with fun and memorable 1990’s tidbits, references and even music. All coming together to form one wildly entertaining ride that may not reach the level of greatness some Marvel films have achieved, but certainly doesn’t disappoint either and makes for a respectable introduction to the universe’s new super (hero) star. I would strongly encourage fellow fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole to try and make a point of giving ‘Captain Marvel’ a chance whenever possible, and fans of Brie Larson probably won’t want to miss out on this one either. Even if you may not be overly familiar with the character (or even the overall MCU) beforehand, the hero’s debut outing still manages to deliver more than enough action, excitement and humor to keep folks more than engaged for its duration, without requiring much prior knowledge of the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe in order to appreciate it. While not necessarily the most noteworthy installment in the Marvel film lineup of late, it’s still a great deal of fun in its own right and well worth taking the time to check out at the absolute least.

Overall, ‘Captain Marvel’ is an incredibly fun, funny and visually stunning new entry in the Marvel film saga and a worthy introduction for the latest noteworthy superhero to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe that’s only further complimented by the capable guidance of directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and lead star Brie Larson. ‘Captain Marvel’ is definitely recommended for fans of the MCU who didn’t have the pleasure of catching it in theaters, as well as for anyone else even somewhat interested in the film. Thanks to the 90’s placement and the events largely occurring in an uncovered period of the universe it shouldn’t cause too much confusion for those not real familiar with the Marvel films in general. If nothing else it should prove more than worthy of a couple hours and the price of a rental and many Marvel fans will also probably end up wanting to add a copy to their collection sooner than later.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Captain Marvel’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.39:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks fantastic as a whole and provides a sharp, detailed presentation rich with vibrant colors throughout. It holds up impressively even during the various darkly lit, fast moving and heavily populated sequences, never allowing anything onscreen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible at any point. Overall, this a wonderful high definition video presentation from Disney/Marvel that should more than please fans of the film and the overall MCU.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack serves up a crisp, clean and quite aggressive audio presentation throughout. It constantly takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, action effects including characters and ships whipping throughout the various speakers, along with bits of dialogue, nature activity and plenty more, while never causing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible in the process. Overall, this is a pretty fantastic 7.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that delivers across the board and contributes plenty of additional fun to the viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Captain Marvel’ includes a number of enjoyable extras that fans should enjoy. Included on the release is an optional ‘Film Introduction by Co-writers/Directors Anna Baden and Ryan Fleck’ (running approximately 2 minutes), along with a feature length ‘Audio Commentary by Co-writers/Directors Anna Baden and Ryan Fleck’, in addition to some ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 9 minutes in length altogether) and a ‘Gag Reel’ (running approximately 2 minutes). We are also treated to a collection of Behind the Scenes Featurettes which feature interviews/comments with members of the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are: ‘Becoming A Super Hero’ (running approximately 7 minutes), ‘Big Hero Moment’ (approximately 3 minutes), ‘The Origin of Nick Fury’ (approximately 3 minutes), ‘The Dream Team’ (3 minutes), ‘The Skrulls and the Kree’ (3 minutes) and ‘Hiss-Sterical Cat-Titude’ (3 minutes).