5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In the mythical land of Huadu, Charcoal Head, a humble boy born to rule an empire, must undertake his journey to claim his throne. It is an epic action adventure combining romance, fantasy, comedy, and cutting-edge, Hong Kong-style martial artistry.
Starring: Edison Chen, Charlene Choi, Gillian Chung, Donnie Yen, Jackie ChanAction | 100% |
Foreign | 98% |
Martial arts | 71% |
Adventure | 14% |
Comedy | 8% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Cantonese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
American pop stars have had a somewhat troubled history when they attempt to cross market their music stardom into the film world. For every Doris Day, there’s a Whitney Houston. For every Elvis Presley, there’s a Pat Boone. Sales in the record business don’t necessarily translate into box office returns at the cinema, and even those who achieve even passing success (like Houston) are rarely acclaimed for their thespian prowess. Some seem to be in on the joke (Presley for one, at least by the mid-sixties), and simply go through the motions, giving affable enough performances and then simply waiting for the cash to arrive in buckets, which it quite often does. The Asian film industry seems to be going through a glut of pop stars coming over into the world of film, and like their American counterparts, some of these huge music stars seem at least partially ill at ease in their new medium. Some of these crossover artists, like Jay Chou, are now well ensconced in their film careers. The members of Cantopop Group Twins, Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung, haven’t had quite the same impact, something perhaps at least partially attributable to their split after an intimate photo scandal involving Chung. But Emperor Entertainment Group, the duo’s record label as well as its film production company, can’t be blamed for trying to build a filmic tentpole franchise with the two beautiful and glamorous women, which, halting as it may be, has thus far produced The Twins Effect, The Twins Effect II and Twins Mission (not to mention a few other projects which managed not to include Twins in the title). The Twins Effect posited the two women as sort of dual Buffy the Vampire Slayers. The Twins Effect II, released now on Blu-ray as Blade of Kings (after all, someone might mistake it for a new Danny DeVito-Arnold Schwarzenegger film otherwise), blasts the pair into the distant past, in a sort of feudal Indiana Jones world full of sorcery and magic, replete with a stone oracle of sorts that will lead its finder to a sword named Excalibur. Now that’s cross marketing for you!
Blade of Kings is presented on Blu-ray couresty of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a very vivid and appealing looking high definition presentation, with incredibly beautifully saturated colors that pop extremely well throughout the film. The film benefits from some nicely sumptuous costume designs, and those all look magnificent, with fine detail often seeming to reveal every thread or pill in any given outfit. The CGI here is widely variable, some of it looking rather good, nicely sharp and convincing, with other aspects being more amateurish, with a sort of soft and unconvincing ambience. Overall, though, this is a crisp and clear presentation whose only troubling issue is some occasional contrast fluctuation that sometimes adds a milky look to some of the brighter sequences.
Blade of Kings offers two language tracks, the original Cantonese and an English dub, in either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or Dolby Digital 2.0 mixes. As is usually the case, the English dub is pretty lamentable, with little attention paid to matching syllabification (or even length of dialogue) to lip movements. The Cantonese track is extremely forceful and wonderfully immersive from the credits sequence on. The inventive sound effects utilized throughout the film are often nicely directional and there's also fairly consistent use of LFE. The film features some fantastic panning effects in several fight sequences, notably the "big showdown" between Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan which has a lot of blades slashing through the air. Dialogue is clean and crisp as well. About the only downside to this audio is the really awful score which consists of brief snippets of string and percussion and does little to establish mood or ambience.
Blade of Kings is pure mindless entertainment, and as such it succeeds well enough. This is one of the brightest and most colorful presentations in recent memory and that helps distract the viewer from the paucity of original ideas, characters and the really surprising lack of excitingly staged fight sequences. The stars are okay, nothing more, nothing less, and Yen and Chan (the elder) are wasted in cameos that don't do enough to inject some much needed exuberance to the proceedings. Still, this is fun to watch and, aside from a lamentable music score, very immersive to listen to. Fans of silly martial arts fantasy laden films will probably like, if not love, Blade of Kings.
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