6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
The subjects of a ruthless tyrant's oppression discover an unlikely freedom fighter whose code of honor demands bloody retribution.
Starring: Stanley Weber, Annabelle Wallis, Karel Roden, Dave Legeno, Peter J. ChaffeyAction | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
There’s no Lone Wolf and Cub in this particular Sword of Vengeance, though there is a sort of proto-samurai ambience, along with might be almost thought of as a (Feudal) Man with No Name aspect, in a tale culled from the historical mists of William the Conqueror’s famous 1066 incursion into England. In the northern reaches of the island, one of William’s henchman, a nefarious warlord named Earl Durant (Karel Roden), along with his two equally nefarious sons, Artus (Gianni Giardinelli) and Romain (Edward Akrout), have instituted a reign of terror against the native Saxons. The film refers to this oppression as The Harrowing, though based on the results seen on screen, not to mention the behaviors on display throughout the movie, it’s more of a medieval holocaust, bordering on genocide. Pretty much out of nowhere a tall, weirdly hairstyled, stranger appears to wreak havoc on Durant and his forces, but not before the stranger himself is furiously attacked by the apparently none too bright Saxons. This stranger has no actual name, and is instead known as Shadow Walker (Stanley Weber). He slowly forges a relationship, both “professional” as well as personal, with a local woman who runs with the wolves, or something like that, a fierce but beautiful female named Anna (Annabelle Wallis). Sword of Vengeance is seriously lacking in actual character development and even some basic storyline cohesion and logic, but it provides a really arresting visual experience quite a bit of the time, one that shows interesting influences from everything including The Seventh Seal to 300.
Sword of Vengeance is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. As mentioned above in the main body of the review, the film's visual aesthetic is one of its most defining (and arguably most enjoyable) characteristics. Quite a bit of the film has been desaturated to near black and white levels, with only invididual elements like skin retaining just a hint of "natural" tones. Other long sequences are bathed in a sort of sepia ambience, a slightly brown hazy look that doesn't quite have the same sharpness and detail levels as the desaturated sequences. (See screenshots 1, 5, 6, 7 and 10 for some of the near black and white desaturated sequences. See screenshots 2, 4 and 8 for examples of the sepia toned sequences.) Generally speaking, detail and fine detail are quite commendable, with elements like the roughness of Shadow Walker's shaved hairdo or textures on costumes offering precision. Some of the exterior locations add immeasurably to the desolate feeling of the film, with the characters wandering through almost Abstract Expressionist looking forests, which are presented with good depth of field and appealingly sharp contrast. There are some recurrent issues with banding, mostly limited to the lightest gradients in the near black and white sequences. Shadow detail can also be minimal in both the black and white and sepia toned sequences.
Sword of Vengeance features an interesting sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, one which tends to ping pong between forceful, LFE dominated battle sequences, and more arid, barren feeling scenes offering things like Shadow Walker simply moving through an abandoned environment. Dialogue is rather spare in this film, but is presented very cleanly and clearly. Ambient environmental effects are very well placed throughout the surrounds, and the big battle set pieces offer near constant immersion, with a lot of low end activity. Some of the "scoring" choices (which include a hilarious helicopter noise during one of Shadow Walker's training sequences) may provoke a bit of laughter. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range extremely wide on this problem free track.
- Producers Rupert Preston and Huberta Von Liel (1080i; 8:13)
- Director Jim Weedon (1080i; 15:44)
Sword of Vengeance may suffer from substance abuse (meaning it doesn't offer any), but it has style galore, and for that reason those who like medieval adventures in the Game of Thrones wheelhouse may enjoy checking this out as a rental at least. Storywise the film is largely laughable, but director Jim Weedon has a really interesting eye, and Sword of Vengeance is never dull as a purely visual experience. Technical merits are generally strong for those considering a purchase.
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