God of War II Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

God of War II Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 20, 2021

I'm confused. And to the resounding chorus of "what else is new?" I hear echoing through the virtual halls of the internet, I'll add: even more than usual. I reviewed a film called God of War , also put out on Blu-ray by Well Go USA, several years ago, and so call me crazy (I hear more murmuring in those internet halls), but I kinda sorta assumed God of War II might be a, you know, sequel. Instead, it seems to be a co-opted title (why?) for what was evidently a TV movie that the IMDb calls Legend of Lv Bu. Now the situation is perhaps further complicated by the fact that that very IMDb listing either has the title misspelled or at least mistransliterated, since the titular character is identified as Lü Bu in both subtitles as well as some descriptive text on the back cover of this release. At any rate, this seems to be a "franchise" in (co- opted) name only, as it turns out that, unlike the first film, which was set circa the sixteenth century, the real life Lü Bu lived centuries earlier, ultimately inspiring accounts that included the legendary (maybe in more ways than one) third century tome Record of the Three Kingdoms.

Any consistent tether to actual history is dispensed with fairly early on in this enterprise, however, no matter what its name might be. The early scenes document the hellish existence of Lü Bu as a child, evidently part of some mass experiment by an evil sorceress which keeps the kids in large vats while she peels back their skin and also forces them to drink a potion made of tarantulas. It's all very strange, and obviously a bit on the disturbing side, but it also makes completely clear that God of War II is going to be a fantasy tinged action outing, not some kind of staid historical epic.

This whole fantasy laden ambience also seems to be almost deliberately at odds with the more (ostensibly?) factual first God of War, making the choice of title all the weirder. That said, there does seem to be some tangential connection to actual history in this piece, specifically with regard to Lü Bu's relationship with a warlord named Dong Zhuo. Perhaps due to what may have been a less fulsome budget, the production design here, while evocative on its own scale, can't quite match the awesomeness the first film offered. All of this adds up to a somewhat strange offering that is a kind of hybrid entertainment that attempts to meld some fantasy elements onto a supposedly historical figure, to somewhat variable effect.

Note: Because the film's credits are only in Chinese (with no English subtitles), and because neither the IMDb nor even the back cover of this release identify what actor is playing which role, I can't offer casting choices. The cast list in the "small print" on the back cover of this release includes Charles Lin, Yuxi Liu, and a "special appearance" by David Wu.

God of War II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

God of War II is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the site's odd version of the original title of this piece, the IMDb has no real technical data available, and the closing credits have no English subtitles, so I can't opine on whether any technical data is offered there. I'm giving this a 4.0 since a lot of the more brightly lit outdoor material pops very well and delivers consistently nice fine detail levels, but there are a glut of scenes here that look oddly brightened, many of them interior moments that have been either lit or graded toward orange tones. Contrast in these moments is pretty anemic, and detail levels also tend to ebb noticeably. The fact that some interstitial material also graded or lit toward oranges does not exhibit this same kind of weird brightening makes the milky moments all the more noticeable. CGI is pretty soft looking most of the time, and in fact can come off as slightly comical on occasion.

God of War II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

God of War II features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in the original Mandarin. The film benefits from several effects sequences which more than adequately engage the side and rear channels while also providing bursts of LFE, and the sound design also offers good placement of ambient environmental effects in several outdoor sequences. The action set pieces are the "busiest" in terms of surround activity, but even quieter dialogue scenes enjoy some nice spread and directionality. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Chinese subtitles are available.

God of War II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 1:37)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the the disc has been authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases after the trailer for this film plays. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

God of War II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The first God of War was admittedly a bit ponderous at times, but it at least seemed to be trying to adhere to the historical record. This film's playing up of the fantasy superhero element takes this pretty obviously out of the "factual" arena, though that said the character of Lü Bu has evidently inspired hyperbolic tales in lore and legend for untold centuries, so maybe this can be seen as part of that particular tradition. I still found this narrative near impossible to follow at times, but perhaps those better versed in Chinese culture will not experience the same level of boneheadedness. Technical merits are generally solid for those who are considering making a purchase.