6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A continuation of the 1995 television series Fist of Fury, Donnie Yen reprises his role as Chen Zhen, a role made famous by Bruce Lee in 'Fist of Fury' (1972). The film is set seven years after the apparent death of Chen Zhen, who was shot after discovering who was responsible for his teacher's death in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A mysterious stranger arrives from overseas and befriends a local mafia boss. That man is a disguised Chen Zhen, who intends to infiltrate the mob when they form an alliance with the Japanese. Disguising himself as a caped fighter by night, Chen intends to take out everyone involved as well as get his hands on an assassination list prepared by the Japanese.
Starring: Donnie Yen, Shu Qi, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Shawn Yue, Yasuaki KurataAction | 100% |
Martial arts | 58% |
Foreign | 56% |
History | 15% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Has there ever been another pop cultural flash in the pan quite like the 1966-68 ABC television version of Batman? The show seemed to hit literally overnight when it premiered as a midseason replacement in January 1966 and within what seemed like days everything was “Bat-this” and “Bat-that,” and suddenly little old ABC, the ugly stepchild of three major broadcast networks, had what was arguably the hottest thing on the air. Of course, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, there was a mad rush to find similar ideas to get on the air, and ABC greenlit (no pun intended, considering the series’ color scheme and title) The Green Hornet for fall 1966. That show, unlike Batman, played it relatively straight, and that may have been one reason it never took off like its progenitor. Wiser minds may have averred that The Green Hornet’s failure to launch was in fact the first warning shot that the Batman craze was already beginning to deflate a mere nine months after its launch, but Batman managed to limp through one more season before shuffling off the pop culture radar coil. In a little tangential sidebar, it’s interesting to note that none other than “Uncle Miltie” himself may have sensed the early demise of The Green Hornet television series. Berle, who reneged on an infamous NBC contract which had paid him for well over a decade to stay off the air, had himself returned to the weekly variety show grind that fall of 1966 on ABC, and he had Hornet stars Van Williams and Bruce Lee as his guests. His not all that kind intro included a statement to the effect that he was “sure the show would become the hit Batman is in time.” Ummm, sure, Uncle Miltie. (Berle’s show tanked even bigger than The Green Hornet and suffered a similar one season fate).
The really fascinating thing about The Green Hornet is that at the time it was roundly dismissed as a not very good Batman wannabe, and not all that many people—at least in the United States—were even paying attention to the supporting player who portrayed the Hornet’s trusty sidekick (literally—he would kick villains in their sides), Kato. Of course, 20/20 hindsight being what it is, virtually everyone now knows that actor was none other than Bruce Lee, and his depiction of Kato set him out on a tragically brief but incredibly lustrous career as the reigning kung fu star of his era. In fact his popularity was such that when The Green Hornet was licensed for Asian broadcast, it was renamed The Kato Show. One of Lee’s first, and most successful, post-Hornet enterprises was the iconic martial arts film Fist of Fury (sometimes mistakenly known as The Chinese Connection due to one of the funnier mixups in Hong Kong film history*), a revenge fantasy of sorts built around the real life early 20th century developments in the Shanghai International Settlement. Lee portrayed Chen Zhen, a student of the Jingwu school, who seeks to avenge the murder of his master at the hands of the nefarious Japanese. The film was an international sensation and helped to catapult Lee to superstar status.
Legend of the Fist punches onto Blu-ray with an enticing AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1 that makes the most of the film's opulent settings. Some establishing shots feature decent looking CGI that helps recreate a not very accurate Shanghai, but which give the film a little epic sweep before it settles down into its main story. Colors are especially vivid throughout this presentation, popping very nicely in both the nightclub sequences, as well as the "outdoor" segments which are often nicely filtered toward a cool blue end of the spectrum. The opening war sequence is also in this same gray-blue palette, but for once the filtering is done without sacrificing sharpness, clarity or detail. Fine detail is in fact exceptional throughout this release, and even regular bugaboos like houndstooth patterns on suit jackets do not devolve into moiré or aliasing. Some of the fine detail is truly astounding. Watch for example the brief interstitial of a printing press pounding out "extra" special editions to announce the arrival of The Masked Warrior, and the amount of detail on the printing presses is incredible—it almost seems individual naps on the ink pads are noticeable. This sequence also boasts the excellent black levels that support the film's darker elements.
There's no Cantonese track included on this Blu-ray, so with both lossless offerings which are on board, a Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, you're going to have to deal with copious dubbing which can be extremely distracting. If you can get past the old bugaboo of lips not exactly synching with phonemes, there's a lot to love on both of the lossless offerings, starting with the incredibly boisterous and immersive war sequence which kicks off this film. Bullets and explosions fly in from every possible combination of surrounds until the listener feels like the war is literally in the home theater environment. Things calm down a little once the film returns to Shanghai, but there's an unusual amount of immersion throughout this film, whether it be in the nightclub specialty music sequences, or the passing gangster gunfights, or indeed the spectacular hand to hand combat scenes which are probably this film's most potent allure. Fidelity is excellent and LFE is throbbingly robust. Dynamic range is incredibly impressive throughout this film.
As has been the case lately with WellGo Collector's Edition Blu-rays, some of the supplements are on the Blu-ray with the main feature, while others are included on a supplementary DVD. The Blu-ray extras are:
Legend of the Fist is a fun companion piece to the many other Chen Zhen properties of the big and small screens, but it misses capturing the brass ring by being too quick and chopped up to ever really connect with the audience. Yen proves himself once again to be one of the most deadly earnest and athletic martial arts stars working currently, and he brings a vigorous energy to the film, but the story itself only works in dribs and drabs. If you're not too demanding, there's a lot to enjoy in Legend of the Fist, and the Blu-ray presentation is certainly spectacular. Recommended.
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