Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Jiang Ziya Blu-ray Movie Review

What's Hanzi for WTF?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 28, 2021

While Jiang Ziya is like many Asian films which were evidently screened theatrically in 3D in some markets but which have only been granted a 2D Blu-ray way over here in the United States (and the rest of Region A), the film is still so visually interesting so much of the time that it may help addled audience members, like your intrepid reviewer, who may frankly struggle to make sense of the actual story. Jiang Ziya is a more or less follow up to Ne Zha, a Chinese blockbuster which itself was released in 3D theatrically, but which flew across the pond in a decidedly "flatter" version (Well Go USA, which also released Ne Zha on Blu- ray, at least upped the visual ante by also offering Ne Zha 4K , an upgrade that this particular film does not seem to be enjoying, at least as of the writing of this review). Jiang Ziya is in fact kind of like the "flip side" (to purloin a term from the recording industry) of Ne Zha in more than one way. If Ne Zha was a kind of ADHD terror in slightly grotesque imp form, Jiang Ziya is an often (seemingly) emotionless guru type, methodical and single minded. Ne Zha had a bit of a metaphysical edge in that Ne Zha was actually a demon who was ultimately shown not to be "all bad", while Jiang Ziya is from the outset the sort of noble figure whom the Gods themselves bow to, and who, as the film begins (after an exposition dump prologue), is set to become the putative ruler of heaven if he can decimate an evil entity known as Nine Tailed, the leader of the Fox Clan. Already, at least for some Western audiences not completely conversant with Chinese history and/or folklore, there may be questions accruing as to what's going on, and for anyone who watches this film and is in that predicament by this point, my advice is a simple get used to it.

Fans of Well Go USA who may have picked up a 2017 Blu-ray release of theirs of a film called League of Gods may have a leg up, if only slightly, on most coming to either Ne Zha or Jiang Ziya, since League of Gods attempted to take a live action approach to the same source material that sparked both of these interrelated animated efforts. That source is a 16th century that goes by a number of names (two are mentioned in the League of Gods Blu-ray review), but which is known in Western countries as The Investitures of the Gods, a title which may hint at its "genesis" aspects. That said, there are elements at play in Jiang Ziya which are definitely head scratching, with some cutaways that seem to interrupt the timeline of the narrative, and other moments that simply don't register fully because there's little to no context given (at least for the "uninitiated").

The bottom line is that during the supposedly epochal showdown between Jiang Ziya and Nine Tailed that occurs early in the film, Jiang Ziya is not able to completely kill the beast, since he sees what appears to be the spirit of a little girl being held captive within Nine Tailed's being. That "little" decision gets Jiang Ziya banned from heaven, sent into exile to meditate about his errors, and to come to terms with the fact that the Gods insist Nine Tailed, an expert in illusion, has actually simply toyed with Jiang Ziya's mind, and that there was "nothing there" to begin with. He's watched over by a hulking sidekick who I am unsure is supposed to be (probably another failing due to my lack of knowledge about Chinese mythology), as well as a cute little animal-like creature called Four Alike.

Jiang questions the Gods' insistence that he's in error, and later when he meets a young girl named Jiu who seems to be the embodiment of what he saw inside Nine Tailed, the two set off on a quest together, with the sidekick following in pursuit. There's an increasingly melancholic ambience as the story progresses, with the pasts of both Jiu and Jiang Ziya referenced if never totally explained. Another rather large and potentially confusing exposition dump toward the end of the film details a weird "connection" between Jiu and Nine Tailed, and raises Jiang Ziya's "central" metaphysical question, namely whether it's a good thing to sacrifice one innocent for the sake of the whole, or if it's better to save that innocent and deal with the consequences later. There's also a rather provocative if (again) undeveloped subtext that implies the Gods may not always know best, despite their omniscience.

Jiang Ziya is an often ravishing viewing experience with some really gorgeous animation throughout, but for those wanting to actually understand what's going on, a crash course in The Investiture of the Gods may be in order. That may be a wise decision in any case, since both Ne Zha (the character pops up in a cameo in the final credits roll) and this film raked in huge amounts of moolah in the Asian market, and a third film is reportedly already in the works.

Jiang Ziya Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jiang Ziya is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This creation from the digital realm boasts a startlingly beautiful source, one with a really resplendent palette and some nicely precise looking fine detail in elements like the woven fabric of Jiu's sweater or even the fur on Four Alike. Reds and purples are especially vivid throughout the presentation. There are two distinctive animation styles at play, one for the prologue and one for the rest of the film. Screenshots from the prologue are in positions 4, 9 and 15 for those interested. The one downside to this presentation is once again banding. Interestingly, it really doesn't show up as much on the Well Go USA masthead as I've seen it on previous releases, but it's then very noticeable in a number of other Chinese production mastheads that flit by before the film really gets underway, and then it intermittently ripples through various moments that typically have large skies in the frame and/or are filled with mist (a recurring motif in the story).

Jiang Ziya Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jiang Ziya features nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks in either Mandarin or English. I toggled back and forth between these two tracks and really didn't notice any major differences in terms of overall amplitude or mix levels. The English voice work is largely great (as was the case with Ne Zha's English language version, I haven't been able to track down any authoritative data on the English voice cast, and there's actually precious little that I could find online vis a vis the Mandarin voice cast). The film's prevalence of fantasy laden material offers nice consistent opportunities for engagement of the surround channels, and a couple of the smackdown scenes feature some good robust LFE. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English or Mandarin subtitles are available.

Jiang Ziya Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers includes:

  Trailer (1080p; 1:48)

  
  

  Trailer (Mandarin) (1080p; 1:48)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, this supplements have been authored to follow one another automatically (so that clicking on Trailer is essentially a "Play All" button). After the Trailer (Mandarin) plays, the disc has been authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases (including Ne Zha). Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

Jiang Ziya Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Two simultaneous things happened as I watched Jiang Ziya: I was repeatedly struck by the gorgeous visuals and I was also repeatedly asking myself what the you know what was happening. If you go with the flow of the imagery here and just let any niggling qualms about character, plot and/or meaning fall by the wayside, Jiang Ziya is actually rather engaging. The writing may not completely support some of the ideas that are being alluded to, but it may at least serve as a starting point for some rational brain activity to kick in after the eye candy has ended. Technical merits are generally decent (video) to excellent (audio), and with caveats duly noted, Jiang Ziya comes Recommended.