There are so many examples of reference 4K Blu-ray discs that it’s hard to go wrong with any of them. A lot of it comes down to what you want to mark with the format. If you’re looking for Dolby Atmos, there’s probably no better example than the Top Gun movies. There are many competitors for image quality. I wouldn’t blame you if you chose Alien or 2001: A Space Odyssey for example.
My personal choice is a bit off the wall though. It’s no secret that the DC Extended Universe has been filled with ups and downs, mostly downs, but there are some solid movies in it. I have a soft spot for James Wan’s Aquaman, and it just happens to be one of those showcase 4K Blu-ray discs. Maybe you’re like me, and you love the movie too. That’s always a nice combination, because some reference discs, like Gemini Man, look good but not great.
Aquaman is by no means a new movie, but it’s still a powerhouse disc that shows why I made the jump to 4K Blu-ray. Maybe it could be the push you need too.
Aquaman is an amazing showcase
This is Dolby Vision done right
The superhero craze was at the peak of its powers in 2018, and Aquaman took advantage of it. It managed to crack a billion dollars at the box office, something that was typically reserved for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I wouldn’t say Aquaman reaches the heights of the MCU, but it’s a perfectly good entry in a mediocre DCEU. Perhaps this film’s lasting legacy is its 4K disc.
Aquaman’s 4K comes with an impressive Dolby Vision scan, and if you have a TV that’s good enough to show you high-quality HDR, this disc holds its own. Perhaps thanks to Wan’s flair, Aquaman has many striking scenes, and it’s with color. Black Manta’s suit looks great, and even the surface scenes look great. I don’t have much bad to say about the visual qualities of this film, and it still holds up as an amazing 4K disc after all these years.
Superhero movies should be packed with a lot of visual flair, but that’s not the case with many of them. A lot of the DCEU, in particular, is dark and deep, and that’s a little strange to me. The MCU has this problem too, which is why I’m thankful filmmakers like James Gunn exist, because his Superman is another example of great HDR at work.
While Aquaman is known for its visuals, I’d like to highlight another aspect of this already great disc. Audio quality is very important to me, and I can tell you for sure that Aquaman delivers in this area as well.
Aquaman also has a great Dolby Atmos track
A treat for the eyes and ears
Many people think that the 4K Blu-ray format is all about the visuals, but that’s only half of it. The audio is a big part of why I enjoy the 4K format, and it may be the main reason why I enjoy it. It obviously varies disc by disc, but the Dolby Atmos mix of Aquaman is very impressive. The underwater scenes shine the most here, and they really engage all the channels of your sound system. I know I sound like I’m raving about a forgotten DC Comics movie, but I really think this is one of the best 4K discs out there.
I wouldn’t rush to buy a copy if you don’t like the movie, but if you are at all interested, you’ll get a pretty entertaining movie that’s a great showcase for what the 4K UHD format is capable of. Of course, there are many discs available today that can do that, but if you jump into a time machine and go back to 2019, this is one of the earlier discs that helped sell people on the Blu-ray to 4K Blu-ray upgrade.
Many 4K Blu-ray discs fit this bill, but Aquaman is strangely one of the ones I return to more often. As much as I love the Dune movies, for example, it’s much easier to throw on something like Aquaman for mindless enjoyment. That doesn’t mean Aquaman is better than Dune, because it isn’t, but it’s easier to be in the mood for something in the superhero genre a lot of the time.
It just so happens that one of my guilty pleasure movies has great Dolby Vision and Atmos implementation. I never complain about a movie looking or sounding too good, so no complaints here. I don’t expect to convert anyone into an Aquaman believer from here, but I really think that the Aquaman 4K disc can highlight how much a 4K TV and Dolby Atmos sound system make a difference to movies. Those things aren’t enough to make a bad movie good, but I think they’re enough to make a good movie great.