Physicists rarely become household names, but Stephen Hawking managed fame that transcended what those in his profession normally could expect. With 2014’s The Theory of Everything, we get a look at his life and career.

As a doctoral student at Cambridge in the early 1960s, Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) meets humanities major Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones). They fall in love and quickly become a couple.

However, Stephen learns he suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative motor disorder. With the steady assistance of Jane, Stephen perseveres in his work while his body progressively fails him.

Here’s where I wonder whatever happened to Eddie Redmayne? After a few supporting roles in prominent projects like 2012’s Les Miserables, Theory elevated his career.

Redmayne won the Best Actor Oscar for Theory and got another nomination the next year for 2015’s The Danish Girl. He also got a prominent role in 2015’s big-budget Wachowskis sci-fi spectacular Jupiter Ascending.

That one flopped badly, but Redmayne nonetheless earned the lead in 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. An extension of the Harry Potter universe, that one made big bucks.

However, its initial sequel – 2018’s Crimes of Grindelwald - lost 25 percent of the first flick’s total gross, and then the third flick – 2022’s Secrets of Dumbledore - dropped 33 percent from its take. With Secrets at worldwide sales one-half of what Beasts made, it marked a clear downward trend so severe that the studio put plans for four more chapters on indefinite hold.

Redmayne’s not been nearly as prominent over these last few years. While he still pops up at times – and appears more focused on stage work – he just doesn’t have the public presence I would’ve anticipated.

10 years ago, Redmayne looked primed for a major movie career. That didn’t happen – yet, at least, as the 43-year-old Redmayne could always turn around his trajectory.

I can’t blame a lack of talent, as Redmayne possesses strong skills. Theory offers a showcase for his abilities.

I feel allergic to roles like Hawking because actors tend to perform them in superficial ways. I suspect many feel they can let mannerisms do all the work for them.

Redmayne doesn’t pursue that trend. Though he easily could’ve simply turned Stephen into a collection of physical behaviors, he digs much deeper than that.

Instead, Redmayne creates a deep and rich exploration of Stephen. He makes Hawking’s slow physical degeneration feel gradual and natural, without cheap theatrics along the way.

This means Redmayne elevates the role and helps carry the movie. Theory needs this stellar performance because the rest of the film feels so standard.

Not that this makes Theory a bad flick, as it provides a perfectly professional exploration of its subject. It simply never rises above the level of traditional biopic to turn into anything particularly special.

I think part of the issue stems from narrative choices, mainly because Theory somewhat shifts focus as it goes. While Stephen dominates its first half, Jane becomes more significant the rest of the way.

Given that Theory adapts Jane Hawking’s memoir, it doesn’t come as a shock that the film eventually tends to focus on her perspective. Still, it feels like an odd shift, and one that doesn’t work especially well.

While Jane seems like an admirable person, she doesn’t create an especially compelling movie lead. In Theory, Jane exists to assist her husband, so occasional forays into her life outside of Stephen seem perfunctory.

And not all that interesting, honestly. It doesn’t help that Theory offers a semi-glossy view of the Hawkings.

Not that Theory makes Life with the Hawkings look like sweetness and light, as it does depict their challenges. Still, it all feels more than a little sanitized.

Again, because Theory comes from an “authorized source”, no one should expect a “warts and all” view of the characters. Nonetheless, the end result lacks bite and leans more toward soap opera than reality at times.

Like I said, this doesn’t mean I think Theory turns into a weak film, as it does enough to keep us invested. However, without the terrific lead performance from Redmayne, the movie would find itself on shakier ground.

The Theory of Everything appears in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a pretty solid image.

In general, sharpness seemed positive. Some softness crept in at times but delineation usually came across well.

Jagged edges and shimmering weren’t a problem, and I saw no print flaws. Edge haloes also failed to interfere.

Colors came with an emphasis on amber/yellow and teal/green. These choices felt less than exciting, but the disc represented them adequately.

Blacks provided reasonable depth, while shadows appeared fairly smooth. Ultimately, the image worked fine.

Don’t expect fireworks from the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, as we got a mix heavy on a dialogue and ambience. Some events enjoyed decent spread and involvement – such as some fireworks - but the majority of the movie remained restrained and focused on music and environment.

Audio quality was fine. Speech seemed natural and concise, and the score demonstrated pretty good vivacity.

Effects did little to tax my system but they were clear and accurate enough. Overall, this ended up as a worthwhile mix for a character-heavy movie.

A few extras pop up, and we launch with an audio commentary from director James Marsh. He offers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, photography and music, editing, and related topics.

Marsh brings us a good but not great track. While he touches on a nice array of domains, he also gives us a bit too much happy talk to make this a really strong chat.

Becoming the Hawkings spans seven minutes, three seconds. It involves Marsh, Professor Stephen Hawking, Jane Wilde, and actors Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.

We learn about cast/performances and Redmayne’s transformation into Stephen Hawking. A few minor insights emerge but this largely becomes a fluffy piece.

Eight Deleted Scenes span a total of 10 minutes, 45 seconds. Most of these offer a bit more exposition, so don’t expect them to seem especially important.

However, we do see an extension of the visit to Buckingham Palace that appears late in the film. This version wouldn’t work at such a late point in the story but it seems amusing.

We can view the cut sequences with or without commentary from Marsh, as he gives us a few notes about the clips and why they got the boot. He doesn’t give us much detail, though.

The disc opens with ads for Black Sea, Dragonheart 3 and Rosewater.

Previews adds clips for Dallas Buyers Club, Hyde Park on Hudson, Moonrise Kingdom, Promised Land, Beginners and Being Flynn. No trailer for Theory appears here.

Thanks to a stellar lead performance from Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything deserves notice. However, too much of the movie itself seems like a conventional – and fairly safe – biopic. The Blu-ray comes with solid visuals, pretty good audio and a small but useful array of bonus features. Outside of some strong acting, this feels like a pretty average film.