THE EMOJI MOVIE Blu-ray Review

THE EMOJI MOVIE (Blu-ray + Digital)

Release Date: October 24, 2016

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Video: 1.85:1 1080p Widescreen

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French (Canada) Dolby Digital 5.1, Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1, Korean Dolby Digital 5.1, Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1

THE RATINGS

The Movie Itself - ½ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰

Special Features - ★ ★ ½ ✰ ✰

Overall - ★ ★ ✰ ✰ ✰

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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
Brace yourselves.

Reviewed by Gavin King

Horrible. Excruciating. Ghastly. Laughable. Putrid. Inconsistent. Lazy. Tepid. Cliched. Cheesy. Generic. Groan-worthy. Awful. Infuriating. Convoluted. Confusing. Awkward. Yawn-inducing. Retched. Cynical. Confusing. Apply any negative adjective fitting enough in the book, and it would fittingly apply to The Emoji Movie, a truly sad excuse to milk out the idea of Emojis existing in a motion picture before the next big Hollywood studio steals the pride. But... but Gavin... Sony Pictures Animation has made some good movies! You know, like that new Smurfs one you loved! And even Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs! No, no, no. That doesn't matter a single bit, bud. Hell, it could have been made by Illumination (an animation studio you all know I'm very fond of) and I still would have vented my rage out until my voice box is torn to shreds. (Not that this movie makes me hate Smurfs: The Lost Village or anything like that. Because those movies are still really good. But that's besides the point here.) When the trailer hit YouTube a good few months back, it was instantly bombarded with an unbelievable amount of dislikes to likes and hate-filled comments ranting on Sony's take on the Emoji. And, boy, did it ever deserve it. Sure haters are going to have different points of view on why they so very much disliked the movie, but there is a damn good reason this is sitting on 10% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's that bad. The film is a pathetic, lazy "f--k you" to moviegoers everywhere who earn their hard-earned money so deservedly... and it all comes down to this bullcrap. Granted, not every movie is going to be a Francis Ford Coppola-helmed masterpiece with absolutely gorgeous cinematography and artistic, deep, and memorable dialogue, but it at least has to be competent. The Emoji Movie is not that movie. In fact, far from it. It is so dependent on relying on the stereotypical Hollywood animated movie cliche that it practically turns itself into a Rifftrax-esque laugh-a-thon where the commentary of people making fun of the movie is funnier than the real thing. (As if the movie was funny in the first place. Which it is absolutely not.) So please, sit back, relax, grab your popcorn and soft drink, and revel in my colorful ranting on The Emoji Movie. Oh, and don't forget to buckle the hell up. Because it ain't going to be pretty.

More than just "Meh", in this case...

Wellp, here's my attempt at a plot synopsis: A high school kid named Alex (voiced by Jake T. Austin) is obsessed with his smartphone. He's got a crush on a girl in his class named Addie (voiced by Tati Gabrielle) and believes the best way to show his feelings to her is through the "power" of emojis. Little to his knowledge, there's a secret world inside his phone called Textopolis where emojis of all kind do their job. For example, the crying emoji has to cry consistently, the laugher laughs, you get it. (Redundant, ain't it?) Among these many emojis is Gene (voiced by T.J. Miller), one who's supposed to be a "meh" emoji but has a malfunction where he cannot help but express different emotions such as love, laughter, etc. He tries to be his "meh", but he can't help it; his desire to step beyond his usual purpose gets the best of him. So when it's his turn to be "chosen" by his user Alex to be sent on the phone, he screws it up and all hell breaks loose. Alex is convinced that his phone is malfunctioned and he's sending it to a nearby phone dealer to wipe out all of his data, which obviously is a threat to Textopolis. So Gene recruits a few pals such as the Hi-5 emoji (voiced by James Corden) and a hacker emoticon.... goddamnit, the movie isn't even remotely interesting to recap!

