6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The second in a trilogy from the creators of Ip Man and Detective Dee, and featuring action directed by the legendary Sammo Hung, TAI CHI HERO is a full-on, steampunk- infused, video game-influenced kung fu throwdown that will knock you out of your seat.
Starring: Jayden Yuan, Angelababy, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Eddie Peng, Daniel WuAction | 100% |
Foreign | 97% |
Martial arts | 79% |
Adventure | 29% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, French, Spanish, Mandarin (Simplified)
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The last time we saw Lu Chan (Olympic Gold Medalist Jayden Yuan, who also goes by the name Yuan Xiaochao), the often befuddled but gifted fighter had managed to be grudgingly accepted into the insular village of Chen, a place with its own highly specialized form of martial arts expertise, a form they resolutely refused to share with outsiders. By hook or by crook, Lu Chan was intent on learning this technique, and with the help of a master (Tony Leung) who of course never really seemed to be anything other than an indigent villager, Lu Chan actually achieved his goal—at least in part. Tai Chi Zero was the first film in a proposed trilogy, and it was notable for its rather unusual setting (a sort of late 19th century ambience which the filmmakers described as “steampunk”), as well as for the kind of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World videogame or comic book ethos it exhibited. Tai Chi Zero was full of little gimmicks like supertitles that described events, “thought bubbles” and introductions to various characters (including the actors playing them) that lasted for virtually the entire film. Tai Chi Hero, the second film in the series, continues that pathway more or less unabated, albeit perhaps slightly toned down from the first outing. There’s still a cartoonish aspect to the film, but it’s a somewhat more serious outing that starts to explore the roiling family dysfunction that was only hinted at in the first film when Lu Chan became attracted to Yunia (Angelbaby) who, as Tai Chi Hero gets underway, is about to marry Lu Chan.
Tai Chi Hero is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1, and continues the winning ways established by the first entry in this series, Tai Chi Zero. Once again, the image is beautifully clear and richly detailed, from the fine filigreed patterns on the costumes to some of the immense sets the characters wander through. Colors, which tend to often be skewed toward the amber side of things, are richly saturated and the color grading seldom if ever deprives the image of significant fine detail. This is a somewhat darker entry in the series, both figuratively and literally, but strong contrast helps to establish some rather remarkable depth of field and good shadow detail even in the most dimly lit scenes.
Tai Chi Hero follows the tradition set by Tai Chi Zero by offering lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes in both Mandarin and English, with accompanying lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 mixes also offered in each language. This is one of those cases where even if you can't stand reading subtitles, you should at least try to stay far, far away from the English dub, which is pretty sloppily synched at times (this despite the fact that some of the film, as with the first entry, is actually spoken in English). Though I can't state this with absolute certainty, one of the strange things about the Mandarin mix is it sounds like a Chinese actor was hired to dub Stormare—speaking English (his voice is noticeably different in the two languages, at least to my ears). Fidelity is excellent in both the lossless offerings, with excellent and pretty consistent surround activity. Panning effects are nonstop in the action set pieces, and even dialogue is handled directionally quite a bit of the time. Dynamic range is extremely wide.
- U.S. Trailer (1080p; 1:54)
- Original Trailer (1080p; 1:40)
Tai Chi Hero is a step in the right direction for this franchise. It's less manic and less gimmicky, which is not to say that both of those tendencies have been completely eradicated. But there's some significant time spent in this outing on character development, something that helps achieve a bit of human emotion in this otherwise oversized martial arts fantasy epic. This Blu-ray offers excellent video and audio, as well as at least one good in depth supplment, and comes Recommended.
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