Creed III 4K Ultra HD

In "Creed III." after dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. the face off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian –– a fighter who has nothing to lose. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the featurettes "Michael B. Jordan: In The Ring/Behind The Camera" (HD 10:04) and "There's No Enemy Like The Past: Donnie And Dame" (HD 09:20), three deleted scenes (HD 04:23) and a Movies Anywhere digital copy.

The 2.39:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD Dolby Vision/HDR10+ picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed digitally in anamorphic Panavision® using the Arriflex 35 IIC, RED Komodo IMAX and Sony CineAlta Venice IMAX camera systems and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. The picture exhibits a rich and warm color palette with excellent color fidelity. At times, colors are vivid and pop. Interiors and objects exhibit good textural fidelity. Nuanced hue shadings enhance image realism. Flesh tones appear perfectly natural in all lighting situations. HDR contrast is excellent with deep natural black levels, revealing shadows and bright natural white levels, including neon signage and signage. Resolution is excellent with fine detail exhibited throughout. Facial features reveal skin pores, lines, facial hair, beards and hair. Clothing highlights and textures are evident. Object textures are well defined. This is a lush colorful picture that will please fans of the genre. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is dynamic sounding, especially the orchestra/choral score and rap with a deep bass presence. The music occupies a wide and deep soundstage presence with a very up front dimension that aggressively extends to the four surrounds. At times, deep punchy bass extends to sub-25 Hz in the .1 LFE channel for powerful energy. Atmospherics sound realistic and sound effects, such as bass transient punches, energize the soundfield, though there are only a handful of sparring and fight scenes. Surround energy is effectively and aggressively enveloping. Announcements in the ring as well as the audience responses totally envelop the surround soundfield. Dialogue is nicely integrated spatially.

The Immersive Sound element is rather disappointing as there is so much to work with that was not realized. Some aspects of the music is extended but subtly and sporadically, but more active in the last scenes. An announcer in the big ring sequences is aggressive sounding. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough energy in the height layer to effectively enhance the spherical spatial dimensionality.

However, this is otherwise a first rate ear-level holosonic® soundtrack that delivers punchy sounds throughout. (Gary Reber)