Alienoid: Return to the Future Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Alienoid: Return to the Future Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 28, 2024

It's maybe just a little funny that a film so stuffed full of narrative nooks and crannies and visual wonderment that I compared it half jokingly to Everything Everywhere All At Once, and which had a running time of well over two hours, should be able to be summed up in less than five minutes in a kind of preliminary "previously. . .on Alienoid" info dump that starts this sequel out. Since perhaps amazingly this second outing does not overtly set up a situation primed for another potential sequel, it's perhaps unlikely that anyone not wanting to sit through the two hours of this offering will have the opportunity for the same kind of opening summary in a third outing, so, to cut to the chase (and this film is pretty much nothing other than a chase), Alienoid: Return to the Future is big, noisy, full of some fun CGI and at least intermittently engaging quasi-folkloristic elements, but it's probably even more confusing and opaque than its progenitor was. That's kind of interesting, given the fact that both Alienoid films were shot in tandem and then prepared for separate release, but one way or the other, while this film promises in its marketing that "all will be revealed", I suspect there may be some viewers with some nagging questions left hanging even as the closing credit roll unfurls. For those wanting a probably longer to read than five minutes wrap up of the first film, I refer you to my Alienoid Blu-ray review.

While arguably too convoluted by half, the upshot of all the events in the first film have left "event" scattered across two time periods, as Lee Ahn (Kim Tae-ri) works feverishy in a quasi-feudal past to retrieve the so-called Divine Blade, in order to set things "right" in the future (meaning her original present). Confused yet? If not, just wait, chances are you will be, sooner or later. Mureuk (Ryu Jun-yeol) is also suffering from something of an identity crisis, while the poisonous "haava" (this is a film with a lot of "specialized" verbiage) is wreaking havoc on Mankind in contemporary times, making Lee Ahn's quest all the more important.

As with the first film, there's an enjoyably cartoonish ambience to much of the proceedings, and the production design and CGI special effects are often quite impressive. There's probably too much emphasis on some shtick laden comedy, but at least this "epic" doesn't seem to be taking itself too seriously. Both of these films together offer a lot of content, though that said, they both probably could have easily been whittled down into one relatively normal length feature.

Alienoid: Return to the Future Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Alienoid: Return to the Future is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. As of the writing of this review, the IMDb doesn't list much in the way of technical information, but the Making Of featurette has a couple of brief glimpses of an Arri camera, and I am assuming this had a 2K DI (as with all of my reviews, if anyone has authoritative information to the contrary, just Private Message me and I'll happily update things here). This is another largely stellar looking presentation, with a really robust palette and some secure detail levels on both "actual" practical sets and costumes and even some of the CGI effects. This outing has some noticeable banding in some underwater material or other scenes where light values can suddenly change.

Alienoid: Return to the Future Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Alienoid: Return to the Future features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio options in both original Korean and dubbed English, as with the first film's presentation on Blu-ray. As I mentioned in my review of that first film, I'm always in favor of original language offerings, but I have to say this is one film where I would completely understand some wanting to go with the English track, at least for the first viewing, since having to add reading subtitles into the mix may simply be too much for some to keep track of, considering everything that's going on onscreen. Both the surround tracks offer commendable immersion throughout, with a variety of both discrete engagement of single side and/or rear channels, but also some all enveloping, and at times neatly panning, effects in some of the "portal" material in particular. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Alienoid: Return to the Future Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of (HD; 3:15)


• Character Trailer (HD; 3:23)


• Trailer (HD; 1:44)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the disc has been authored so that supplements follow one another automatically (so that clicking on Making Of is essentially a Play All button. The disc is also authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases after the Trailer for this film plays. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

Additionally, packaging features a slipcover.

Alienoid: Return to the Future Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you enjoyed the first Alienoid film, chances are you will be substantially if perhaps not consistently engaged with this follow up, though the fact that a two and half hour opus can be summarized in five minutes may in and of itself point out a certain "padded" proclivity to both films. Technical merits are first rate and the two short supplements enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.