It’s a new year and 2019 has come to a close. I always like to reflect on my favorite physical releases of year. Consumers seem to be moving more and more to streaming services with the launch this holiday season of Disney Plus being the latest. However, 2019 was also a banner year for physical media as well. Several companies really stepped up their game with incredible packaging, extras and in some cases sparkling new transfers of classic films. I will always make the case of physically owning a copy of a movie because it is permanently in your collection, it won’t be dropped or eventually removed from your shelf.
Being that it is 2019, I decided to list my favorite 19 releases of the year. So sit back relax and let’s watch some movies!
Number 11: Spider-Man: Far From Home (Best Buy Exclusive Steelbook)
The events of Avengers: Endgame have taken their toll on the Friendly Neighborhood Wall-Crawler. Burdened with the death of Tony Stark and returning to a world that thought he was dead for five years, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) just wants to be normal.
Peter decides to go abroad with his school. Along for the trip are his best bud Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his secret crush MJ (Zendaya). Peter thinks this is a perfect opportunity to tell MJ how he feels. All this is thrown for a loop when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) asks for Peter’s help as Spider-Man to stop The Elementals a powerful group of monsters from another universe.
Fury has enlisted Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and a super-hero known as Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) to help stop the threat. Peter balks, saying he isn’t going to help, but soon Peter must choose between having a social life or living up to his responsibility as Spider-Man when everything isn’t what it appears.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is another home run for Marvel and Sony. I am totally biased here but this movie is a helluva good time. Tom Holland is the best Spider-Man. His youthful playfulness and his sense of responsibility are captured perfectly in this film.
The world needed a Spider-Man movie after the amazing and emotional toll Avengers: Endgame had. Far From Home scales the scope back but never loses the weight that Peter carries.
Gyllenhaal is awesome as the hero(?) Quentin Beck/Mysterio. Although most comic book fans will see the twist coming, (he is the master of illusion after all) it is done in such a fun way that the whole time I was watching the movie I kept saying to myself, “Holy Cow, they actually pulled off Mysterio in a movie.”
The action is spectacular, the emotional beats are tear inducing, Spider-Man: Far From Home is an amazing adventure.
Spidey swings onto UHD looking sensational. The colors are vibrant and pop right off the screen. The level of detail on all the costumes can be seen, right down to Night Monkey’s fuzz on his costume. This is one of the best looking UHD’s of the year.
Spidey lands punches with some serious pop with a Dolby Atmos track the brings the thwips. Dialogue comes through crystal clear, especially when Mysterio launches his (spoilers!) attacks on Spidey. The score is one of my favorites from the year and the UHD disc brings the music to life.
Although it’s not quite as robust as I would hope, Far From Home does pack in a little over an hour of cool bonus features. The most fun being Peter’s To Do List, which is a short film comprising of cut footage that you might recognize as from the original trailer. It’s about 4 minutes and is a good time. All the other features give you a behind the scenes peek of making the film, from Spidey suits to the locations used in the movie. Also about 6 minutes of deleted and alternate takes round out the package.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is another winning Spider-Man film. A fun villain, great character moments and of course Spider-Man make this one of my favorite films from last year. The UHD release of Far From Home spins one fantastic web and Best Buy’s exclusive blu-ray although busy is looking is also sharp and a must for Spider-Man collectors.
Film: A
Video: A+
Audio: A
Extras: B+
Steelbook: A-
Overall: A