7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
'Firestorm' centers on a senior police inspector determined to bring down a violent gang of robbers responsible for a string of violent heists across the city.
Starring: Andy Lau, Ka-Tung Lam, Chen Yao, Jun Hu, Ray LuiForeign | 100% |
Action | 75% |
Crime | 38% |
Thriller | 17% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Cantonese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Childhood friends who end up on opposite sides of the law are hardly a new cinematic trope, and Firestorm, a 2013 Hong Kong action thriller, doesn’t shy away from the setup, although it turns out to be a relatively small component in what is a perhaps overstuffed though frequently visceral viewing experience. Andy Lau portrays harried police inspector Lui Ming-chit, a professional becoming increasingly exasperated (and perhaps a bit unhinged) by his inability to bring a crime lord named Cao Nam (Hu Jun) to justice. When a completely improbable armored truck robbery goes haywire (for the police as much as the bad guys), Lui literally collides with ex-con To Shing-bong (Gordon Lam), who it turns out has a history with the cop. Bong is trying to forge a new life with his girlfriend Bing (Yao Chen), but the fact that he was at this crime scene and prevented the capture of some of the bad guys by ramming his car into Lui’s argues against the criminal’s insistence that it was all just an accident.
Firestorm is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. The slightly different aspect ratio might argue for this being a different transfer than the Hong Kong version, but the image seems otherwise largely identical, based both on screenshots and Svet's comments. Shot with the Red Epic, this boasts the typically sleek, smooth and stable image of that technology, while also offering some stupendous fine detail in extreme close-ups (see screenshot 4). Parts of the film have either been color graded or at least lit with specific tints (once again the ever popular blue), leading to a slight but noticeable diminution of detail in some sequences. Contrast is strong and stable though the film's unrelenting darkness results in a lack of shadow detail some of the time.
From the opening whispers of wind rustling through an urban cityscape to the closing conflagration that threatens to bring down central Hong Kong, Firestorm's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is a whirlwind of activity, offering near ubiquitous surround activity in what is frequently a very busy and at times crowded sounded mix. Everything is very well prioritized, and the track offers abundant LFE for those who like to give their subwoofers a workout. Dialogue is very cleanly presented. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is extremely wide.
Early in Firestorm, a heist sequence posits such an unlikely fate for an armored car that it becomes difficult to reconcile that kind of whimsy with the gritty, character driven drama that then unfolds. My hunch is adrenaline junkies will probably get the most out of this film, for when it indulges in its action sequences (which is quite a bit of the time), things move briskly and are typically very well staged. The melodrama surrounding Bong and Bing (doesn't that sound like a comedy duo?) is largely pointless, something that becomes even more apparent with the film's denouement. Technical merits here are very strong, and for action fans if for no one else, Firestorm comes Recommended.
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