3D Blu-ray Review Captain America: Civil War 3D Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

matt-hough

Captain America: Civil War 3D Blu-ray Review

As the culmination of three Iron Man movies, two Captain America films, and two adventures featuring The Avengers, Anthony and Joe Russo’s Captain America: Civil War is something of a masterpiece.

[review]
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[Adam Lenhardt]

There's something weird going on, where the comments on the review aren't showing up as posts on the forum side.

So the aspect ratio is a static 2.35:1 and doesn’t open up to 1.90:1 during the airport scene as it did in IMAX 3D theaters? Bummer.

As far as I know, Disney doesn't go for shifting aspect ratios on its IMAX-shot footage as seen with The Dark Knight, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and Mission:Impossible Ghost Protocol from various other studios. The one exception being the 3D release of Guardians of the Galaxy. But in that case, even the 2D Blu-Ray was locked at 2:40:1 only.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The one exception being the 3D release of Guardians of the Galaxy. But in that case, even the 2D Blu-Ray was locked at 2:40:1 only.

Disney went for it in Tron Legacy as well. Guardians was the only other Marvel film with shifting ratios on disc so I was hoping that was gonna set a precedent.

In my opinion, the way the Guarduans disc was presented was correct - the only version that had shifting ratios theatrically was the IMAX 3D version, so only the 3D disc has it. Was hoping it would be the same with Civil War, but I'll still be getting it.

 

[RJ992]

Other reviews state that the airport sequence does shift the ratio on the 3D edition.

 

[George_W_K]

Other reviews state that the airport sequence does shift the ratio on the 3D edition.

Well that will be excellent, and lock me in to the 3D version as well.

 

[Matt Hough]

Other reviews state that the airport sequence does shift the ratio on the 3D edition.

I'll have to go back and look again. I was so engrossed in the movie that it literally didn't register.

 

[ToEhrIsHuman]

I'll have to go back and look again. I was so engrossed in the movie that it literally didn't register.

Maybe, like for "Guardians of the Galaxy", the changing IMAX aspect ratios only happens in the 3D version.

 

[Mark-P]

I did find a scan of the 3D version back cover on ebay. It only lists one aspect ratio, so if the 3D film actually has a floating ratio, even the spec. writers missed it.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I did find a scan of the 3D version back cover on ebay. It only lists one aspect ratio, so if the 3D film actually has a floating ratio, even the spec. writers missed it.

That was also true of Guardians 3D.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Maybe, like for "Guardians of the Galaxy", the changing IMAX aspect ratios only happens in the 3D version.

In my opinion that would be the correct presentation. Since the movie was presented as a static 2.39:1 in 2D theaters, that's how I think it should be on 2D discs as well.

 

[Scott Burke]

I guess I'm in the minority, but if it wasn't for Spider-Man and ant man I would have been really bored with this movie. I did not find character motivation to make sense, especially at the end of the film.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

In my opinion that would be the correct presentation. Since the movie was presented as a static 2.39:1 in 2D theaters, that's how I think it should be on 2D discs as well.

I kind of wish that had been done on Tron: Legacy, as well. To be honest, I actually find this multi-aspect ratio trend a little distracting, especially when it jumps back and forth between ratios in the middle of a sequence (which, to be fair, doesn't really happen on either Tron or Civil War).

I've been saying for a long time that a possible solution would be to seamlessly branch the IMAX footage, allowing the viewer to choose between multi-ratio, and consistent 2.40:1. It might not work with something like The Dark Knight Rises (long movie, lots of IMAX footage scattered throughout), but I think it might have for Civil War and its one IMAX sequence.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

JJ Abrams isn't a fan of the switching either, which is why the first home video releases of Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Wars: The Force Awakens didn't have them.

 

[Brett_B]

Other reviews state that the airport sequence does shift the ratio on the 3D edition.

I just read the 3D review at bluray.com and they do mention the shift in the ratio during the airport sequence.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Loved this movie!

The steel book just arrived from Best Buy.

I hope to watch it this weekend, but either way I can check to confirm the airport aspect ratio change in 3D tonight.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Yep. 100% confirmed. The 3D version goes full screen for the airport, the 2D stays at scope.

Damn, what great movie this was! Arguably Marvel's best yet. The Russos really nailed it. I'm so glad they are doing the next two Avengers films.

The image quality looked great here. Now I hope Disney will start releasing titles on UHD BD so Marvel Studios can get their movies out on the format.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Yep. 100% confirmed. The 3D version goes full screen for the airport, the 2D stays at scope.

Fantastic! Was hoping for that!

The image quality looked great here. Now I hope Disney will start releasing titles on UHD BD so Marvel Studios can get their movies out on the format.

For what it's worth, all of the Marvel movies to date have been finished with 2K DIs, so I'm not sure if there would be much of a difference for most of them. The Civil War airport sequence was shot with the IMAX 4K cameras, and the IMAX DCP may have been 4K (American Cinematographer is murky on this point), but for the rest of the movies, I'm uncertain if there'd be much of a difference between BD and UHD versions, since they'd all be based off the same 2K master. Star Wars: The Force Awakens from Disney was also completed in 2K. Disney seems comfortable at this time using 2K as their master format. If their 2K masters are good enough to be blown up for IMAX, the largest screens in the world, it's hard for me to imagine them putting much of an effort into doing 4K for the home.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Fantastic! Was hoping for that!



