Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Quick Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 16, 2012

Korean director Cho Beom-gu's "Kwik" a.k.a "Quick" (2011) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory. The supplemental features on the disc include original theatrical trailer; making of featurette; short interviews with cast and crew members as well as raw footage from the shooting of the film; and more. In Korean, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

There is no time to waste

A short prologue introduces the main characters in the film: Gi-su (Lee Min-ki), a fearless and handsome biker, Ah-rom (Kang Ye-won) a beautiful girl madly in love with Gi-su, and Myeong-sik (Kim In-kwon), another biker with a crush on Ah-rom. The three are members of the same gang. After a dangerous chase which culminates with a terrible crash in downtown Seoul, they part ways.

A few years later. Gi-su has become a bike messenger, Ah-rom is the star in a successful K-pop band, while Myeong-sik has joined the police. The three no longer keep in touch. They do not communicate with their former mutual friends either.

One day, Gi-su is asked to make a delivery to an office building in the heart of the city. Shortly after he does, he witnesses a massive explosion that destroys the building. Feeling lucky, he quickly moves to his next job – escorting a singer who must attend an important show which will be broadcast live. Much to his surprise, he meets Ah-rom, dressed in a shiny outfit and ready to impress her fans. The moment she puts his helmet on, a timer goes off. Gi-su also gets a call from a man who tells him that he must follow his instructions and make a series of deliveries. If he does not, the man will activate a bomb in Ah-rom’s helmet. Gi-su’s former girlfriend will also die if she tries to take the helmet off.

Meanwhile, after watching a video recorded by a camera from the office building, Detective Seo (Ko Chang-seok) concludes that Gi-su is the only person who could have delivered the bomb that destroyed it. His picture is immediately placed on the ‘Most Wanted’ list and cops all over the city ordered to arrest him. Soon after, Myeong-sik spots his former friend.

If action and speed is what your heart desires, you do not want to miss this film - it delivers big, and in an impressive fashion. Its plot is fairly straightforward, but the action sequences are first class, easily on par with the best Hollywood wizards have been able to script. There is one sequence in particular that looks as stylish, if not better, as the famous highway chase from Matrix Reloaded. What makes it stand out is that essentially all of the dangerous crashes and rollovers seen in it are real. (Watch the raw footage included with the film’s final credits to get an idea how truly dangerous other action scenes throughout the film are as well).

There are good CGI effects, especially during the final third of the film, as well as endless fancy zooms and close-ups. Occasionally, the multiple-angle shots and split screens become slightly overwhelming, but the film’s overall tempo is consistent. The splashes of humor also work, though a few of the lines the police officers utter sound rather awkward in English (perhaps they are more effective in Korean).

The leads are likable. There is good chemistry between Lee Min-ki and Kang Ye-won, both of whom also appeared in Yun Je-gyun's blockbuster Haeundae a.k.a Tidal Wave, while Ko Chang-Seok is a very energetic actor with a terrific sense of humor.

The unnamed stunt doubles deserve a lot of credit. Apparently, the people in charge with the production of the film became very nervous because a number of them were injured, some seriously, during the shooting of the riskier scenes. Watch the supplemental features included on the Blu-ray release to see how dangerous their work was.

Quick Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Cho Beom-gu's Quick arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory.

Quick is a bright and sharp film that looks quite impressive on Blu-ray. Some of the chase sequences remind about expensive commercials in which even the smallest detail is easy to see - there is tremendous depth and contrast is almost always impeccable. Brightness levels are also stable. Color reproduction is virtually flawless. There is a wide range of lush and well saturated reds, blues, yellows, greens, browns, and blacks which never appear boosted. Sharpness levels, however, occasionally fluctuate (mostly where some CGI effects are used). There are no traces of problematic post-production corrections. There are no serious banding or aliasing issues either. Edge flicker also does no plague the transfer. Lastly, there are no stability issues to report in this review. To sum it all up, Quick looks pleasingly crisp and vivid on Blu-ray but does not suffer from problematic tweaking. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Quick Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Korean Dolby Digital 5.1, Korean Dolby Digital 2.0, and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Shout Factory have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they almost entirely fit into the image frame (see screencapture #6).

The Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is appropriately aggressive. There are long and very intense action sequences throughout the entire film that will likely test the muscles of your audio system. The big Matrix-style highway melee also boasts some outstanding surround activity. The bass does not disappoint either. The dialog is crisp and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, distortions, or audio dropouts. The English translation is very good, but from time to time the subtitles switch quite fast.

Quick Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original Korean trailer for Quick. In Korean, with printed English subtitles. (3 min, 1080i).

• Poster - a quick look at the photo sessions for the film's original poster. (4 min, 1080i).

• Action - in this featurette, some of the stunt doubles discuss the more dangerous sequences in the film. In Korean, with imposed English subtitles. (17 min, 1080i).

• CGI - a look at the CGI effects used in Quick. CG effects director Han Yung-woo discusses some of the most challenging sequences in the film, including the very impressive highway chase. Raw footage from the shooting of the film is also included. In Korean, with printed English subtitles. (25 min, 1080i).

• Making of - a standard featurette with plenty of footage from the shooting of the film, comments from cast and crew members, etc. In Korean, with printed English subtitles. (61 min, 1080i).

Quick Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Quick is a fast, flashy and very entertaining Korean action film. Despite the fact that its story is fairly straightforward, I had a great time with it. I also ended up watching all of the supplemental features on the Blu-ray after I saw the raw footage that is included with the film's final credits. Some of the stunt work is beyond dangerous - it is crazy. The technical presentation is solid. RECOMMENDED.