The Emoji Movie absolutely epitomizes the generic animated feature film structure at its most bare-bones and lowest-common-denominator. I wouldn't be surprised if the filmmakers sat at the meeting table discussing the film with a legitimate "book of cliches" sitting right in the middle of the table just because the employees aren't paid enough to come up with smart, inventive ideas. It is a vapid, hollow shell of a film that almost feels like a low-rent knock-off of Wreck-it Ralph, Inside Out, and The LEGO Movie combined. And each three of those films are monstrously more enjoyable in direct A to B comparison. To add on to the headache-inducing groan of the experience, the amount of plot holes / devices in the story that're just whizzed on by the sound and color are strikingly baffling. Look, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's the hard truth. So, instead writing a huge paragraph bloating the film's continuity issues that will likely give me a migraine just thinking about, I refer you to the list I've set below of some of the film's most prominent embarrassments that stick out like a sore thumb. Here goes nothing:

1. So, Alex wants to show Addie his true feelings, right? And with emojis, correct? So, when he's ready to confess, why in the name of Sweet Mother Celestia does he send the girl a Meh emoji?! Hey, buddy, shouldn't you be giving her that heart one... oh, wait, I forgot! We have to send Addie a meh because we need a plot somewhere! If we just sent her the heart emoji, everything would be happily ever after. But nope! Let's force a hollow plot in this piece of garbage somewhere, and make it as phoned-in as possible so these characters go on a rote, recycled journey from every single animated movie ever. It's not like the kids would care, right?!
2. Why in God's name would a kid of Alex's age have the Crackle app (an incredibly cheap movie streaming app with practically no blockbuster movies at all)? Oh... damn it, I'm blanking again. We need this thing to be as cost-efficient and simple on us as possible. So let's take an app provided by the Sony company (Sony made the movie, btw) and stick it in Alex's phone. Hey, I heard Netflix won't sue you guys if you just ask them permission.
3. Why does Gene, the "meh" emoji, have a name, but everyone else is referred to as their actual "emoji" names (ex. Hi-5, Smiler, Poop, etc.)? Is it because he's the main character and he matters so much more than the others that he needs to have a name so the audience won't go unconscious? Sigh... (And forget that Wyldstyle rip-off! Like she matters!)
4. When Alex is led to believe that his phone is malfunctioning and takes it to the phone dealer to get it fixed, is the audience really going to believe that he'll just get his phone fixed by the employee with the flick of a wrist? Shouldn't the girl working there ask him, "Hey, bud, where are your parents?" or, better yet, before he gets his phone worked on, ask "What's wrong with your phone?" Continuity matters here, people!
5. To add on to the whole phone dealer fiasco, when Alex changes his mind at the very last minute that he wants his phone back the way he had it in the first place, you really expect us to believe the fact that the phone just resets itself, Alex's memory and all, back to the way it used to be?! Phones don't work like that, bud; once you get it restored, it's gone. For Luna's sake, this movie is contrived as hell.

The Loser Lounge... where the screenwriters of this movie hang out.

There's more where that came from, sure, but the fact that the writers are this lazy and undemanding to go with the flow of these contrivances is absolutely disillusioning. If this is the way big-budget Hollywood studios are going to ride with for the next few years when it comes to fleshing out stories on scripts, then don't be surprised if box office numbers start tanking, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores stoop down to dramatic lows, Blu-ray releases at stores sit on shelves collecting dust for ages, and, most disheartening of all, moviegoers begin to picket Hollywood for the lack and dearth of original, fluid, and honest storylines in modern filmmaking. The Emoji Movie is the nightmare that we wish we wouldn't have had, the movie where hopes for more original, valid, and hardworking ideas in the industry slowly crawl to a halt. It's truly upsetting to say the absolute least, even more so that general moviegoers are legitimately falling into the ever-so-gullible trap of bright colors and loud sound and each of those superficialities that mask the film's fatal flaws. It's the cinematic equivalent of a Trojan horse, where mainstream audiences see the word "Emoji" which in turns guarantees entry into the auditorium door only to be pulled a prank on by bafflingly lazy writing, completely uninspired character personality traits, phoned-in dialogue exchanges, recycled and facepalm-worthy yuks, and, of course, every single animated movie cliche in the damned book.

