Aquaman 4K Blu-ray Review & Comments

Casimir Harlow

Movies Editor
Joined
Feb 28, 2005
Messages
9,258
Reaction score
18,870
Points
8,059
Age
45
Location
Reading
thanks for the review cas,steelbook arrived today,will be watching later.
 
This will be like another Justice League for me. So I probably won't be buying this full price. Meera is definitely Kick Ass (I love Kick Ass women) but was better once she got out of the silly green outfit. JM is Aquaman, nuff sed! Nice funny moments, even the ones you could see coming.

The non HDR Blu Ray picture quality is outstanding and so I agree with Cas that the HDR version will rival and may even be better than Avatar. In fact it was so bright and colourful that it took me a minute to realise that it wasn't HDR. The standard 5.1 sound up-mixed by Neural-X is also great so I can't wait to get the HDR disc and hear the full Atmos effect.

Overall, I already know it will look great and I'm sure it will sound great, so just like the Justice League, this slightly sub-par film superhero flick should be more than watchable (for me!).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I watched this the other night and while visually quite striking its possibly one of the worst comic book movies i have seen for some time. It was nauseating and I couldn’t wait for it to end. A jumbled mess and quite shocking it earned as much as it did.
I like the directors horror stuff but this was terrible.
 
Spot on review. This is a no brainer fellas on the AV front.

Some might find the story to be shite but the pacing is almost flawless to the extent of forgiving any shortcomings.
 
Spot on review. This is a no brainer fellas on the AV front.

Some might find the story to be sh*te but the pacing is almost flawless to the extent of forgiving any shortcomings.
Whilst watching the first few minutes of the film the word that came to my mind was "hokey", it felt contrived, poorly acted and not believable at all. That is to be fair a problem for such a key part of the story. But once we got past that and focused on JM himself, I found it picked up a lot and in the end I enjoyed the story.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
How much IMAX aspect ratio do we get?

Cannot wait until entire films are shot that way. The IMAX shots in MI6 were SO much more impressive than the standard widescreen scenes.

May be considered blasphemy to some, but - especially in 4k at 65" - black bars are a bit of an annoyance. I get the logic regarding widescreen format, but i find full screen imagery far more satisfying. I'm finally over feeling a little guilty about that as well...
 
Thanks for the golden shower review, Cas.
I doubt I'd bother buying this. It's not a bad film just not a very good one IMO.
There are too many characters sitting around centre stage, I agree.
Worst sin for me was how Mera's floats kept deflating out of water.
 
You have literally read my mind Cas, my first thoughts were "Tron" underwater. I watched the standard blu tonight, amazing IMAX footage with all the neon lights glowing loud and proud. Add to this the amazing Atmos track! It's just pure ear and eye candy, even on the standard blu:smashin:
 
For those who may be turned off by the quality of the movie (AV quality notwithstanding), Aquaman is a fantastic movie to watch with some friends if you've got a drinking game. The movie is inexplicably silly and lends itself really well to making fun of it.
 
Just watched it... Cor blimey is it a rubbish film! Audio and visuals can't make up for the terrible dialogue, plot and acting. It felt like it was trying to be all things to all people and it ended up half assing everything. Throughly disappointed.
 
For those who may be turned off by the quality of the movie (AV quality notwithstanding), Aquaman is a fantastic movie to watch with some friends if you've got a drinking game. The movie is inexplicably silly and lends itself really well to making fun of it.
Doesn't work with milk!
 
heat for the review! I just remember cringing at the scene with him at the aquarium as a kid...
 
10/10 for both video and audio, and on a disc that's not native 4K t'boot? I wouldn't be understating things to say your entire reputation is at stake, Cas. :rotfl:

Will let you know tomorrow. Will be watching tonight. Excited. I'm already singing the theme tune.

Aquaman, Aquaman
Does whatever an aqua can
Is he wet?
Yes he is
Cos he's always in the sea
D3slP1kWkAAsymE.jpg
 
Thanks for the Review Cas. Not an immediate Buy, but a solid rental proposition for me (Before deciding on Buying or not!)
 
Just noticed you have reviewed this @Casimir Harlow :smashin:

Totally agree and excellent concise accurate review as always.