For what it's worth, all of the Marvel movies to date have been finished with 2K DIs, so I'm not sure if there would be much of a difference for most of them. The Civil War airport sequence was shot with the IMAX 4K cameras, and the IMAX DCP may have been 4K (American Cinematographer is murky on this point), but for the rest of the movies, I'm uncertain if there'd be much of a difference between BD and UHD versions, since they'd all be based off the same 2K master. Star Wars: The Force Awakens from Disney was also completed in 2K. Disney seems comfortable at this time using 2K as their master format. If their 2K masters are good enough to be blown up for IMAX, the largest screens in the world, it's hard for me to imagine them putting much of an effort into doing 4K for the home.

I don't know how accurate it is, but IMDB says that Civil War has a 4K DI.

Even though the others would be upscales for the resolution, there'd still be the benefit of the wider color space and new HDR grade that would be done for the UHD release. Lots of great UHD BDs are 2K up converts. Though to be honest, the HDR is something that only interests me for potential future viewing. I'm using a projector for films (JVC RS600) and HDR for home projectors is more of compromise than it's worth. But I'd like to imagine that someday I can get a 100+" OLED (or comprobable new tech).

The Making of Civil War featurette was nice. Marvel hasn't done much for their home releases for a while, so it was nice to see a little more effort here. Certainly nowhere near stuff like the Lord of the Rings documentaries, but a definite step in the right direction. A Marvel "One Shot" would have been nice, but they are so busy filming Guardians of the Galaxy (well, just finished), Spider-Man and Thor (while doing preproduction on Infinity War) that it is understandable that they may not have the resources to produce another quality short film. I still hope for their return someday.

I liked the deleted scenes, but there was nothing that was a crime to have been omitted. Most were subtle and short. The Russos (and Markus & McFeeley) shoot from a tight script. There's no extra hour of story that hit the cutting room floor here. I'd say I liked the extended/alternate funeral the most. Some nice bits of extra character stuff and one or two visuals, and an alternate version of Steve's and Sharon's conversation. And the short bit with Bucky using Cap's shield at the airport was nice.

Again, I am stoked that these guys are doing Infinity War (Avengers 3) and the Avengers 4, which will be two separate but related films that are the culmination of 11 years of storytelling. I've really loved their take on Cap and this universe in general, so I love that they started a story with The Winter Soldier which they continue through Civil War, and then get to continue with that through line in two Avengers films. It's good to be a geek.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I'm sorry Joss Whedon wasn't interested in sticking around to see the Avengers movies to their conclusion (or at least, the conclusion of the Infinity Wars storyline that he started), but if Whedon couldn't do it, the Russos are absolutely my next choice.

I haven't been wowed by any 4K or HDR stuff I've seen yet, but I'll add the necessary caveat that I've only seen HDR in Dolby Vision-equipped theaters, not on a flat panel at home. That said, frankly, I didn't notice any difference between a non-HDR showing of the same title on a different screen. Those differences in color might be beyond my ability to perceive - or might not be as noticeable on a movie screen. I certainly don't know enough to be sure. But it's made me skeptical of 4K and HDR for home. I also have zero interest in seeing older films redone for HDR. And since these movies were originally released in 3D, I'd rather have them on regular BD in 3D, than on UHD in 2D.

But I hope, for the sake of UHD enthusiasts, that Disney eventually puts them out - just cause I'm not seeing the big deal yet doesn't mean that no one else should have access to them

 

[Sean Bryan]

I'm sorry Joss Whedon wasn't interested in sticking around to see the Avengers movies to their conclusion (or at least, the conclusion of the Infinity Wars storyline that he started), but if Whedon couldn't do it, the Russos are absolutely my next choice.

I haven't been wowed by any 4K or HDR stuff I've seen yet, but I'll add the necessary caveat that I've only seen HDR in Dolby Vision-equipped theaters, not on a flat panel at home. That said, frankly, I didn't notice any difference between a non-HDR showing of the same title on a different screen. Those differences in color might be beyond my ability to perceive - or might not be as noticeable on a movie screen. I certainly don't know enough to be sure. But it's made me skeptical of 4K and HDR for home. I also have zero interest in seeing older films redone for HDR. And since these movies were originally released in 3D, I'd rather have them on regular BD in 3D, than on UHD in 2D.

But I hope, for the sake of UHD enthusiasts, that Disney eventually puts them out - just cause I'm not seeing the big deal yet doesn't mean that no one else should have access to them

I don't think you should notice any difference in color if you are comparing theatrical Dolby Vision HDR screenings to regular theatrical screenings as they both would be using the same theatrical DCI/P3 color space. But BD uses the smaller rec709 while UHD BD uses the same color space DCI/P3 you'd see in the theater. Not a dramatic difference, but noticeable.

For my home projection, I actually use an HDMI spoofer (the HD Fury Integral) to tell the UHD player that my monitor can accept the wider color space but not HDR (since projectors can't really do HDR well). So the player converts to SDR but keeps the wider color space. That way I can take advantage of any increase in resolution and the theatrical color space while still enjoying the maximum dynamic range and contrast of the projector (HDR on projectors ironically puts the projectors into their lowest dynamic range modes - high lamp and iris fully open, which raises the black floor while still not reaching the peak brightness intended for HDR).

HDR is really made with flat panels in mind, but even most current flat panels will have similar issues as I described with projectors. Only the really high end displays (LCDs with good full array local dimming or OLEDs) can do HDR properly. But they are too small for me for viewing films. Some day I'll be able to have a home display that is as large or larger than my projection screen but that can do the peak brightness of HDR while keeping deep blacks. When that day comes I'll be happy to have the option of HDR on my film collection.

Edited to add: Theatrical HDR does not represent what you should expect to see with home HDR (with a monitor that can actually do it welll). The Dolby theatrical HDR is a completely different grade, mastering to a much lower peak brightness than the grade for home HDR. Projector owners wish that the theatrical HDR grades were available for home use since it would work better for our displays. But the home HDR grades are geared with flat panel brightness in mind.