Creed II 4K Ultra HD

In "Creed II," life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed (Jordan). Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family's past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa (Stallone) is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what's worth fighting for, and discover that nothing's more important than family. In other words, going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can't escape your history. (Gary Reber)

Special features include four featurettes: "From Father & Sons" (HD 07:16), "Casting Viktor Drago" (HD ), "The Women Of Creed II" (HD 05:51) and "The Rocky Legacy" (HD 15:01); five deleted scenes (HD 09:46); upfront previews; and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 2.39:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/Dolby Vision picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed digitally using the Arri Alexa Mini and XT camera systems and sourced from a 2K (not 4K) master Digital Intermediate format. As the 2K Digital Intermediate has been upconverted to 2160p, there is no real gain in native resolution.

Picture quality is excellent and exhibits a natural color palette with rich and warm hues. Saturation is perfect and enhances the naturalness of the palette. The wider color gamut reveals subtleties in hues. The red robes of Drago are magnificent. HDR contrast is excellent. Bright highlights are realistic and never exaggerated. Black levels are real, as well as shadow delineation. Blacks are deep and contrast well with the color palette. Resolution also is excellent with a slightly soft focus. Fine detail is apparent in close-ups of facial features, beads, clothing and Rocky's signature hat, objects and textures. The imagery is clear and sharp throughout. WOW! segments are from 19:05 to 19:47, 47:18 to 49:00, 01:38:06 to 01:43:19 and 01:451:36 to 01:52:55. This is a compelling visual experience that delivers natural realism and color fidelity that is visually engaging throughout. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is quite dynamic with nuanced atmospherics as well. There are levels of action sonics, such as training exercises and actual fights. The fight scenes can really be intense with high SPL and full surround and height layer engagement. These scenes fully engage the holosonic® spherical surround soundfield. Fight audience levels are elevated and enveloping. Nuanced scenes deliver effective surround envelopment as well. The orchestra/choral/rap music score is very aggressive with strong extension to the four surrounds and the height layer. Deep bass is strong, at times enhancing punches, audience pounding the stands and the music, at times extending to sub-25 Hz. Dialogue throughout is intelligible and manages to punch through.

The Immersive Sound element consists of subtle to strong music and synthesizer extension, strong rap, fight audience sounds, and at times explosive punch sound effects. At one point voices jump from one height channel to another. Still, so much more immersivieness could have been achieved by the sound designers, who left long gaps of silence in the height layer.

This is a dynamic and exciting, and at times three-dimensional soundtrack that will provide an intense workout for every capable home theatre audio system. (Gary Reber)