The entire film is built around fatigued, groan-inducing, and painfully derivative plot devices as well as standby animated movie cliches that not only slog the movie's pace but also make it borderline unwatchable for the audience who's dealt with the same bullcrap millions of times already. There's the main character (Gene) who wants to "fit in" with the rest of his tribe and tries not to be such an "outcast". There's the comic relief side character (Hi-5) who's only there to crack a "silly joke" every 5 seconds. There's the heroine (Jailbreak) who abandons her rebellious lifestyle to tell the male hero he's "cool just the way he is". There's the maniacal villain (Smiler) who yearns to put a stop the film's heroes in a "wipe 'em out" way. It's frankly almost bewildering how a movie this mundane can get made, and how a slick animation studio like Sony Pictures Animation can allow it to snowball into such a pile of hollow infuriating incompetence. Even kids are likely to receive blank stares as they suffer the mess; it's not their fault they've heard jokes about poop for the millionth time.

As far as I'm concerned, it's an embarrassment for everyone involved. I am not using that Cop-Out excuse that states, "Oh, well if it's from Sony Pictures Animation, at least they tried." No. This is not trying. Extremely far from it, to be blunt. It's mindlessly jumbling a bunch of cliched plot elements into a convoluted stew that ends up leaving quite the unpleasant taste in the mouth after a few sips. Might as well just call it "Animated Movie Cliches: The Movie" because of how blatant and laughable they are on screen. If Sony Pictures Animation is going to get their act together come their next animated movie, they had better step their game up good. Because if this is an example that's going to be set by the studio for years to come, now would be a good time to make a prayer to the Hollywood gods.

Oh... and, yep, you guessed it, the movie ends with a dance sequence.

THE EMOJI MOVIE Blu-ray - Video Quality

The Emoji Movie at least looks fine on Blu-ray. It's not the top animated movie high-definition presentation out there - to be sure, a majority of the film's designs are digital world-based, hence the very smooth textures - but it should still please its fans with the expectedly bright, shiny colors and well-rendered details. It's quite difficult to give superlatives to such a horrible movie, but blame the Blu-ray presentation, not me. The coloring here is rather bold and vibrant to my eyes, lacking nuance to be fair but delivering Emoji yellows, Textopolis blues, Candy Crush pinks and greens, and more with as much vigor and saturation as the 1080p horsepower can allow. Some of the less cheery shades in the real world - Alex's classroom, for example - still protrude some surprisingly natural color realism, recreating hues just as they would look like in the real world. Details, again, are a bit smooth by creative intent, but keen viewers will notice little digital pixels inside the phone, extremely fine bits on Emoji faces, and building structures in the city, as well as some other well-rendered pieces across the runtime. Black levels are surprisingly well-toned, and there aren't any noticeable compression artifacts to speak of. It's a shame, then, that such clean and colorful animation is wasted on garbage like this.

THE EMOJI MOVIE Blu-ray - Audio Quality

The Emoji Movie's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack delivers as expected. Like the video, it's by no means groundbreaking stuff, but it's still clear and concise, and does create an immersive atmosphere at several junctures. The speaker arrangement gets a nice, if not boat-rocking, workout when the big action moments come into play, as digitally-empowered elements inside the phone spring to solid life with decent enough bass and consistent surround envelopment to satisfy. Music enjoys a similar placement in the soundstage, with crisp notes and beats in both original score and popular smash hits saturating the stage well. Ambience helps to create a slightly more sublime atmosphere to the film's environments, whether in the real world outside Alex's school or in the digital smartphone suburbia where vehicles, helicopters, and characters maneuver from speaker to speaker in a believable, fairly tangible way. Dialogue is consistently sharp and clear in the center-front positioning with the necessary prioritization effect when the scene calls for it. A good soundtrack for an awful movie.

