6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A great war is on the verge when the port city of Langkasuka, ruled by Princess Raja Hijau, is the target of brutal pirates led by Prince Raval and his right-hand mand "Black Raven", a powerful magician. Even though Princess Hijau is protected by the great warrior Yarang and her ally Prince Pahang's massive army, she can only temporarily hold off the mighty force of the pirate alliance.
Starring: Jarunee Suksawas, Jacqueline Apitananon, Sorapong Chatri, Jakkrit Phanichphatikram, Winai KraibutrAction | 100% |
Foreign | 65% |
Fantasy | 22% |
Adventure | 2% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Thai: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
First off, let’s get one thing clear. If you go into Legend of the Tsunami Warrior expecting to see at least one massive tidal wave of unstoppable aquatic destruction, something akin to the skyscraper high breakers in The Day After Tomorrow or 2012, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. I’m not sure what the film’s original Thai title, Puen yai jon salad, literally translates to in English—it sounds like a healthy and delicious entrée at your local Thai joint —but I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with tsunamis. This is a reasonable guess considering that there are no tidal waves in this movie whatsoever. If the film were to be titled after what the titular warrior actually does, it would be called The Legend of the Warrior Who Can Telepathically Control Fish. Not as catchy, admittedly, but infinitely more accurate. So, no tidal waves, mmmkay? What you get instead is a chimeric hybrid of Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, and Ong Bak 2.
The Tsunam Warrior, sans tsunami.
Legend of the Tsunami Warrior doesn't exactly make a splash on Blu-ray—I promise, I've exhausted my supply of water-related puns—but the film's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer is a passable, even occasionally impressive Blu-ray experience if you keep two things in mind. 1.) You've seen better special effects and CGI in video games; some of the digitally supplemented vistas are painfully artificial, and much of the computer generated imagery has a flat, low-res look that lacks fine detail. 2.) This isn't a Hollywood blockbuster, so temper your expectations accordingly. On the whole, though, and given the Thai film industry's current capabilities, Tsunami Warrior looks good—it's just a bit inconsistent. Almost everything about this transfer is mixed. Sometimes the image is sharply resolved, with plenty of detail visible in facial texture and the intricately wrought plates of Thai armor, and other times the picture is slightly soft. Color can be remarkably vivid, with bright costumes, warm skintones, and deep sea blues, or somewhat washed out. The same goes for black levels, which can be spot-on during daytime scenes, or hazy and too dark when we venture into the film's many cave sequences. Grain fluctuates as well, from fine and unobtrusive to moderately noisy. On the plus side, apart from some very minor banding in two or three subtle color gradients, I didn't notice any compression problems or other transfer-related issues.
Like many of Magnolia Home Entertainment's recent Asian film releases—which carry native language tracks and English dubs—Tsunami Warrior has two audio options, both in the form of lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks. Stay away, if at all possible, from the exceptionally cheesy English overdub, which makes the dialogue even more ridiculous than it already is. (The film defaults to this option, so head into the menu or get ready to hit the "audio" button on your remote.) The Thai language track is much better, but, as with the picture quality, the results here are mixed. Surround speaker usage is inconsistently applied, but there are definitely some effective moments, like during the big battle scenes, which erupt with cross-channel cannon fire and gunshots that ping every which way. During the quieter scenes, you'll occasionally hear some seaside ambience—gulls squawking, lapping water, gurgling bubbles, etc. Dynamically, the audio feels like it could use a bit more heft. There's some modest LFE rumble during a few heated action beats, but in general the film needs a more powerful low-end and a more robust middle, especially to sell the gunfire and other sound effects. Dialogue is well balanced in the mix, but it doesn't always sound as clean as it could/should, with a slightly muffled quality that occasionally swallows up the crispness of the voices. This isn't a bad mix by any means, but don't expect anything particularly impressive.
The Making of Legend of the Tsunami Warrior (SD, 9:12)
Director Nonee Nimibutr explains the premise and discusses the film's mix of action and fantasy, and a
few of the actors give some very brief thoughts. The most salient factoid we learn here is that main
actor Ananda Everingham—our titular Tsunami Warrior—could hold his breath for three and half
minutes underwater by the time the shoot finished. Really, a more impressive feat that just about
anything we see in the movie.
Behind the Scenes Footage (SD, 5:04)
Five minutes of non-narrated, on-set B-roll footage.
Also From Magnolia Home Entertainment (1080p, 6:16)
Includes trailers for Red Cliff, District 13: Ultimatum, and The Warlords.
To reiterate: there are no tsunamis in Legend of the Tsunami Warrior. The disappointment doesn't end there, though. While the film tries desperately to follow in the wake of other, better fantasy epics—Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean—it flounders through a needlessly complicated plot, undeveloped characters, and merely mediocre action. Fans of the emerging southeast Asian action cinema scene may want to give Tsunami Warrior a rental, but all others are advised to move to higher cinematic ground.
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