6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A martial arts instructor from the police force gets imprisoned after killing a man by accident. But when a vicious killer starts targeting martial arts masters, the instructor offers to help the police in return for his freedom.
Starring: Donnie Yen, Baoqiang Wang, Charlie Yeung, Bing Bai (II), Alex FongForeign | 100% |
Action | 98% |
Martial arts | 66% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Lovers of Hong Kong martial arts flicks are used to these kinds of films offering a succession of vignettes strung together by what are often the slimmest threads of narrative. Kung Fu Killer (which due to Chinese censorship provisions was released as Kung Fu Jungle overseas) makes no pretensions about being much other than a string of vignettes, but quite surprisingly it ends up crafting a generally compelling story that actually manages to deliver not just a series of spectacularly staged fight sequences, but an at least passably intriguing amount of suspense. The basic premise of Kung Fu Killer stretches credulity to the breaking point (again, nothing new in Hong Kong martial arts movie territory), positing an expert fighter named Hahou Mo (Donnie Yen), who inadvertently kills one of his opponents and is jailed for his “crime.” In prison, Hahou overhears a television broadcast where breaking news is covering the apparent murder of another martial arts expert. It’s obvious from the look on Hahou’s face that he knows something, and when he begs not one but two guards for the chance to call the investigating police officer, Luk Yuen-Sum (Charlie Young), he’s met with some good natured refusals. Hahou is very intent on getting Luk’s attention, though, and he simply turns around and starts a riot right there in his cell block, something that of course gets the guards’ attention and which (not so surprisingly) delivers Luk to Hahou’s post-melee interrogation room. The no nonsense policewoman is obviously curious as to why Hahou wanted to see her so badly, but when the erstwhile kung fu expert says he can pretty much guarantee there will be more murders, Luk isn’t buying it, especially when Hahou insists he needs to be set free in order to bring the assailant to justice. As Luk is leaving the room, however, Hahou shouts out a list of seven potential “next” victims, and Luk is obviously intrigued. When one of those seven indeed turns up dead soon thereafter, a cat and mouse (or mice, as the case may be) game is afoot, with a serial killer on the loose who seems to be targeting a coterie of former aficionados of various fighting styles.
Kung Fu Killer is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This appears to have been sourced off the same master used for the Hong Kong Blu-ray release reviewed by my colleague Dr. Svet Atanasov. As Svet mentioned in his review, this is really an impeccably sharp presentation in its (many) bright lit scenes, and even in close-ups in more dimly lit environments. Some sequences utilize fairly aggressive color grading, and in some of these choices (notably some yellow scenes), detail is minimally reduced. When not artificially tweaked, the palette is very natural looking and pops with considerable wallop (no pun intended). As mentioned above in the main body of the review (and in Svet's assessment, as well), the film is not helped by some soft and unconvincing CGI at a couple of key junctures.
Kung Fu Killer is one of the rare Well Go USA Blu-rays which offers several audio choices, with (admittedly lossy) Spanish and French 5.1 mixes added to the usual original language (in this case Cantonese) and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes. While the two lossless mixes are identical (or nearly so) in terms of overall amplitude and effects placement, the dub is really almost laughably bad. The Cantonese track offers excellent discrete channelization in the set pieces, but also in more "tame" environments like the crowded police station. The low end on this track is extremely aggressive, with several floorboard rattling moments. Dialogue is delivered cleanly and is always well prioritized. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is very wide in this problem free track.
- Fight to the Top (480p; 2:21)
- Spirit of Kung Fu (480p; 2:30)
- The Final Duel (480p; 2:49)
- Legendary Action Directors (480p; 2:34)
Kung Fu Killer probably could have dropped all pretensions (not that it has many to begin with), and not even attempted to fill in the backstory of the nefarious serial murderer in this film, for that aspect of the plot actually turns out to be the least compelling. The parade of extremely imaginatively staged and shot set pieces provides more than enough juice to keep Kung Fu Killer propelled at a high octane velocity for virtually its entire running time. Yen (who also did the fight choreography) is in great taciturn form and the neat cameos provide an extra bonus for genre aficionados. Technical merits are first rate and Kung Fu Killer comes Recommended.
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