Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

The Brink Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 19, 2019

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.

If The Brink is arguably fairly predictable with regard to at least some of its plot elements and even in its kind of “sketched in just enough” characterizations, it does benefit from some spectacularly staged set pieces. The fact that Shing is attempting to hijack a horde of bullion that is housed far “beneath the sea” gives the film its single best opportunity for something unique, though kind of ironically the murkiness of the water and over the top action elements don’t necessarily mean a lot can actually be seen.

The Brink Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

The Brink Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of

  Cop vs. Gangster (1080i; 2:07)

  
  

  The Characters (1080i; 3:19)

  
  

  Underwater Scene (1080i; 3:06)

  
  

  Special Effects (1080i; 3:00)



• International Teaser (1080p; 1:07)


• International Trailer A (1080p; 2:03)


• International Trailer B (1080p; 1:52)


• US Trailer (1080p; 1:22)

As is typically the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the supplements are authored to follow one another automatically, so that clicking on Cop vs. Gangster on the Making Of submenu is essentially like hitting a "Play All" option. After the US Trailer for this film plays, the disc is authored to move on automatically to trailers for other Well Go USA releases. Those trailers for other Well Go USA trailers also play automatically at disc boot up.

The Brink Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.