7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Set during China's Warring States period when the tiny Kingdom of Liang fought against a 15,000-strong army by applying the defense strategies of the philosopher Mozi, one of China's most important figures in developing philosophy and political theory.
Starring: Andy Lau, Fan Bingbing, Choi Siwon, Tin-Chiu Hung, Ahn Sung-kiForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 63% |
Action | 59% |
War | 35% |
Drama | 12% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The title Battle of the Warriors is probably overly generic and fails to properly establish this film’s tenor and approach. It was originally released in English speaking nations as Battle of Wits, and that’s probably a much better peek inside this film which, while not shirking from a host of really exciting battle scenes, is more about strategy and cunning than it is about brute force. The Era of Warring States in China (roughly 475 BC to 221 BC) has long held an undeniable fascination for Asian filmmakers, and it once again is the focus of Battle of the Warriors. What makes this production more internationally interesting than most is that despite being set in China, the film is actually based on a Japanese novel which was then adapted into a manga (graphic novel) which became hugely popular in Hong Kong. While the film follows a somewhat generic model that is as hackneyed as its “new, improved” title, Battle of the Warriors is notable for being a rather thoughtful film laced with some great action sequences, rather than a straight out action film that shoehorns in some rudimentary philosophical questions. At the core of Battle of the Warriors’ unusual take on its oft-covered subject is its main character of Ge Li (Andy Lau), a Mohist who appears out of the desert as a sort of ancient Chinese Obi Wan-Kenobi, according to the exhaustive commentary by Bey Logan included on the Blu-ray. Mohism, though now largely unknown outside of the Far East, was a major counterpart to Confucianism, especially during the Warring States period, and Ge Li is therefore a sort of philosopher soldier, a thinking man’s action hero who would prefer to be fostering peace, but isn’t about to sit around and wait for the impossible dream of harmony to blossom when the town he’s decided to protect is about to get its butt kicked.
Battle of Warriors blasts onto Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.37:1. For the most part this new Blu-ray looks reasonably sharp and well defined, though it's lacking in the crystal clarity that seems to elude a lot of these Dragon Dynasty releases. Grain is intact and natural looking, but there's also an attendant slight fuzziness that keeps this image from the top tier of immaculate looking BD's. Colors are well saturated, though the entire film is tilted toward a sort of yellowish-green palette that adds to the softness factor somewhat. The only real major complaint that some videophiles may have with this release is pretty prevalent crushing in the central dark segments of the film, which go on for quite some time. Because a central conceit of the film involves hidden underground tunnels, the lack of solid contrast and black levels in these darker sequences makes for a few confusing moments.
Battle of the Warriors contains a really artful lossless Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, as well as an English dub in Dolby Digital 5.1. It's interesting to hear Bey Logan talk about how even fluent Mandarin speakers like Andy Lau had to be dubbed as the Chinese government has incredibly strict rules as to pronunciation and dialect and how that's delivered on screen. With that in mind, some careful listeners may in fact sense different recording ambiences in some of the dialogue. However, that's more than offset by a really careful and often amazingly well detailed mix that has a host of wonderfully nuanced sound effects, all placed brilliantly around the soundfield, offering a wealth of immersion. While we do get the expected bombast from the action sequences, including some thrilling pans as flaming arrows whip through the air, I was actually struck more by some of the "quieter" effects, things like a huge padlock clanging shut or the rattle of ancient gates being pushed closed. This is an incredibly well detailed track that invites the listener into an ancient sound world and recreates that world beautifully.
Fans of Hong Kong historical action films will get enough of that element in Battle of the Warriors, but what's really the calling card here is the unexpected playing out of interrelationships as Ge Li's tactics prove perhaps too successful for his own good. The film has a really nice feel for the time and internecine warfare which seems to have played such a huge part in developing China's current psyche, and the production design and sound design on Battle of the Warriors is nothing short of stupendous. The image quality of this Blu-ray is just a tad problematic, but the soundtrack is quite impressive indeed. Highly recommended.
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