THE EMOJI MOVIE Blu-ray - Special Features

- Director & Animators Commentary I'm actually curious who would listen to a commentary for this movie? They really think adults would be Emoji fanatics and pick this Blu-ray up? Wasted opportunity much...

- Puppy! An Original Hotel Transylvania Short Much more enjoyable than the movie itself, this sort-of teaser for Hotel Transylvania 3 sees the series' characters facing the trials and tribulations of owning a huge mutt in the house.

- Jailbreak Decoded: The Untold Story A deleted scene animatic that's a backstory for Jailbreak's original life as a Princess Emoji.

- Good Vibrations: Dance Along This one pretty much speaks for itself.

- Gimme a Hand! Guess the Emoji Game Don't be fooled; this is NOT interactive. It's instead a video of a couple kids playing an Emoji guessing game. Just goes to show the lack of effort on this thing...

- Express Yourself: Meet the Cast As the title suggests, this is a featurette that reveals the voices behind the film's characters.

- Sweet App-Etite: Make Your Own Candy Crush Saga Cake The title of this one pretty much explains it all; this shows how to make a Candy-Crush inspired cake.

- Girls Can Code! Jailbreak's Anna Faris introduces us to some female coders in a coding class.

- Choreographing Emoji With Matt Steffanina Dance choreographer Matt Steffanina gives details on how he created different dance moves for Gene, Hi-5, and Jailbreak for the Just Dance sequence.

- Creating the World Inside Your Phone Takes a brief look at the production design for the world of Textopolis, the "wallpaper", and more.

- Bringing Emojis to Life Inside look on character designs for Emojis.

- How To Draw Poop ...no comment.

- How To Draw Gene (a.k.a. how to draw the stereotypical animated movie character)

- "Good Vibrations" Lyric Video Sing along!... er, whatever.

- Previews for additional Sony features.

THE EMOJI MOVIE Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation

The Emoji Movie is absolutely terrible, but you already knew that, whether as evidenced through my intensive rant on it above or by the appropriate shunning the internet culture has made in the wake of the film's laughable subject matter. Frankensteining a movie about Emojis is one thing, sure, but if you're going to completely bastardize it with cheap dialogue, exhaustingly repetitive "jokes", recycled plot elements, and coat it without even a lick of creative intention, then you all pretty much asked for the hate. It is a cynical mess because it lacks wit, heart, courage, or innovation, and is guaranteed to make the poor parents forced to watch the drivel groan and check their watches in utter despair. And that's for an 86-minute runtime, damnit! Boring, unoriginal, excruciating, dull, and practically lifeless in every sense of the term, The Emoji Movie just might be the most painful movie watching experience I've had to endure all year. And the most disheartening aspect of it all is that rubbish like this makes more money than truly passionate animated films like My Little Pony: The Movie and Kubo & The Two Strings. Just let that pain sink in for a little bit. Sony's Blu-ray is fine for fans, with clean video, mostly problem-free audio, and a handful of fluffy, kid-oriented supplements. Unless you're the biggest fan of the film (and if you enjoyed the movie, I'm happy for you, because I sure as hell didn't), avoid this vacuous shell at all costs. Stay away no matter how low the price.

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SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 4K Blu-ray Review

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (4K UHD Blu-ray + Blu-ray + Digital)

Release Date: October 17, 2017

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Video: 2.39:1 2160p Widescreen

Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 Core), French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French (Canada) Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1

THE RATINGS

The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
4K Quality - ★ ★ ★ ½ ✰

Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Special Features - ★ ★ ★ ✰ ✰

Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
The Spidey Sense of 4K UHD!

Reviewed by Gavin King

What a blast of a movie. More than just one of the best superhero movies of the year, Spider-Man: Homecoming is one of the best superhero movies, period, literally overflowing with dynamic action, endless humor, and a surprisingly big heart. Director Jon Watts (Cop Car) may not have the biggest experience with the superhero genre, but Spider-Man: Homecoming portends huge promise for the filmmaker in the near future with films of the type, with huge encores to his skilled work behind the camera and obvious care for the true spirit that makes Spider-Man the innocent everyday hero moviegoers have come to appreciate him by. The film does feature those expectedly entertaining big-stakes battles between hero and villain - boasting bright visuals, big sound, and tight camerawork - but even better is the character study of an average high-school kid trying to make it through sophomore year, the struggles that come with it, and balancing it with a secretive superhero agenda. It's an absolute delight of a movie, the quintessential modern spectacle film, and one that won't soon be forgotten for many, many years to come; a sequel is already in production.