10/10 for picture & sound oh yes - wow that image just jumps off the screen doesn't it and I do love the full screen filling IMAX ratio which looks glorious :cool:

8/10 for the film is fair and I would go 7 or 8 :thumbsup:

Good to see Ivan Drago do some under water fighting too :D
 
It amazes me that 'Aquaman' managed to make well over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. A Green Lantern tier b-movie that looks spectacular. The ambush & extended fight sequence in Sicily and Trench sequence are legitimately jaw dropping. Also, Amber Heard. Otherwise, this is a terrible (albeit strangely likeable) movie.
 
How much IMAX aspect ratio do we get?

Cannot wait until entire films are shot that way. The IMAX shots in MI6 were SO much more impressive than the standard widescreen scenes.

May be considered blasphemy to some, but - especially in 4k at 65" - black bars are a bit of an annoyance. I get the logic regarding widescreen format, but i find full screen imagery far more satisfying. I'm finally over feeling a little guilty about that as well...


Couldn't agree more. Everytime we get these beautiful IMAX full screen sections in movies im always sat there thinking I wish the whole movie was like this. Just like MI6. The IMAX sequences are miles ahead of the rest of the movie picture quality wise.
 
I would give it probably an 8/10 for the movie itself. It was just a brilliant brainless comic book movie with stunning set pieces. The underwater battles looked amazing and at times I had a huge smile on my face which is what these kind of movies are about for me. Sound and picture wise I would say a 9/10 for picture as it looked a little soft in places. Especially the underwater scenes. Audio was a 10/10. Reference material.
 
How much IMAX aspect ratio do we get?

Cannot wait until entire films are shot that way. The IMAX shots in MI6 were SO much more impressive than the standard widescreen scenes.

May be considered blasphemy to some, but - especially in 4k at 65" - black bars are a bit of an annoyance. I get the logic regarding widescreen format, but i find full screen imagery far more satisfying. I'm finally over feeling a little guilty about that as well...

I’d say about 80% of the film is imax :smashin:
It’s a huge amount and looks sublime !
 
I would give it probably an 8/10 for the movie itself. It was just a brilliant brainless comic book movie with stunning set pieces. The underwater battles looked amazing and at times I had a huge smile on my face which is what these kind of movies are about for me. Sound and picture wise I would say a 9/10 for picture as it looked a little soft in places. Especially the underwater scenes. Audio was a 10/10. Reference material.


Yeah there were a few moments of softness - mainly cgi from memory.

Some of the scenes, like on the beach and the under water ‘air pocket room’ for want of a better description looked incredible and the lighting was superb. A real 4K showcase.
 
Okay, so the movie was weak. Specifically:
  • Costume design. Everything looked cheap, B-movie quality tat, shown up worse thanks to 4K. That black fly costume thing especially. I’ve seen better cosplay
  • The script. Wow, this was a special kind of terrible. By the numbers at its best, tooth-grindingly awful the rest of the time
  • The plot. So predictable, so by the numbers, so lacking in any surprise or originality it’s barely worth turning up for. If you haven’t seen it, try guessing what happens? Have you guessed? Correct
  • The tone. Tonally it’s all over the place. Take GOTG; it knows it’s a comedy and it cleaves to that even to the point of some of the best comic moments occurring during the darker/more serious parts of the story. Or The Dark Knight, which delivers every last scene with absolute sincerity, to the point where we totally buy into this rich guy dressing as a bat. Aquaman doesn’t know what it is. They throw (crap, tired, obvious) jokes in from time to time as if that’s what you’re supposed to do to please audiences. But now it doesn’t take itself seriously and so I can’t take seriously the heavier, totally humourless story moments. It’s trying to be all things and failing at any
  • The acting. Yeah there’s some downright bad acting in this if you watch closely. I don’t blame the actors. Like Haden Christensen in the Star Wars prequels — turns out he can act, but was poorly directed and delivering a god-awful script. Same here
On the disc front, though, Cas... your reputation is safe. It looks and sounds incredible throughout. I felt it was a little heavy-handed on the LFE, though — I really wish the ‘BOOOOOW’ slow motion action sound would just die permanently. Here it’s used 37,000 times. Outside of that specific effect there is barely a moment when the lowest of the low end (20-40hz) isn’t rumbling along about something. My usual complaint is there isn’t enough bottom end (looking at you Infinity War), but here there’s way too much. It becomes tiring to the senses.

Also, the majority of this disc is in the IMAX aspect ratio. Which is great.

Shame that can’t lift such a mirthless, insipid waste of two hours as Aquaman, but it is at least good demo material. ;)
 
Last edited:
Watched this tonight, my word the disc looks (and sounds) incredible. Another one to show to people who think 2K upscales aren't good enough.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom