5.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
Once again, Kham's pet elephant has been abducted and he must fight anyone in his way to find him.
Starring: Tony Jaa, RZA, Phetthai Vongkumlao, JeeJa Yanin, Marrese CrumpAction | 100% |
Martial arts | 46% |
Foreign | 40% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Thai: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
If you haven't seen Thai martial artist Tony Jaa in action, you won't have to wait much longer. The upstart stuntman-turned-elbow-cracking-superstar is following a path to Hollywood forged by the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, having first starred in a string of lesser known, hard-hitting flicks -- the Ong Bak trilogy, The Protector and other Muay Thai actioners -- and more recently landing roles in several upcoming U.S. blockbusters, among them Fast & Furious 7. (An Expendables sequel won't be far behind, mark my words.) But no need to wait. There's plenty of time to get in on the ground floor before Jaa takes his first real stab at becoming an American household name. If not Ong Bak, Prachya Pinkaew's The Protector 2 will certainly suffice. It may merely be a serviceable film and a predictably barebones sequel, but the martial artistry... the wild stunts, dazzling fights and bone-splitting blows... oh, what a joy it is to embrace a dicey action spectacle like The Protector 2 on its own terms. It isn't a very good movie, in case I haven't been clear enough. There's an abundance of low-budget CG and gravity-defying wirework, the story is a dreadfully silly rescue/revenge adventure involving yet another kidnapped elephant (a Tony Jaa staple), and Wu Tang Clan's Rza will stop at nothing to overact, over-snarl and over-mug his way into genre infamy. Tune out the worst of the Big! and Dumb!, though, and you'll be left with just enough Fun! to maybe, maybe have a decent time.
The Protector 2 features a solid but slightly erratic 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation that's prone to a few nagging issues. Those issues are mostly inherent to the film's photography, and even then largely concentrated in scenes involving CG and green screen effects. Minor banding, macroblocking, crush, uneven noise, contrast inconsistencies and at-times muted black levels aren't entirely uncommon; the bulk of the blame simply lies at the doorstep of the production, not Magnolia's transfer. Outside of these unavoidable eyesores, though, there isn't a whole lot to complain about. Colors are typically strong, primaries boast decent kick, skintones are beautifully saturated, and detail is excellent on the whole, particularly when fights settle and the cameras push in on dramatic moments. Edges are cleanly defined, fine textures are generally well-resolved and, again, the only major exceptions crop up when visual effects are out in force. All in all, it's a reasonably strong showing free of too many unfortunate surprises.
The film's MVC-encoded 3D experience makes a smaller impact, with depth and dimensionality that ranges from mild to modest and an image that only occasionally allows appropriately lit scenes to pop as aggressively as Pinkaew and cinematographer Teerawat Rujenatham intend. Slow motion gimmick shots litter the proceedings too; weapon tips inch outward, motorcycle wheels press toward the screen, and other mid-action close-ups fling all manner of deadly instruments at the viewer. Though meant to shatter the fourth wall, each overindulgence calls attention to the less than explosive 3D. Mediocre CG and rickety green screen environments only exacerbate the problem, resulting in one too many dead-on-arrival sequences. On a more positive note, there aren't any additional anomalies to report. Aliasing isn't present, crosstalk is kept to a minimum (for those with displays prone to ghosting, that is), and darker scenes never grow so dim or murky as to hinder the photography. The bottom line? Magnolia's 3D presentation is by no means unwatchable. It's passable, even easy on the eyes most of the time. It just doesn't differentiate itself from its 2D counterpart in a way that might make it an absorbing or essential experience.
Magnolia's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track hits hard before spinning around and hitting harder. It isn't necessarily a remarkably refined experience, truth be told, but it certainly gets the job done. LFE output is bold and brawny, with enough weight, punch and all-around oomph to please genre junkies hoping to feel every meaty blow, crunching bone, throaty engine and devastating finishing move. Rear speaker activity is less reliable, banking on busyness over more convincing directional effects and ambient prowess, but the soundfield is engaging and immersive enough to make the fights suitably exciting and the action quite enveloping. Dialogue is intelligible and smartly prioritized as well, which can't exactly be said of every martial arts import. The Protector 2 could probably sound better, but only if its sound design was the stuff of $200 million Hollywood summer blockbusters. For a modestly budgeted Thai action flick, though, it's rather impressive.
The Protector 2 doesn't reinvent the roundhouse, nor is it able to rise above all its shortcomings. Tony Jaa is a magnetic lead, though, and the fights are a spectacle worth the price of admission. It's not Jaa's best film, or even that good a movie, but it has spirit and ferocity, and sometimes that's enough. Magnolia's Blu-ray release thankfully doesn't disappoint nearly as much, thanks to a solid AV presentation. (Although a more reliable 3D experience and more supplemental content would have been appreciated.) Ultimately, I've seen much better martial arts flicks, but I've also seen much worse. If nothing else, The Protector 2 kinda, sorta entertains. Give it a shot if you're itching for a few wild fights, especially if you're already a fan of all things Jaa.
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