7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Indonesia's preeminent comic book superhero and his alter ego Sancaka enter the cinematic universe to battle the wicked Pengkor and his diabolical squad of orphan assassins.
Starring: Abimana Aryasatya, Tara Basro, Bront Palarae, Ario Bayu, Lukman SardiForeign | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Indonesian: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Indonesian: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
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 | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Fans of superhero movies who may frankly be more aware of such outings that emanate from the United States than from other countries, might have not one, but two, surprises coming if they decide to watch Gundala. The first of these is that Gundala is an Indonesian enterprise, one based on what is evidently a very popular comic book series there, a comic book which my hunch is relatively few Westerners have ever heard of, let alone read or even looked at. The second of these surprises is that Gundala is not the first adaptation of the comic book, and in fact a film called Gundala Putra Petir culled from the same source actually came out several decades ago in 1981. However, for those who aren't familiar with the Gundala franchise (for want of a better term), fear not: if you've heard of a little comic book called Batman and the films and television outings based on it, you might be okay, since Gundala has more than a few similarities with elements of the story of that iconic character. Cases in point?:
Gundala is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb isn't much help with technical data, though some of the "making of" featurettes listed below in the supplements section clearly show what looks like a full size Arri model. My hunch is this was finished at a 2K DI, but I haven't found anything authoritative in that regard (if anyone does have definitive information, private message me, and I'll happily update the review). This an often quite stylish and striking presentation, one that has clearly been tweaked to within an inch of its palette's life on several occasions, though commendably detail levels on very occasionally struggle to make it through the changes. Even in some nighttime material that is further affected by some yellow-brown or even orangish grading, fine detail on things like the grime on Sancaka's hands is nicely precise looking. Some of the CGI, including what I'm assuming is the rendering of the huge smog producing plant, can look relatively soft. This is another Well Go USA release with some tendencies toward banding, though thankfully in this instance more in terms of some production mastheads than the actual film.
While this release actually touts the inclusion of an English language track (in both DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0), due to what in my estimation is sometimes almost comical mismatches between mouth movements and sounds emanating from them, I'd recommend sticking with the original Indonesian track (also available in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0). The film has a rather interesting sound design, one which repeatedly makes use of storm effects, notably the crackling, buzzing sound of lightning, and explosive thunder. Sancaka is also afflicted by what is evidently a high frequency tone when he's near lightning, and something akin to that is also presented, albeit suitably tamped down for non-superhero ears. The film's urban setting also allows for regular placement of ambient environmental sounds throughout the presentation. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly and I noticed no issues with regard to any damage, distortion or dropouts.
- Part 01 (1080i; 4:57)
- Part 02 (1080i; 4:15)
- Part 03 (1080i; 5:04)
- Part 04 (1080i; 5:13)
- #01 (1080i; 00:53)
- #02 (1080i; 00:54)
- #03 (1080i; 00:53)
You'll note that the tag line under the title on the cover of this release states "rise of a hero", and in that regard it may be worthwhile to point out that the "rise" part of the story takes a good three quarters of the running time, and even the "hero" part is not that prevalent in the final quarter. A dime will get you a dollar (or whatever the Indonesian equivalent is) that the expected sequel will have a "previously on. . ." recap of these events, and so some may simply want to wait for it to get a "Reader's Digest" version, especially since the plotting in this film may be both too dense and underdeveloped to always make sense to those without a firm grounding in the history of the title character. Technical merits are solid and the supplemental package enjoyable, for those considering a purchase.
2022
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