UHD Review Black Panther: Wakanda Forever UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[Todd Erwin]

Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an emotional and more character-driven story than what we have seen before from the studio.



Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)



Released: 11 Nov 2022
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 161 min




Director: Ryan Coogler
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama



Cast: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira
Writer(s): Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole, Stan Lee



Plot: The people of Wakanda fight to protect their home from intervening world powers as they mourn the death of King T'Challa.



IMDB rating: 7.3
MetaScore: 67





Disc Information



Studio: Disney
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution: 2160p HEVC w/HDR



Aspect Ratio: 2.39.1
Audio: Dolby Atmos...

Continue reading...

 

[Jake Lipson]

Thanks, Todd.

Anybody who wants more substantial behind the scenes material than Todd says the disc provides should listen to "Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast." Ta-Nehisi Coates hosts it and has done lengthy, detailed interviews with several members of the cast and production team. This is appearing weekly on Wednesdays on major podcast platforms and is free. I have found that to be absolutely fascinating and illuminating.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Thanks, Todd.

Anybody who wants more substantial behind the scenes material should listen to "Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast." Ta-Nehisi Coates hosts it and has done lengthy, detailed interviews with several members of the cast and production team. This is appearing weekly on Wednesdays on major podcast platforms and is free.

The 20/20 special also has some nice interviews and is available on Disney+.

 

[Carlo_M]

I was really hoping to have an improved soundtrack on the disc vs. the Disney+ streaming version, but it looks like whoever did the nearfield mix for home video (which sounds like it was used for both streaming and disc) has compressed the dynamic range (which is how I feel about the D+ version, even accounting for adding +10db on your AVR like some other D+ MCU movies).

It's too bad because this is one of the titles that I paid really close attention to when I watched it in the theater (TCL Chinese Laser IMAX showing) because I wanted to try and remember as much as I could in order to compare it to the home version. I remember my first disappointment of Thor: Ragnarok on home video because it sounded anemic to what I thought I remembered from the theater. One thing I took special note of was during the Led Zeppelin songs, because I remember being surprised they were able to license it when I first saw it theatrically. I remember how prominent the songs were in the theater, and how much lower in the mix it played on the home release. I missed Shang Chi in the theaters (COVID era) so when I saw it on D+/UHD and was underwhelmed by the audio, I thought "well maybe this is just how it was in the theaters". So when I went into BPWF in the theaters, I paid very close attention to the audio, and it was a very dynamic soundtrack in the theaters, that absolutely shook the room when appropriate, which the D+ version did not do when I played the first hour or so last night.

It's a weird mix because for the first hour plus, when there were fight or action scenes I felt the bass was underwhelming. But when Shuri and Queen Ramonda meet Namor for the first time, and he rises out of the water, the bass notes on that scene activated the subs more than the fight scenes did. So it's like the mixer forgot to compress that short segment.

Just out of curiosity I fast forwarded to the fight 2 hours into the movie between the Wakandans and the Talokan at sea (where they use the sonic attacks and then they fight on the boat and the choppers) and I found the sound mix to be very compressed and underwhelming compared to what I recall in the theater just a couple of months ago.

And for those wondering, my 7.2.4 system with a properly mastered soundtrack (e.g. some earlier MCU UHDs, Christopher Nolan films on UHD) can absolutely recreate reference quality audio in my room.

I really wish Disney would rethink their nearfield mixing technique. It makes me recall how on some past discs, there would be a normal mix, and then a "night time" mix with compressed dynamic range (similar to using the night viewing mode on some AV Receivers)...it seems like on some MCU movies, they incorporated the night time mix algorithm into the standard mix. Which I'm sure sound fine for those with soundbars or using TV speakers, but it results in a very neutered mix for those who have invested in a true 5.1, 7.1 or Atmos audio setup.

 

[Wayne Klein]

Enjoyed the film. It’s flawed. It’s too long (the climatic battle on the ship could and should have been trimmed).

 

[Carlo_M]

Whoa.

Hold the phone.

I just got the Steelcase UHD from Best Buy. What can I say, I'm a physical media collector.

Ten minutes in and my initial impression is the sound on this is already way better than the Disney+ version. First of all, I don't need to turn my AVR up as much as I did in the D+ version (it's at 54dB vs 58dB). And also I'm getting way more bass already on the funeral dance scene and the vibranium break-in scene at the beginning than I recall getting on the D+ version. The dynamic range seems at first listen to be considerably better, and the surrounds also seems to be a bit more active than I recall.

I'm going to keep watching and see if my impression holds up. What will be telling will be the underwater sonic attack the Wakandans employed against the Talokan which, on the D+ version, was completely underwhelming.

It will be hard to do a true A/B because of the volume level difference of the D+ version compared to the disc. But maybe if I have time in the days ahead I'll try to do one.

------ EDIT ------

Got through the first major fight/battle scene with the Talokan taking Shuri and Riri, and then Riri's underwater journey/, and so far I can say the soundtrack is much more in line with what I'd expect than my first D+ viewing. It's now 10pm so I don't know if I can finish this tonight (trying to be mindful of my neighbors).

I recall from when I had developer mode enabled on my ATV4K that HBO 4K+Atmos streaming of Wonder Woman 84 yielded this result:

So if we assume Disney+ is in the same ballpark, that means the video bit rate is around 20Mbps average and the audio bitrate may be under 1Mbps. The UHD disc video bit rate according to my Panny player ranges from 30Mbps to over 60Mbps, and the audio bit rate is between 4.6Mbps and 7.3Mbps (during the minute or so I had the OSD on).

I wonder if a more compressed soundtrack was the price paid to fit in the lower streaming bit rate.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I just got the Steelcase UHD from Best Buy.

Which one did you choose? There are two different steelbook designs for this release.

What can I say, I'm a physical media collector.

I don't think you need to defend that decision on this board at all.

 

[Carlo_M]

My store only had the Wakandan cover, not the Talokan one.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I just posted this in the Roundup thread, but wanted to put it here too just in case more people who might be interested check this thread. We all know about the two steelbooks for Wakanda Forever, but I was poking around Best Buy's website and found this too. It appears to be a new steelbook version of the original Black Panther film with new artwork. Release date is February 7, so they obviously reissued it to piggyback on the release of the sequel.

Pricing is a very reasonable (for a Disney 4K steelbook) $24.99.

Here is the link in case anyone wants to pick this up.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/black-panther-steelbook-includes-digital-copy-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-blu-ray-only--best-buy-2018/6530914.p?skuId=6530914

I have all the MCU films in keepcase form and am continuing to get them that way so that the lineup will look at least semi-uniform on the shelf. I like the occasional steelbook but most of the time I tend to get those for non-franchise films so I don't have to be annoyed by a lack of consistency on the shelf. I don't feel the need to buy this again because the purchase I made in 2018 is still fine with me. I'm also happy with the standard edition of Wakanda Forever that I got this week.

But if getting some of the MCU in steelbook form and not others interested me, I have to admit that I would probably do it for these films. I really like this artwork a lot, and I think both of the steelbooks for Wakanda Forever look great too.

 

[jayembee]

That makes 3 different SteelBook designs for the first film, the first two being...

I have the first one, which I like. I really like the new one, but I'm not going to add it to the collection.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I really like the new one, but I'm not going to add it to the collection.

I'm sure Disney would love it if people would double dip. However, I doubt they're really expecting much of that. I think the intention here was to have a new steelbook available alongside the ones for the second movie. The other two you mentioned are out of print now. So now steelbook collectors who missed the first two can get one to match the sequel.