Operation Mekong Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Operation Mekong Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 8, 2017

The Golden Triangle may sound like some legendary geometrical phenomenon, or maybe a valuable percussion instrument, but it’s actually an infamous region in Southeast Asia that’s a center of illicit drug activity. Operation Mekong begins with a brief overview of this dangerous area, documenting how it overlaps borders of three countries, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. That international aspect plays into the film in some interesting ways, though perhaps most interestingly, not necessarily with only those three countries. Operation Mekong is based on an actual historical incident which (according to one of the supplements included on this Blu-ray release) is supposedly known to “everyone” in China, but which may not be that well known, if in fact it’s known at all, in Western countries. In October 2011, two Chinese ships were attacked by modern day pirates, with the result being a massacre of the entire crews aboard both vessels, something that understandably led to Chinese outrage. The film pretty dramatically tweaks some events, and perhaps tries too hard to pigeonhole a fascinating story with both political and even cultural aspects into a fairly traditional procedural crossed with certain action adventure elements. Interestingly, the film itself caused a bit of international conflict, with Thailand expressing its need to review the film’s content before allowing it to be screened in that nation, since there are certain subterfuges involving a Thai paramilitary unit that probably played into the murders in one way or the other, and which have yet to be completely solved, at least to the satisfaction of the Chinese.

The first discrepancy some may notice with regard to even the brief historical record mentioned above is that the film briefly does show two vessels but really only offers details about one Chinese ship in its opening moments. That said, it’s notable that time is taken to show several “decent” seeming crew members, including a young teenage boy and some hard working elders. It’s obvious that director Dante Lam is preaching to choir as it were, framing the film primarily for a Chinese audience, a gambit that evidently paid off, since Operation Mekong was something of a box office sensation in its native country. That said, Lam also tends to deal in types rather than flesh and blood characters, so that even the tragic victims in the case seem like symbols rather than once living and breathing humans.

It becomes evident fairly early on that Lam is not all that interested in taking a quasi-documentary approach toward this potentially provocative material, and instead wants to ply more traditional procedural elements, especially once the film starts centering on a team of cops investigating the massacre, undercover expert Fang Xinwu (Eddie Peng) and police captain Gao Gang (Zhang Hanyu). Early on in a number of brief but telling allusions, it’s also clear that the film’s screenplay wants to shy away from any problematic issues concerning the Chinese victims in the case (there was a huge stash of drugs found in the aftermath of the killings that may have had something to do with the incident), though the finger pointing may be somewhat confusing for those not up to speed on the fractious political environment of this area.

If it’s understood that Operation Mekong is not going to hew to the historical record, the film is easier to accept for what it is: a cartwheeling array of well staged action elements, some of which are viscerally compelling in the best Lam manner. In fact, it’s almost funny in a way how the quintet of screenwriters takes so much time in trotting out expository elements, many of which are going to probably confuse Western audiences, and almost all of which are simply jettisoned once the guns come out and the fray is entered.

Once the fray is entered, though, it’s undeniable that Operation Mekong provides a lot of slam bang action elements. There are a couple of spectacularly staged set pieces in this film, including a fantastic battle in a kind of open air quasi-urban environment that recalls some of the parkour moments in other higher profile films. Lam again proves that when it comes to exciting action sequences, he’s a true master and he certainly plays to his strengths once Operation Mekong kicks into high gear.

What’s perhaps a little odd about Operation Mekong, especially considering the really interesting sociopolitical (and even socioeconomic) elements that underlie its tale of drug smuggling and competing territorial interests, is how little Lam seems to be interested in really providing any psychological underpinnings for any of his characters. Lam has offered more nuanced characters in at least some of his previous offerings, but here he seems content to simply provide manifest “shoot ‘em up” moments, and for those who like their adrenaline doses straight, no chaser (so to speak), Operation Mekong may well provide sufficient “juice” to overcome any narrative deficiencies.

Operation Mekong Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Operation Mekong is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Shot digitally with a variety of cameras and then finished at a 2K DI (according to the IMDb), the film looks nicely sharp and well detailed throughout, though some occasional stock footage (notably in an opening montage detailing the drug trade in the region) looks pretty ragged. Lam likes a pretty peripatetic camera, and as such certain moments may seem not to offer a lot of detail simply because the frame is so variant. When things calm down, and especially when (quite frequent) close-ups are employed, detail and fine detail is excellent. Kind of thrillingly for a film of this general ilk, there's not a nonstop supply of grading, and as such the palette looks vivid and natural a lot of the time. Occasional "arty" effects tend to obliterate actual sections of the frame at times, let alone detail levels (see screenshot 9), but otherwise this transfer offers solid sharpness and detail levels throughout.

Operation Mekong Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Operation Mekong offers a really exciting DTS:X track in the original Mandarin. There are the expected glut of fantastic sound effects that float and whiz by the listener in the action elements, but even quieter moments, including some office scenes and even occasional calm moments outside provide consistent surround activity courtesy of the placement of ambient environmental sounds. That said, it's the action scenes that make this film aurally as well as visually and content wise, and in these sequences, the track virtually explodes with activity, surrounding the listener with everything from bones cracking to gunfire.

Operation Mekong Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of offers a number of brief featurettes:

  Uncovering the Truth (1080i; 2:54)

  The Team (1080i; 2:37)

  The Secret Mission (1080i; 3:06)

  The Journey (1080i; 4:15)

  Two Heroes (1080i; 3:57)

  A Force of Nature (1080i; 3:01)

• Trailer (1080p; 1:46)

Note: As is typically the case with Well Go USA releases, the disc has been authored so that all the supplements follow each other automatically.

Operation Mekong Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Truth be told, I frankly probably found out more about the so-called Mekong River Massacre when I started researching the background for this review than I did from watching the film itself. It's probably best to jettison any ideas of a true historical recreation when watching the film, and it's also probably best for Westerners to just relax and go with some of the internecine flow that develops, since the niceties of some of the interrelationships between the various countries can be a tad confusing. But Lam has delivered some unbelievably exciting action sequences here, even if they're divorced from the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Technical merits are strong, and with caveats noted, Operation Mekong comes Recommended.