Hydra Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Hydra Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 17, 2021

The fact that the hero of this film is named Takashi may give fans of a certain director with the surname Miike a bit of a giggle, at least when some brutal if sometimes gonzo violence breaks out, including in an opening scene set in a men's room. I have long been on record as saying I personally really could live without ever having to see another scene of guys engaging in dialogue as they pee, and in that regard, at least this film's initial sequence has no dialogue, just a disturbing murder of a man who is attempting to pee, so maybe I'll consider that progress. The action is fast and furious, but a few salient facts are disclosed, including that the victim was a cop and that there's evidently a kind of black ops group ironically called the Tokyo Life Group which arranges for the murders and the subsequent removal of "evidence". The film then segues to a bar bearing the titular name, where that aforementioned Takashi Sato (Masanori Mimoto) works as a cook. Hydra deliberately keeps its cards pretty close to its vest in terms of doling out information about Takashi, and the mystery surrounding him continues to permeate the rest of the tale, which ultimately of course involves the Tokyo Life Group and not so coincidentally the pretty woman for whom Takashi works, Rina Kishida (Miu).

At a running time that really isn't that much longer than an hour once the closing credits are subtracted, Hydra in fact might have been better had it actually doled out some of that closely held information a bit sooner. As it stands, the story struggles to find momentum since so little is actually known about Takashi and Rina, and in fact a couple of later reveals might have arguably made more sense earlier in the story to help develop an emotional tether.

Suffice it to say that Takashi is of course not a "simple cook", and that he as that now infamous "particular set of skills" that predictably has to be utilized to extricate Rina from danger. In that regard, though, Hydra almost seems to be aiming for one cliché when one sequence shows a date rape drug purveyor entering the fray, but kind of interestingly a "bait and switch" of sorts ensues that makes Rina the damsel in distress. Also kind of interestingly, at least given the hyperbolic opening sequence, this is not a martial arts film that revels in a fight scene every couple of minutes, and in fact a large swath of the middle part of the film is given over largely to narrative, without much in the way of outright action.

Hydra Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hydra is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The film actually bears a 2019 copyright date, but that said, there still doesn't seem to be much technical data online about the shoot, at least that I could find. This is an interesting looking presentation at times, with a number of grading and/or lighting regimens put in place that can give things a slightly harsh, even lurid, quality at times. As can probably be readily gleaned from some of the screenshots accompanying this review, some sequences are heavily graded toward blues, greens and yellows at varying times, and there are noticeable ebbs and flows in fine detail as some of these techniques come into play. Some of the moody dark material that is also graded toward blues probably fares worst in this regard, at least in terms of fine detail levels. One recurrent scene featuring Takashi in his apartment offers almost John Wick-ian levels of purple. Some interstitial flashback material can be desaturated and seem like it's black and white, but there are actually kind of interesting pops of muted color even in these scenes at times. For example, during one flashback that gets into a memory of dripping water (I'm not making this up), look at the color of the plastic bowl water is dripping into, and some other flashback material almost has a slightly sepia toned look to it.

Hydra Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hydra features an intermittently bombastic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in the original Japanese. One of the things that may keep this film from attaining top marks from audiophiles who like their surround activity, well, fast and furious, is that after the opening sequence, things definitely quiet down substantially, at least in terms of rambunctious accounts of physical attacks. That said, the Hydra setting itself offers some decently spacious renderings of background clamor, and later moments featuring things like gunfire and more hand to hand combat help to reestablish some immersion. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. As is Well Go USA's custom, a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 track is also included, and optional English subtitles are available.

Hydra Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 1:52)

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.

Hydra Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Films about hired hitmen who are trying to get out of the business but who get roped back in for one reason or another are frankly a dime a dozen, and Hydra may not offer enough new material or a unique enough perspective to really deliver a solidly impressive story. Things might have been a bit better developed, and the story more compellingly structured to offer more up front information about Takashi in order to make the audience actually care about him. Technical merits are generally solid for those who are considering making a purchase.