The one. The only. Spider-Man!

15-year-old Peter Parker (Tom Holland) lives a smooth-sailing high school life, buoyed by his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his impending crush on a fellow girl named Liz (Laura Harrier). To his classmates, he's your typical sophomore getting his classwork done and the like, another face in the insanely populated crowd of high schoolers squeezing their way through the dense hallways. To him, however, he's a lot more than the average student. His secret identity is the - drumroll please - friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, a persona he takes in as bliss every single chance he gets. His mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) doesn't see the true superhero in him, though. Stark feels that Peter still needs to sprout a little more in the maturity department before earning the much-respected name of being an Avenger. Little to Stark's belief, Peter is soon going to prove his self-worth and strength (physically and mentally) through a number of challenges that portend his way, whether it be at the Washington Monument, the Staten Island Ferry, or, most fierce of all, an out-of-nowhere villain that goes by the persona of "The Vulture" (Michael Keaton) whose greedy stance on power and alien technology finds Peter the perfect target as.

Certainly audiences will flock to Spider-Man: Homecoming for its titular high-stakes battles between the hero and the villain that were so pronounced in the film's trailers, but the movie is actually a lot more than that, and in a hugely good way indeed. The movie proves successful not just in the superficial sense of filmmaking basics but additionally in its character studies that are often overlooked by the flash onscreen. Sure Peter relishes life as the Spider-Man darting around from building to building in Queens, but in real life he's not just a "superhero" who sets goals to save cities from grave danger and destruction. He's human, like all of us, and he deals with a handful of life's struggles that get thrown his way. He's slowly but surely coping with the challenges of growing up that his mentor Stark makes so potent to him. He's going through anxiety as he works up the nerve to ask a girl he likes to the upcoming homecoming dance. He's trying hard to keep his secret identity as a superhero a secret with his best pal Ned. It's arguably the most human depiction of a protagonist in a superhero movie to date. It's actually less of a cartoony superhero standby and much, much more of a deeper, though no less entertaining, look on main characters beyond their exterior standouts. Not every superhero is a dude in a bombastic costume focused on saving the world from an evil curse, and Spider-Man: Homecoming solidifies that statement beyond belief.

Friends 'till the end.

In addition to expertly crafted character models, the entire movie's events flow completely fluidly. Not a single moment flies by where the viewer feels bored, exhausted, or lingering with inside thoughts of, "God, when is this scene going to end?" It's quite the opposite, actually, because each scene, no matter how intense or subdued, always finds a way to snap the viewer into a state of focus and excitement for the characters. Surely the big action spectacle hooks viewers with the superficialities - impressive visual effects, gargantuan sound design, and large-stakes tension - and, for the most part, they're incredibly engaging. They're the typical superhero battle sequences done in all the right ways, filled to the brim with those aforementioned technical checkpoints to be sure but also bursting with meaningful hero vs. villain dialogue that aren't one bit forced in phoned-in in typical superhero movie fluff. Again, there's purpose to each line uttered from each character's mouth, no matter how large or small the peril surrounding them may be. But even smaller moments, such as Peter sitting in the science classroom or a small exchange between Peter and Liz in a hotel hallway, each play an integral and vital piece of the puzzle in making the film truly memorable and remarkable. Every single scene never fails to entertain or put the viewer in consistent focus, and the magic that goes into meshing each moment and scene together seamlessly makes the film seem less like 2 hours and 10 minutes and more like a flying-by 1 hour and 35 minutes, roughly.

