Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Kill Zone Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 28, 2010

Wilson Yip's "Saat Po Lang" a.k.a "SPL: Kill Zone" (2005) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy British distributors Showbox Media. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with Asian cinema expert Bay Logan and actor Donnie Yen; making of; a gallery of interviews with Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Simon Yam, Wilson Yup and Wu Jing; as well as Behind the Scenes featurette containing over one hour of deleted footage with optional commentary by Bay Logan and Donnie Yen. With optional English subtitles. Region-Free.

One tough crew

A cancer-struck cop, Chan Kwok Chung (Simon Yam, Election), is determined to send a ruthless triad lord, Wong Po (Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon), behind bars. But the closer he gets to him, the more of his colleagues are eliminated by the lord’s goons. With less than forty eight hours to retirement and his target still on the loose, as well as his replacement, Ma Kwun (Donnie Yen, An Empress and the Warriors), already itching to take over his unsolved cases, the cop would make one final move - which may cost him his life.

After the unprecedented success of Lau Wai-keung and Alan Mak’s Infernal Affairs (2002), it seems like a few of the big production houses in Hong Kong are back in the high-octane action game, investing enough to allow projects such as Wilson Yup's SPL: Kill Zone to see the light of day. Fast-paced, stylishly-lensed and packed to the hilt with cold and realistic fights, SPL: Kill Zone is a good example of what the future of Hong Kong action cinema might look like.

The title of the film refers to a trio of stars from the Chinese zodiac: Sha (Seven Killings), the power star; Po (Army Breaker), the ruinous star; and Lang (Greedy Wolf), the flirting star. Each of the three abbreviations corresponds to one of the three characters in SPL: Kill Zone - the sick cop, his replacement and the triad lord.

It is quite difficult, however, to figure out exactly how the stars are assigned. In SPL: Kill Zone, the fine line between right and wrong is effectively blurred, and even though one gets a fairly clear picture of why cops and goons are locked in a deadly standoff, one is certainly left pondering who the bad party actually is.

The acting is good, though not of the same caliber as that observed in Infernal Affairs. Simon Yam is convincing as the tough cop willing to go all the way, and if needed break more than a few rules here and there, to get his man behind bars. Donnie Yen is also persuasive as the rookie cop determined to prove that he can succeed where those before him have failed. Veteran actor Sammo Hung Kam-Bo looks a bit too serious at times, but he is also believable as the triad lord getting ready to enjoy a more peaceful life.

Yup’s direction is assured, never emphasizing the action more than it needs to. As a result, the dramatic overtones in SPL: Kill Zone do not feel awkward. On the contrary, they compliment the film’s gritty aura rather well. Cinematographer Lam Wah-Chuen’s (Juliet in Love) lensing is also pleasing.

SPL: Kill Zone comes very close to what is typically referred to as pure genre picture. It most certainly does not break new boundaries, but it does not fall victim of the endless clichés similarly themed films do either. The style is never overwhelming, and there is just enough substance complimenting it to make one feel good about spending a little over ninety minutes with it.

In 2006, SPL: Kill Zone won the Best Action Choreography award (Donnie Yen) at the Hong Kong Film Awards. During the same year, the film won the Film of Merit award at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.

Kill Zone Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wilson Yup's SPL: Kill Zone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Showbox Media.

I have mixed feelings about this high-definition transfer. As it was the case with the Hong Kong release of SPL: Kill Zone, edge-enhancement and digital noise are once again an issue of concern. Many of the daylight scenes also appear to have been contrast-boosted. As a result, clarity is not as convincing as it could have been. Mild ringing is also rather easy to spot during selected scenes. On the other hand, the color-scheme is mostly stable, though blacks and blues again have a tendency to look soft. Finally, this high-definition transfer looks slightly less filtered than the one found on the Hong Kong release. Unfortunately, however, edge-enhancement is a lot more prominent on it. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no PAL or 1080/50i-encoded data preceding the main menu).

Kill Zone Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Showbox Media have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very good. The bass is potent, the rear channels very active and high-frequencies not overdone. Many of the action scenes throughout the film feature plenty of good enhancements, and a few, could certainly be used to test the muscles of your audio equipment (I would recommend the crash scene in the very beginning of the film). The dialog is crisp, clean and easy to follow. I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or background noise to report in this review.

I tested a couple of scenes with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, but I really did not like the dubbers too much. I strongly recommend viewing the film with the Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.

Kill Zone Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The supplemental features on this disc are encoded in PAL. Therefore, if you reside in North America, or another region where PAL is not supported, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC, or a TV set capable of receiving native PAL data, in order to view them.

Commentary: - and audio commentary with Bay Logan, which is also included on the double SDVD set of SPL: Kill Zone. I ended up listening to the entire commentary and enjoyed it a lot. Mr. Logan offers a strong analysis of the film as well as plenty of background information about the cast and crew members, the interesting symbolism the film uses as a foundation for its story, etc. The commentary is in English, with optional English subtitles.

Behind the Scenes - the featurette offers a look at two scenes, "Alley Cats" (29 min) and "Challenge of the Masters", with optional commentary by Bay Logan and Donnie Yen. The footage from the shooting of the second scene is particularly good, including deleted fight scenes between Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo. In English, not subtitled. (31 min).

Interview Gallery:

-- Born To Be Bad: An exclusive featurette with incomparable martial arts legend Sammo Hung Kam-Bo. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles. (15 min).

-- First Amongst Equals: An exclusive featurette with legendary leading man and action-director Donnie Yen. In English, with optional English subtitles. (40 min).

-- Echoes of Darkness: An exclusive featurette with prolific co-star Simon Yam. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles. (14 min).

-- A Man Apart: An exclusive featurette with visionary director Wilson Yup. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles. (18 min).

-- A Dragon Rising: An exclusive featurette with explosive lead-villain Wu Jing. In Mandarin, with imposed English subtitles. (23 min).

Making of - a standard featurette with plenty of raw footage from the shooting of SPL: Kill Zone and comments from the cast and crew. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles. (11 min).

Kill Zone Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Though there are still some issues with the transfer for Wilson Yup's SPL: Kill Zone, I think that at present this is the best overall package. The supplemental features British distributors Showbox Media have secured for this Blu-ray release are terrific. RECOMMENDED.