6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.9 |
James Braddock once again returns to Vietnam, 12 years after the end of the war, to rescue his thought-dead Vietnamese wife and son, and a group of Amerasian orphans held in another prison camp presided over by a sadistic Vietnamese general whom was one of those that tortured Braddock during his stay in a similar prison camp just a few years earlier.
Starring: Chuck Norris, Aki Aleong, Roland Harrah III, Miki Kim, Yehuda EfroniMartial arts | 100% |
Thriller | 32% |
War | 17% |
Action | 16% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
“This time, it’s personal” might be a punch line more so than a legitimate tag line these days, but it would certainly fit Braddock: Missing in Action III, a film that is positioned as the most personal of the three Missing in Action films that are perhaps eclipsed only by the television phenomenon Walker, Texas Ranger as the most identifiable entertainment brand featuring the multitalented Chuck Norris. In the film, Braddock finds himself back in-country in search of a long-lost loved one and winds up fighting the Vietnam War one more time in what becomes a battle to save the innocent from a ruthless military madman. Interestingly, this is, chronologically, the second film in the series and does play a part in interrupted franchise chronology, but as a standalone adventure it's not a bad little film.
While Braddock: Missing in Action III's 1080p image appears largely proficient, presenting good detailing and color, there's a mildly processed look to it, at times, like a very fine meshy screen has been overlaid atop the image, most noticeable in select, often lower-light scenes. Shout's! Blu-ray disc handles darker scenes well otherwise, presenting nicely maintained and manicured black levels that are never troublingly elevated or crushing out shadow detailing. As far as colors go, the movie can be fairly flat and drab, but bright, fiery explosions in the third act satisfy, and the film finds relatively true colors to blue skies, green G.I. fatigues and vegetation, beige Vietnamese army uniforms, and red blood. A light grain structure is maintained throughout, and textures are fairly strong. The image appears inherently a touch soft and viewers won't find new-film complexities, but core facial features, clothes, and environments, ranging from urban Saigon locales to a dingy prison interior, appear sufficiently revealing. Fans should be fairly pleased with this release.
Shout! Factory's two-channel lossless DTS track is proficient in delivery, never yielding anything of sonic excitement but conveying core music and effects well enough. There is some decent traversal across the front, such as when a jet flies through in the 12-minute mark. The track also enjoys adequate width to light rainfall in chapter three around the 35-minute mark, followed by rumbles of thunder which find good stretch and separation a few minutes later. Gunfire is suitably crisp with good spacing, particularly a shootout at the 57-minute mark. The lack of surround channels means a limited sound field for the large-scale battles, but the channels at work do a fair job of creating enough of a bullet-hail frenzy to set the stage. Music is suitably clear and detailed but a few moments come across as shallow and muddled. Dialogue images nicely towards the center is largely trouble-free.
This Blu-ray release of Braddock: Missing in Action III contains no supplemental content. No DVD or digital copies are included. As is often the case with Shout! Factory releases, a reversible cover is included and, again as is often the case (for this reviewer's eyes, anyway), the reverse side is the more appealing option.
Despite its extremely dark middle stretch and cliché action finale, Braddock: Missing in Action III is a solid film with a tangibly "personal" feel. It's easy to feel for Braddock, to understand the loss he experiences (twice, actually) and the motivation that drives him to rescue not only his child, but dozens more caught up in a bad situation. The world tries to take everything from him, but he courageously, and with the help of some movie magic, fights back against the odds in the name of right. Shout! Factory's Blu-ray release of Braddock: Missing in Action III features relatively solid 1080p video, adequate two-channel lossless audio, and unfortunately no supplemental content. Recommended, particularly to 80s Action movie fans.
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