7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Set during the final years of the Warring States period of ancient China, a cowardly soldier of Liang, who has captured a heavily wounded young general of rival kingdom Wei through sheer luck. Hoping that he will be rewarded and possibly discharged from the army, the soldier, who longs for peace and freedom, takes the captive along on his way back home. Their initial animosity gradually turns into friendship as the odd couple encounters danger in the shape of refugees, nomads, and the Wei armies on their eventful journey.
Starring: Jackie Chan, Leehom Wang, Rongguang Yu, Yoo Seung-jun, Zha KaForeign | 100% |
Action | 77% |
Martial arts | 66% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | 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
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Films as disparate as The Defiant Ones and Midnight Run have played on the idea of a mismatched pair either literally or figuratively tied to each other as they make their way through a series of adventures, usually leading to a greater understanding of each other’s characters. Something along that same line is in play in Little Big Soldier, a film that took writer-star Jackie Chan so long to get off the ground he ended up playing a much older role than the one he had initially planned for himself early in the film’s genesis. Little Big Soldier takes place at the end of China’s Dynastic era, when various clans led by warlords fought each other in a series of vicious and bloody battles which may in a way have ultimately led to China’s unification through the law of attrition if nothing else. Little Big Soldier picks up after a devastating battle between two factions, Liang and Wei, where thousands of soldiers on both sides of the fight have perished. In fact only two have survived, a middle-aged Wei footsoldier (Chan) and a dashing young, though badly wounded, Liang General (Leehom Wang). Chan’s character, dubbed Big Soldier, takes Wang’s character, perhaps ironically titled Little Soldier, captive, deciding that returning a warring faction’s Big Kahuna to his own tribe will be his ticket to retirement and a fat chunk of property he can farm for the rest of his life. Big Soldier is a conniving survivor, one who managed to make it through the battle by feigning death (with a Steve Martin-esque fake arrow protruding from his body), while Little Soldier is a valiant leader who can’t quite believe he’s been taken hostage by such a bumbling incompetent. The two set off strapped to each other as Big Soldier tries to make his way back to his home territory, only to quickly discover that a rogue element of Little Soldier’s own tribe is on the hunt to assassinate him. That, in a nutshell, is the gist of Little Big Soldier, a film which may disappoint those expecting another Chan action-comedy fest, but which might be surprisingly enjoyable for those who come to the film without any preconceived notions about what a Chan film “ought” to be.
Little Big Soldier arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is an often jaw droppingly gorgeous film, though it is one which filters much of its image, desaturating it at will and skewing a lot of the image toward the slate blue side of the spectrum. The location photography gives Little Big Soldier a truly epic sweep, and those locations bristle with fine detail throughout this high definition presentation. Depth of field in some of the outdoor shots across vast vistas is really stupendous. Close-ups are also filled to brim with excellent fine detail, from Chan's increasingly weathered face to some of the fine weavings which make up some of the costumes. While colors and contrast are variable due to the consistent filtering utilized, the overall film looks crisp and very precise. There is some minor crush in some of the darker scenes, notably the sequence in the cave about two thirds of the way through the film, but overall black levels and shadow detail are solid.
Little Big Soldier has two lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio options, one in the original Mandarin and the other an English dub (for the record there are lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 versions of both of these tracks). There are some marked differences between the two DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks beyond the obvious one of language. The English dub is noticeably more robust in terms of low end and LFE, with a much more aggressive mix that also (to my ears anyway) is mixed substantially louder than the original Mandarin mix. That said, you can't really go wrong with either of these lossless audio options. Both feature stellar fidelity and consistent and involving surround activity. Dynamic range is also really well handled, where everything from the whipping of wind through the battlefield (with attendant panning) to the caw of a bird to the much more boisterous sounds of hand to hand combat spill through the soundfield with exciting aplomb.
Little Big Soldier is going to throw some Chans for a loop, but the film itself has a lot to recommend it. Its story is interesting, the two disparate but joined at the hip characters are very well delineated and are well depicted by the star duo, and the look of this film is sumptuous and gorgeous to behold. Where the film stumbles is in its odd interpolation of out of place comedic elements which are unnecessary and a dearth of out and out martial arts sequences which virtually all Chan fans are going to be on the lookout for. If you can get past those issues, Little Big Soldier opens a new era in Chan films, where the physical aspect starts to take a back seat to actual character development, and the good news is Chan is remarkably effective in an unusual role. Recommended.
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