6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
The world's top thieves – the infamous and charismatic Cheung, his former partner in crime, Xiao, and beautiful chameleon Ye - join forces to pull off the heist of a lifetime. But when they find themselves pursued across Europe by a legendary French detective, they'll have to take their game to the next level.
Starring: Andy Lau, Shu Qi, Jingchu Zhang, Yo Yang, Jean RenoForeign | 100% |
Action | 45% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS:X
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Mention the title The Adventurers to some kitsch and/or camp loving film fanatics, and chances are they’ll regale you with stories of a fairly infamous 1970 flop by that name which was based on a pretty steamy novel by Harold Robbins (who of course specialized in writing pretty steamy novels). This somewhat notorious film featured a large international cast which included Olivia de Havilland, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Aznavour, Leigh Taylor-Young, Rossano Brazzi, John Ireland and Candice Bergen in an overheated tale of lust and intrigue in a fictional South American country. The film was notable for featuring one of the few original scores for a feature composed by Bossa Nova master Antonio Carlos Jobim. In fact it is probably Jobim’s score which was one of the few things associated with this film which managed to emerge more or less unscathed from the debacle that the 1970 Adventurers was, and some of Jobim’s lovely underscore was later adapted into some of the composer’s most famous latter day (i.e., post Bossa Nova craze) songs, like “Double Rainbow”. More or less exactly a year ago, I joked about 20th Century Fox’s perhaps debatable decision to recycle one of the titles of one of their most notorious flops, Wilson, when I covered a Woody Harrelson outing in our Wilson Blu-ray review, and some may wonder if those associated with this 2017 Hong Kong action adventure caper outing had any inkling that the title they chose would have a certain resonance among “trivial pursuit” loving cineastes.
The Adventurers is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The IMDb lists the Red Epic Dragon as having been utilized, with source capture resolutions of up to 6K, something that may account for this transfer's often sterling technical merits (despite a reported 2K DI). The film does a fair amount of globe trotting, even if some of the supposed travels are limited mostly to establishing shots, but there's abundant clarity and sharpness throughout both wide vistas (some of those very establishing shots) and a number of extreme close- ups, where fine detail pops quite winningly. There are a few isolated moments of grading, actually more toward the yellow side than the typical blue schemes that tend to inform caper films like this one, but detail levels tend to remain quite high. Most of the palette looks rather nicely natural. A few CGI elements have that slightly soft look that seems almost unavoidable. The only intermittent downside from a technical aspect is some minor banding, something that seems to afflict Well Go USA releases more than some other labels I reguarly cover. You'll see it in a number of the mastheads before the film even begins, but it crops up occasionally, especially when lighting regimens change.
The Adventurers features a fantastic sounding DTS:X mix which is listed as being in Mandarin, though it's notable that quite a bit of this film is actually in English, with both Lau and Reno speaking that language throughout (and without any apparent post-dubbing by other actors, at least to my ears). The film does venture into Mandarin on occasion, though, and there are optional English subtitles for those moments. The entire track is well rendered in any case, with some excellent overhead effects and a number of really effective panning effects in the expected car (and/or motorcycle) chases. Explosions, fights and other elements contribute to an often raucous but highly enjoyable sonic experience.
- Andy Lau as Zhang Dan (1080i; 2:53)
- Shu Qi as Red Ye (1080i; 2:27)
- Yo Yang as Chen Xiao-Po (1080i; 2:31)
My hunch is if you go in to The Adventurers without any undue expectations, wanting nothing other than a bit of escape for an hour and a half or so, you'll get your fill with this illogical but relentlessly energetic enterprise. Technical merits are (mostly) first rate, and with caveats duly noted, The Adventurers comes Recommended.
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