Mojin: The Worm Valley Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Mojin: The Worm Valley Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 9, 2019

Well, we’re apparently up to three “Mojin” films now, with this entries predecessors (more or less, anyway, as will be discussed) being Mojin - The Lost Legend and Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe, though I would challenge anyone who has seen any and/or all of these films to give a brief summary of what they’re actually about. As I mentioned quite openly in both the Mojin - The Lost Legend Blu-ray review and the Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe Blu-ray review, I personally was repeatedly confounded and confused by events and relationships, suspecting that something somewhere had (as I put it in both reviews) gotten “lost in translation”. That’s once again the situation with regard to Mojin: The Worm Valley, though this film seems almost deliberate in its weirdly disjunctive narrative. To cite just a few examples (most from only the opening few minutes of the film), there seems to be some kind of “recounting” about ancient events, a dramatic curse and the perceive cure, which then turns out to be a scientist talking about it all, which is fine, if a bit disconcerting, but then in the very next scene a whole new (and rather significant) element to the curse is just kind of trotted out as if we were supposed to have known about it all along. Things like this happen over and over in Mojin: The Worm Valley, so much so that some viewers may not be able to surrender fully to what is admittedly a totally gobsmacking visual experience, one that often plays like a hyperbolic video game replete with “levels” that need to be mastered in order to move on to the next adventure.

Part of the confusion surrounding this supposed franchise extends beyond the parameters of my noggin, as evidenced by a number of online data portals that suggested Mojin — The Lost Legend was a sequel to Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe, a “fact” I perhaps foolishly repeated in my reviews. Though I’m still not totally positive, my “new, improved” understanding is that both of these films were in fact competitors put out by rival studios, sourced from the same Mojin novel Ghost Blows Out the Light. You’d (or at least I’d) be hard pressed to easily discern that the two films are based on the same plot, even if some elements of both are obviously repeated. One way or the other, one would think that a second film with Mojin prominently featured as the first word in its title would be a “true” sequel, and yet again, there are manifest differences here which would seem to deliberately upset the very idea of a “franchise”.

The first hurdle to overcome is the difference in casts, with this film offering what some may feel is a decided fall off from Mojin — The Lost Legend’s assemblage of actors. Here, “tomb raider” Hu Bayi is portrayed by Hang Cai, the arguably unfortunately named Shirley* is played by Xuan Gu, and Wang Kaixuan is brought to life by Heng Yu. One of the things that frankly confused me when I was under the impression that Mojin — The Lost Legend was a follow up to Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe was why those two films had such disparate casts, but since “this” Mojin would seem to be an “official” sequel, the absence of any of the first Mojin ’s star trio would seem to be especially odd.

In any case, lest anyone think that the plot is completely indescribable, it actually isn’t, and it’s a fairly basic quest set up. There is an ancient curse, one which entails both a weird disfigurement to the shoulder (don’t ask me, I’m just the messenger), as well as a rather short life span (the “added” data point that just kind of appears out of nowhere). A sacred artifact must be reclaimed (of course) in order to counteract the curse, and that’s basically all there is to the film. There are obviously sidebars in abundance, and a number of CGI-fests that are actually quite remarkable looking at times, but in terms of an easily understandable narrative and relationships that feel real, or at least somewhat believable, Mojin: The Worm Valley is unfortunately on a quest without a satisfying conclusion.

*As was the case in the two other films mentioned in this review which have at least some link to this enterprise, the "r-l" dipthong in Shirley creates what some listeners may feel are obstacles in pronunciation for the Mandarin speakers in the film.

Mojin: The Worm Valley Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mojin: The Worm Valley is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This seems to be yet another release which had some kind of 3D theatrical exhibition overseas, though the IMDb doesn't list it. In any case, once again those of us on "this side of the pond" are being treated to only a 2D version. Despite what some may feel are kind of surprisingly anemic bitrates, this is an often sumptuous looking transfer, even if some the CGI, especially background art, has some kind of hazy tendencies. The glut animated special effects, as in various beasts the team encounter, look rather good overall, with precise detail levels and texturing. The palette is really expressive throughout the feature, favoring everything from some soft pastels, like sunlit clouds that almost look like they were lifted from a Maxfield Parrish painting, to some really bold primaries in things like foliage or costumes. Detail levels on actual honest to goodness living things like human beings also are commendable.

Mojin: The Worm Valley Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mojin: The Worm Valley features a very expressive and immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original Mandarin (no English dub is available on this disc). The "quest" aspect to the plot offers a lot of opportunity for surround effects, especially in some of the boisterous battle sequences. I personally wondered what an Atmos track might have done for this film, for there are a couple sequences that would have offered some fun "overhead" effects, including one with what are kind of like bodies in cocoons hanging from the ceiling of a cave which suddenly erupt into action and start plopping into the water below where our heroes are attempting to make their way. That said, the surround activity here is consistent, with dialogue presented cleanly and clearly throughout as well.

Mojin: The Worm Valley Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 1:05)

As is typically the case with Well Go USA Blu-rays, the disc has been authored to move on automatically to trailers for other Well Go USA releases after the trailer for this film plays. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

Mojin: The Worm Valley Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's a lot to look at and listen to in Mojin: The Worm Valley, but this film is not exactly a model of clear narrative exposition. Why whoever is behind this "franchise" keeps offering new casts is a little odd, and the fact is Mojin: The Worm Valley as a "standalone" entry may have limited appeal. Technical merits are first rate for those considering a purchase.