Black Ransom Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Black Ransom Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 14, 2010

Keung Kwok Man's "See piu fung wan" a.k.a "Black Ransom" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Vicol Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a standard making of featurette and two theatrical trailers. In Cantonese, with optional English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

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Keung Kwok Man's Black Ransom is about two cops on opposite sides of the law. The first one, Brother Mann (Simon Yam, Vengeance, Echoes of the Rainbow), is an ex-sniper whose wife has been tragically killed. Now, some time after the incident, he is a total wreck. And the more time passes by, the worse he gets – which is why his teenage daughter, Yan (Wada Hiromi), encourages him to start dating again.

The second cop, Sam (Miu Kiu Wai, Infernal Affairs, Operation Undercover), has lost his brother. He has also lost his badge. We are told why later in the film, after Sam’s men begin kidnapping various triad bosses and start demanding money from those who wish to see them remain alive.

Brother Mann and Sam meet and try to kill each other, but before they do a whole lot of people get hurt. Some are cops trying to prevent Sam’s men from hurting various gangsters; others are gangsters who hurt other gangsters while trying to figure out who has kidnapped their bosses and why.

Before Brother Mann and Sam clash, we also meet three women who care about them - Superintendent Koo (the stunningly beautiful Fala Chen, Turning Point, 72 Tenants of Prosperity), who likes Brother Mann but is unsure if he would ever be able to love another woman; Eva (Liu Yang, Bullet and Brain, I Corrupt All Cops), Sam’s ex-girlfriend, who has not seen him in years; and Sam’s current girlfriend (Qu Ying, Rhapsody of Spring, I'm Seducible).

If you have seen a good number of Hong Kong-produced action films then you won’t find much in Black Ransom that will impress you. The main characters, for instance, are likable, but their relationships are marred by various clichés about honor, duty, and love. The key twists in Black Ransom are also beyond predictable.

The main reason why Black Ransom is not as engaging as it could have been, however, is the fact that Simon Yam’s character is unmatched. His struggle to overcome the loss of his of wife is given a lot more attention than Miu Kiu Wai’s character gets, yet from the very first scene one is led to anticipate a dramatic clash between the two cops that never materializes. And even when their past histories are eventually revealed, which is how a lot of the chaotic events in the film are pieced together, the effect is underwhelming to say the least.

The beautiful women that are attracted to the two cops also feel like a major distraction because they are almost always isolated from them. Until the very end, the two cops also remain suspiciously cold, effectively ignoring their feelings and even later on sacrifices.

Still, there is nothing particularly wrong with Black Ransom. In fact, many of the action scenes are top notch. The sniper shootouts, for instance, are short but very effective, boasting some excellent special effects. Aside from the memory flashbacks, which are not timed properly, the editing is also solid; the tempo is good throughout the entire film.

Black Ransom Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Keung Kwok Man's Black Ransom arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Vicol Entertainment.

This is the first Blu-ray disc produced by Vicol Entertainment to reach my desk, and I am rather pleased with it. Generally speaking, the high-definition transfer is quite strong -- fine object detail is good, clarity adequate, and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is also decent; blues, greens, reds, yellows, browns, grays, and blacks look fresh and natural. This being said, I noticed various traces of mild edge-enhancement popping up here and there. None are overly distracting, but the bigger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to spot them. There are a few scenes where I also noticed some compression artifacts creeping in. Still, the overall quality of the presentation is very good, and I have absolutely no problem recommending this disc to you. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Black Ransom Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1, and Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Vicol Entertainment have provided optional English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels not overly active but intelligently used, and the high-frequencies not overdone. A good number of the action scenes will definitely give your audio system a decent workout (for instance, the sniper shooting is excellent). The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. I also did not detect any serious balance issues with Henry Lai's (Echoes of the Rainbow) music score. This said, I must note that the English translation contains quite a few small syntax errors.

Black Ransom Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

Making of - a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of Black Ransom and comments from various cast and crew members. In Cantonese, not subtitled. (11 min, 480/60i).

Trailers - two theatrical trailers for Black Ransom.

-- Trailer 1. In Cantonese, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).
-- Trailer 2. In Cantonese, with imposed Traditional Chinese and English subtitles. (2 min, 480/60i).

Black Ransom Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Keung Kwok Man's Black Ransom is a decent, fast paced action film that should appeal to fans of Hong Kong superstar Simon Yam. If you are looking for a great action film, however, you should take a look at Dante Lam's Fire of Conscience first (see our review), though Black Ransom could be a very good companion piece. If you reside in a Region-B country, please keep in mind that both films are Region-A "locked". RECOMMENDED.