Sky on Fire Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Sky on Fire Blu-ray Movie Review

Fire, fire, everywhere. . .

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 7, 2017

City on Fire established Ringo Lam as one of the more exciting Asian writers and directors of his generation, one whose influence has been felt by such perhaps better known names as Quentin Tarantino, whose Reservoir Dogs owes a rather significant debt of gratitude to the Hong Kong classic. (Domestic Blu-ray consumers should be aware that another City on Fire is most definitely not the Lam film, nor would be considered a classic by many, if any.) Lam has plied the Hong Kong action adventure territory fairly regularly in the intervening years since City on Fire’s 1987 release, but Sky on Fire is his first film in some time to offer a titular callback to one of his best remembered offerings (over the years Lam has also directed such films as Prison on Fire, School on Fire and Prison on Fire II). None of the “On Fire” films have any intrinsic connections (other than the two Prison films, which offer at least some tangential linkings), but Lam is back in fairly traditional action adventure mode here, albeit in the somewhat unexpected context of modern medicine and the potential worth of something like a cure for cancer.

Considering some of the air quality problems (mainland) China tends to experience, some might come to the conclusion that Sky on Fire is an environmental disaster movie, though a different kind of disaster movie (namely The Towering Inferno) might be seen as at least a partial antecedent to some of the developments in this film. At least somewhat similarly to Three (also released on Blu-ray by Well Go USA), Sky on Fire wants to meld some medical situations and even locations with a more traditional crime scenario, perhaps to less than felicitous effect.

Sky on Fire is, initially at least, not exactly a model of narrative clarity, and some viewers may wonder what a number of vignettes have to do with each other, especially since some interstitial text cards indicate some events are from the past and some from current time. There’s been a death, and a cremation (in just one of several allusions to fire scattered throughout the film), and then there’s a scene at what looks like a research lab, where another fire has broken out, taking several scientists with it. An almost insanely tall skyscraper isolated on what looks like a manmade island also is shown, along with its main tenant, a big pharma institution called Sky One (don’t tell Rupert Murdoch, whatever you do). Also quickly introduced without much context are a brother and sister, with the sister suffering from apparently terminal cancer. It's a lot of material and Lam's approach is to pretty much just plop it down in the hopes that perseverant audience members will sort it out as they see fit.

The first half or so of the film is in fact spent with trying to get enough ducks in a row to make the second half more of a traditional action adventure thriller, replete with Bourne and/or Bond like urban chases featuring lots of impressive stunts and parkour sensibilities. In a probably overextended process, Lam ultimately does tie the many characters more or less together. The putative focal character is Sky One’s security chief (Daniel Wu), who’s dealing with intrigue both within the company and outside of it, courtesy of some hijacked stem cells which may provide a cure for cancer. The hijackers include the son (Zhang Ruoyun) of one of the scientists seen in the opening lab conflagration as well as the brother (Joseph Chang) of the cancer stricken sister (Amber Kuo). Other characters, including a machinating pharma head honcho (Fan Guangyao) waft in and out of what some may feel is an awfully overstuffed plot for something that ultimately wants to seem to settle down into more or less traditional shoot (and blow) ‘em up territory.

There are several expertly staged and filmed set pieces in this film, including a couple of totally spectacular car crashes and a chase across high rise roofs that is bound to get the adrenaline pumping for some viewers. But a lot of Sky on Fire tends to be surprisingly lethargic, at least given Lam’s track record. The film has an interesting premise and fits of good energy, but it seems to be suffering from some sort of intermittent illness itself, dissipating the relative health of its action elements with too much extraneous material.

Sky on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sky on Fire is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Shot digitally with Red Cameras (along with some Go Pro material, according to the IMDb), Sky on Fire frequently looks nicely sharp and well detailed, with a well rendered palette that is excellent saturated and natural looking, something that's at least a little unusual for typically heavily graded thrillers. The film segues pretty regularly between indoor and outdoor environments, and while whites are almost to the point of blooming in a few selected outdoor moments, for the most part contrast is secure and there are no real anomalies to note. There are occasional stylistic flourishes, including some supposedly cellular looks at diseases as well as black and white flashback material. The one surprisingly major downfall of this presentation is the obviously lackluster CGI, which is used especially inartfully in several key sequences featuring fire. The frankly needless climax featuring the destruction of a high rise (something that's of course featured prominently in the trailer even though it has little or nothing to do with the actual plot) is a particular shoddy example of this, but perhaps either time or budget prevented more care being taken.

Sky on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sky on Fire offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in Mandarin that requires a little patience after the first showdown between cars and trucks fairly early in the film in order to get to more consistent use of LFE and well placed surround activity. For those who are patient enough to get to around the midway point of the film, things take off rather dramatically (both visually and aurally) and a lot of the breathless pace of the second half of the film is supported by a glut of discrete channelization and extremely well rendered audio effects work. Dialogue is typically rendered cleanly, and all elements including score are well prioritized throughout.

Sky on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 1:23)

Sky on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sky on Fire probably would have benefited from a more secure opening act with an at least slightly more coherent introduction given to its gaggle of characters. The film is rather oddly structured from a number of standpoints, and it takes a while for things to settle down and for the viewer to get a secure grip on what's actually going on. There's a really interesting premise here, but Lam is curiously manic depressive in his presentational style, starting out with a bang, only to then fall back on long expository elements before bursting into frenetic activity again. Technical merits are strong for those considering a purchase.