Rounding out the incredible narrative structure and fluid, steadfast pacing is an immensely likable central cast. Tom Holland is arguably the best portrayal of Spider-Man yet. Devotees who've grown used to following up with Tobey Maguire as the main character throughout the consecutive years may have a slight bone to pick with this reviewer for time's sake, but there's absolutely no mistaking the honesty, joyfulness, and subtlety Holland replicates to his performance as a 15-year-old Spider-Man in the most relatable way possible. In this way, a handful of viewers may take Peter Parker as more of an approachable adolescent going through the mysteries of life rather than your typical blockbuster hero fighting crime in all sorts of locations. Michael Keaton is equally outstanding as the film's core villain, The Vulture (a.k.a. Adrian Toomes). Toomes is just a guy who wants to evolve with the ever-changing updates in technology with a little bit of bite. He's enraged, sure, for being thrown out of general operations by the Department of Damage Control, but he wants to use his evolving tech for different, more interesting purposes. Keaton nails the role of The Vulture / Toomes not just in that always-mentioned stereotypical villain sense but additionally in a deeper, yet never at the expense of enjoyment, character outlook. Jacob Batalon is especially charming as Peter's closest friend, Ned, a naive but chill dude who's expectedly impressed with Peter's secret identity as the Spider-Man but also immersed in the core friendship he and Peter possess. 

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 4K Blu-ray - Video Quality

Spider-Man: Homecoming swings its way onto 4K UHD Blu-ray with a 2160p presentation that is neither great nor awful. To be fair, the film was finished on a 2K digital intermediate and reportedly shot at a resolution below 4K (2.8K, to be exact). This means it's another 2K upscale, and the results are negligible at worst and mildly noticeable at best. Detailing sees a moderate, though not by any means groundbreaking, upgrade from the already terrific-looking 1080p Blu-ray. The Spider-Man suit enjoy a modest, very fine uptick in detail leveling, showcasing a slightly more refined texturing to the suit, though not by a long shot. It's instead a very subtle upgrade that's nowhere near the cream of the crop of the UHD field but nevertheless pulls out clear mild up-rezzes. This tradition continues on in the UHD, whether on skin textures, citywide environments, the rocky structure of the Washington Monument, and a few other upticks that, again, are far from extraordinary but present enough that fans will likely take note of. The HDR color palette, again, doesn't really change much. If anything, the changed color scheme sees a very light increase in vibrancy and saturation (most notably, yet again, on that oh-so-recognizable red suit). Black levels do see an increased depth. They're not as milky or pasty as the 1080p Blu-ray (though, again, such instances of pastiness were minor) and are appreciably darker and inkier. Again, there's no banding or other compression artifacts to be found anywhere. This definitely isn't a disappointment of a UHD, but it's not the beacon of 4K Blu-ray greatness that viewers have come to expect from releases like Storks and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Please note that this release contains Dolby Vision, which I do not yet have the capability of displaying in my home theater system yet. This review will likely be updated once I get Dolby Vision all ready and set.

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 4K Blu-ray - Audio Quality

Spider-Man: Homecoming also receives a nice little boost in the audio department, thanks to its highly forceful Dolby Atmos lossless soundtrack which isn't a huge leaps-and-bounds improvement over the Blu-ray wonderful 5.1 soundtrack, but does feature some surprises of its own to make it a nicely fuller, slightly more enveloping listen. Battle sequences are a bit bassier, more flush, and more grounded in the soundstage; not a single moment whizzes by where the listener is left disappointed in the audio presentation's prowess. The stage is more friendly to surround information, to add on, which in turns improves the overall immersion factor of the Atmos listen. The overhead channels don't feature an absolute onslaught of top-end activity, but they do come into play with some nicely integrated complimentary roles such as environmental nuts-and-bolts as well as dialogue reverb in locations that demand it - as well as, of course, the occasional fun action effect overhead, too. The 5.1 track's baseline effects prove just as impressive here, with the same expertly-prioritized music, robust and immersive ambient noise, and clear, crisp dialogue. Fans are going to go spidey-crazy over this one, no doubt.

