Avengers Infinity War (3D Blu-Ray) : Review

Film

An epic event in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), bringing together heroes and teams in a dark chapter, ten years in the making. Teaming together The Avengers, The Guardians of the Galaxy, citizens of Wakanda, and a host of warriors, all pitted against Thanos and his end game that will extinguish half the lives in the universe. A no holds barred, high stakes telling of a pivotal event.

Read the full SAMDB review of Avengers: Infinity War.

 

Re-watch Value

With so much emotion evoked in cinema audiences, one would be forgiven for missing many of the subtleties in the story, the in-jokes, the amusing quips by characters. A subsequent viewing is sure to reveal many of those missed, not to mention any of the foreshadowing that might have slipped by.

A story of this scale is not one for just a once-off viewing, and watching the film again after seeing some of the later releases from Marvel Studios does give one pause at times to ponder a few “ah ha” moments.

And let us not forget the fact that on one’s own home theatre equipment, the film is likely to be a lot easier to see than in the badly calibrated cinemas and their all too dark screens; not forgetting some cinemas where sound is not the best either.

Most definitely worth several sittings, Avengers: Infinity War is a must see again, and a prize to add to one’s film collection.

Disc

There are two discs for Avengers: Infinity War, one that is a 3D version of the film, and then a 2D version with bonus features. Overall, these discs of a very high quality, with a great collection of bonus features, and top quality video and audio.

As with most of the Disney disc releases, this is how a disc should be done. There could have been a few more bonus features included, to really push the value for money feel, but a good quality disc, both technically and with included material, and a fun main feature to watch.

Avengers: Infinity War is available now, to purchase on disc, in South Africa.

Video

Video on both discs is encoded at a high average bitrate. There are no visible artefacts on-screen. Colours are vibrant, with no visible bleed.

Video for the menu system is slightly more compressed, understandably, to allow for more space for the main feature, but this causes no visible issues.

Viewers with the necessary hardware or software could scale up to a larger or higher resolution screen, should they wish.

Audio

Audio is presented in a DTS-HD 7.1 soundtrack, with a 2.0 descriptive audio mix provided.

Audio is encoded at a high average bitrate, with dialogue clear via the centre speaker. Great use is made of the surround channels, with distinct audio effects and panning.

Navigation

After a disc language choice, the by now well known Marvel Studios logo animation, and a disc loading screen, featuring the Infinity Stones, one is presented by the main menu.

Navigation is simple, and easy to follow. The main menu has a motion background, with some video from the main feature. There are text links to play the main feature, bonus features, scene selection, and set up.

The play menu item takes the viewer to a sub-menu, where there are choices to play the main feature, or to have an introduction by directors Joe and Anthony Russo.

The bonus features sub-menu has selections for further sub-menus, namely the bonus featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, audio commentary, and an info link that plays the warning  and disclaimer text again.

The bonus features sub-menu has links to a further sub-menu to play the four featurettes, with an option to play all in a playlist, there are also links to the deleted scenes sub-menu, gag reel, and audio commentary.

The deleted scenes sub-menu has links to four scenes that did not make the final cut of the film. There is also an option to play all in a playlist.

The gag reel menu item will play the outtakes directly, giving audiences a bit of insight to behind the scenes, and showing a few of the more light-hearted moments on set.

The scene selection menu has allows one to go directly to certain parts of the main feature. These have static, colour thumbnails, which are both numbered and labelled, making it rather easy to navigate to a desired scene. The menu has an overview window too, showing the overall progress through the main feature where the highlighted scene occurs, with a timestamp below. There are 20 chapters in total.

The setup sub-menu allows one to choose between two additional sub-menus where one can select the desired audio track, and any subtitles one desires.

Navigation on the 3D disc, once a compliance check for 3D capability are performed on the viewers player and screen, is similar to the 2D disc, lacking only the bonus features present on the 2D disc.

Bonus Features

The bonus featurettes consist of four items.

Strange Alchemy – A phrase coined by the production team during pre-production of the film, where different characters are paired off in various scenes, complimenting or standing in opposition. Some great insight into the work needed to create a story that contains so many of the Marvel characters, so many stars, and yet actually tells a story that makes sense, and can integrate into the bigger picture of the MCU.

The Mad Titan – Thanos, love him or hate him, this featurette delves deeper in the story that has been slowly revealed to us over several films and through various incidents in the bigger story arcs.

Beyond The Battle: Titan – The planet Titan, it’s background, and how the entire sequence was filmed. With interviews by cast and crew, this is a look at one of the settings where forces on both sides face off for a final battle.

Beyond The Battle: Wakanda – Another featurette looking at one of the settings for the climactic battle. Again, we are given insight into aspects related to story, and filmmaking, choices by the filmmakers, and through video and interviews with cast and crew, a behind the scenes look at the entire process.

Deleted Scenes – A few extended, or deleted scenes, removed from the main feature for some or other reason, be it pacing or that the scene just did not fit. For the most part, these are completed scenes, and do reveal a bit more about the story, whether through character exposition, or just facts that have not been revealed. A nice addition, best watched after the main feature, of course.

Gag Reel – A few lighter moments on set, showing behind the scenes footage of the actors, with a few genuinely funny clips. Brief, but a nice addition for the fans.

Audio Commentary – Directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely delve deep into the making of the film, bringing together the many characters, settings, and story arcs we have all come to know over the last ten years, into one epic show down, an end game that will rock the entire MCU.

They talk not only of the current film and characters, but the MCU as a whole, imparting both story and filmmaking knowledge that is sure to appeal to fans and budding filmmakers alike. The commentary ties in well with other information contained in the bonus featurette videos, in the end giving the viewer a great overall understanding of the entire story and filming process.

Notable by their absence, are any sort of trailer for the main feature. Trailers are a small loss, but one that many viewers do enjoy.

Packaging

Packaging for the two Blu-Ray discs is pretty standard. There is a poster on the front, with logo and headshots of the primary characters. The back has a short synopsis, a listing of the bonus features, and the usual technical information and logos.

The discs are not held overly tight inside, meaning there is no risk of damaging them when removing.

There are, however, no package inserts of any sort, but with the detailed and informative way things such as scene selection are handled on the disc, this would not really be needed.

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb