6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Reckless police inspector Dong is on a mission to crack down on criminal Cheng’s gold smuggling scheme, Yet fails to arrest him. As Dong continues his manhunt, he discovers Cheng’s involvement with trial boss “Boss Kui”, who hides on a casiono cruise ship on the high seas. Chen has been involved in a power struggle within the smuggling ring, and is forced to kill his adopted father. He also loses his share of gold smuggling to Boss Kui. To get even, Cheng appears on the cruise, while Dong is there to hunt for him…
Starring: Jin Zhang, Shawn Yue, Janice Man, Yue Wu (I), Ka-Tung LamForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 46% |
Action | 9% |
Crime | 7% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Cantonese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Max Zhang kind of assumed the “action adventure” brunt of the fight scenes in the recently reviewed Escape Plan: The Extractors, something probably understandable given the fact that the putative star of that film, Sylvester Stallone, may longer be in his butt kicking prime. The fact that Zhang was featured in so many of the fight scenes or other set pieces in Escape Plan: The Extractors was at least notable since Zhang was not the focal character. Zhang is center stage literally and figuratively in The Brink, though, as Sai Gau, one of those conflicted and maybe just slightly out of control cops that were a prominent feature of both American and Asian cinema in the 1980s. Sai Gau has already made more than one mistake, at least one of which continues to haunt him and leads to him to more or less foster the daughter (Cecilia So) of his (deceased — hence the haunted part) former partner. Butting heads with his by the numbers boss and a new partner with problems of his own, Sai Gau is also on the hunt for Shing (Shawn Yue), a bad guy who might arguably have more of a moral compass than the policeman chasing after him. It's all stuff of a thousand (maybe a million) Hong Kong action flicks, but here director Jonathan Li invests this oft told tale with a considerable amount of style and the requisite bone crunching action.
The Brink is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The IMDb lists Arri Alexas and a 2K DI among the technical aspects of the shoot and post-production, and this high definition presentation is typically quite well detailed, with an especially vivid palette, given the almost lurid lighting and/or grading that is employed throughout the feature. There are pools of color in various scenes here which almost reminded me of Mario Bava, and some of the purples and greens along with highly stylized framings can give this a somewhat surreal, even impressionistic, look at times (see screenshot 9). In less "artistic" moments, and with an understanding that this thriller exploits the ever popular blue-gray and/or yellow gradings so prevalent in films of this ilk, detail levels are strong and the palette can look at least relatively "normal".
The Brink features a nicely immersive (no pun intended, considering the underwater element at play in the film) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original Cantonese. The bustling pace of the film helps to elevate good, consistent surround activity, and a glut of outdoor scenes offers good opportunities for well placed ambient environmental sounds. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, and the often spectacularly energized sound effects in some of the set pieces, notably the climax, provide several sonic jolts.
- Cop vs. Gangster (1080i; 2:07)
- The Characters (1080i; 3:19)
- Underwater Scene (1080i; 3:06)
- Special Effects (1080i; 3:00)
If you're a fan of Asian cinema, notably of any film featuring a world weary cop who gets things done by breaking the rules, you've seen at least some of what The Brink offers, but the film manages to deliver several good adrenaline rushes with some fun set pieces and a wild climax that is all wet in the best sense of that term. Technical merits are strong for those considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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