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 4K Blu-ray - Special Features

All bonus features are only included on the 1080p Blu-ray disc, included with this combo pack.

The Spidey Study Guide This is pretty neat; an optional trivia track for the film that gives you little facts, facets, and details about the origins of Spider-Man, the making of the film, and lots more.

Gag Reel Laugh yourself silly with these chuckle-worthy outtakes from the reel!

Deleted & Extended Scenes Includes the following: A Film by Peter Parker (Director's Cut), Cafeteria, Return from ATM, Triskelion Cleanup, Anxious Toomes, Aaron Still Stuck, Go It Alone, Happy Calls His Mom, Midtown News Final Segment, and Mr. Harrington Lessons in Love.

A Tangled Web In this featurette, we take a closer look into the character origins of Spider-Man and his role in this movie, how his character arc differs from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and much more. For fans of the Spider-Man character, this one's for you.

Searching for Spider-Man This piece extends on the previous featurette's focus on Spider-Man's main role and how his simpler outlook makes him so different from the rest of the Marvel heroes. Additionally, we look at how Tom Holland got the role of Spider-Man, and the challenges he had to approach when he was on set.

Spidey Stunts Not only does Tom Holland make an exceptional role for Spider-Man for his personality traits, but he's also an impressive stunt master, too! Take a peek at how Tom braved several daunting stunts that the film's script called for.

Aftermath This interesting piece delves deeper into Toomes' story. After the New York attacks in The Avengers, the filmmakers utilized their creativity to extensive measures to explore how Toomes could use the scrapheap from the site for his tanking business.

The Vulture Takes Flight Very much like A Tangled Web, this piece looks into The Vulture's original comic book origins and how the filmmakers transferred those to big screen spectacle.

Jon Watts: Head of the Class This is essentially a sing-your-praises piece on the film's director, Jon Watts. And to think the man behind the indie Cop Car could transfer so well to Marvel movie form!

Pros And Cons of Spider-Man A fun rattle-them-off piece with Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man) and Jacob Batalon (Ned) as the two think of the good and not-so-good points about being Spider-Man.

Rappin' With Cap Four breezy PSA's from Captain America himself. Includes the following: Safety First, Food for Thought, Brain Power, and Your Changing Body.

Photo Gallery A collection of on-the-set pictures, concept art, and more. The slideshow can either be done manually or automatically by pressing the green rectangular button on the remote control.

Trailers for Spider-Man: Homecoming VR Trailer and An Inside Look at Marvel's Spider-Man | PS4.

Previews for additional Sony films.

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 4K Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation

Spider-Man: Homecoming is arguably the finest superhero movie in decades, and it makes one hell of a strong point for calling it the best Spider-Man movie yet. Of course, the action entertains immensely, and the cast performances are spot-on for their accompanying characters, but all it takes is a little narrative studying and magnification of the finer point details hidden within the sound and sight to truly appreciate what an amazing film it absolutely is. With this kind of emphasis on more prominent themes, it is undoubtedly certain the core storyline will resonate deeply not only with fans of the franchise who have been anticipating this one for years to come (and rightfully so... what a movie) but also those in the audience who can relate to Peter Parker's tough life as a high school sophomore just simply trying to inch along the perils of adolescent life and puberty. With bold, impressive visual effects, strong performances, consistent humor, and a wonderfully-realized core storyline, Spider-Man: Homecoming is destined to become a superhero classic in the books for years to come, and it's more than likely to join the rates of The Avengers as one of the finest superhero movies of the century. Sony's UHD Blu-ray isn't the best out there in terms of standout 4K HDR quality, but fans should find it relatively pleasing if not absolutely spectacular. The Atmos track, though, is all kinds of awesome. All of the supplements are still on the 1080p Blu-ray disc. Again, not the greatest UHD upgrade, but it's worth the trade for the Atmos track, though. Still, this iteration of Spider-Man: Homecoming earns my highest recommendation, largely from the strength of the film itself. 

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