6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Primus extracts a Mixed Yuan Bead into a spirit bead and a demon bead. The spirit bead can be reincarnated in human to help King Zhou establish a new dynasty, the demon bead will create a devil and harm human. Ne Zha is the one who should be spirit bead hero but he becomes a devil incarnate, because the spirit bead and the demon bead is switched.
Starring: Yanting Lü, Jiongsensefu, Mo Han, Hao Chen, Qi Lü (II)Foreign | 100% |
Fantasy | 91% |
Animation | 80% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Mandarin (Simplified)
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Well Go USA has been slowly moving into the 4K UHD market, as evidenced first by their release of Shadow 4K and now Ne Zha , which Well Go USA is releasing in both “standard” 1080p and 4K UHD formats. But with regard to Ne Zha in particular and a number of other Well Go USA releases of Asian fare over the past few years, diehard fans of “another” technology may wonder why Well Go USA doesn’t ever deign to release 3D Blu-rays of films which were at least at times exhibited theatrically that way. Any number of fantasy laden Asian films that Well Go USA has released for the United States market originally screened overseas in 3D, but none of them (to my recollection, anyway) were granted 3D Blu-ray releases by Well Go USA (this is admittedly a phenomenon that is not limited to Well Go USA Blu-ray releases of Asian films released in 3D, as will be discussed in a moment). Even before I started doing background research in preparation for writing this review, I sensed that Ne Zha was yet another film that must have been released in 3D due to all the obviously “dimensional” effects the film offers (albeit in a “flat” presentation in either 1080p or 2160p). The character of Ne Zha (sometimes transliterated a bit differently as Nezha) has been in countless films, often but not always consigned to “supporting character” status, and kind of interestingly among the films where the character has appeared are some that were released in 2D here for the North American market, but which were granted 3D releases on Blu-ray in foreign markets, like The Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven's Palace (released stateside by Cinedigm) and The Monkey King 2 (which actually was a Well Go USA release). My The Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven's Palace Blu-ray review gets into some of my personal winding history with the various Monkey King films while also offering links to at least some of the 3D Blu-ray releases that are out there for those with region free players, but the bottom line is for those who feel that 3D Blu-ray is (to quote a certain famous Monty Python joke) “not quite dead yet”, the unfortunate lack of a 3D release of Ne Zha may offer some disturbing evidence to the contrary.
Ne Zha is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is by and large a knockout presentation on Blu-ray, one which provides really good accountings of what are admittedly kind of "rubbery" looking characters, though one which can also provide a rather nice level of fine detail on things like the almost ice crystal ambience of the Chaos Pearl in the opening sequence, or some later elements like the obvious crosshatched pattern on some of the "linen" like outfits some characters wear. The palette is really riotous at times in this film, especially once Ne Zha is kind of sucked into an "alternate world" by Taiyi which is kind of the animated film equivalent of the "living paintings" in What Dreams May Come. Both very vivid primaries and some lovely pastel hues coexist quite winningly, and things are generally beautifully suffused throughout the presentation. Once again, I did notice some passing issues with banding on a Well Go USA release: the first time was on some of the production mastheads (there are some very funny little masthead "videos" for this film, for those who enjoy such things), but later when the film ventures underwater to introduce the Dragon King, there were some minor but noticeable "ripples" aside from any supposed liquid.
Ne Zha features a really enjoyable Dolby Atmos track (in English) that provides some very fun overhead and general surround activity, along with some very forceful bursts of LFE, starting from the slew of production mastheads that gallivant by at the film's opening. But from the first "duel" sequence with the Chaos Pearl, a conflict that ends with a huge kind of metal urn descending to encapsulate the beast, there are clear wafting effects the help to establish verticality quite noticeably, along with regular engagement of the side and rear channels. Directionality is recurrent throughout the sound design, including a lot of ambient environmental effects but even simple placement across the soundstage as in one sequence where a young Ne Zha's playing with a kind of hacky sack type object leads to calamity. Dialogue and effects are both rendered with superb fidelity and without any problems whatsoever on this often pretty bombastic track.
Ne Zha is certainly both an eyeful and an earful, which may be enough of a distraction to keep people from caring all that much about a lack of emotional connection to the characters. This story will probably resonate more with those who love the more fantasy laden kind of stories that are a regular component of Asian cinema. Technical merits are solid, and Ne Zha comes Recommended.
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