Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

The Swordsman Blu-ray Movie Review

How do you say 'Taken' in Korean?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 11, 2021

Liam Neeson entered the annals of stars delivering all time great lines of dialogue when as Bryan in Taken, he famously stated:

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you."

Transport that sentiment back a few hundred years, change the location to Korea, and add an element which might be likened to the old television series Longstreet, which starred James Franciscus as a blind detective, or perhaps more saliently another set of films aggregated in a Criterion Collection release with a somewhat similar title, Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman, and you have the broad general outlines of The Swordsman. This is a film that doesn't stray very far from established genre conventions, but which still manages to offer some nicely staged action sequences and at least some semblance of human emotion stemming largely from the relationship between Tae-yul (Jang Hyuk), the eyesight challenged title character, and his young daughter Tae-ok (Kim Hyun-soo).

Among the more predictable aspects of The Swordsman are several central plot points, including an opening which sees the valiant Tae- yul attempting to protect King Gwanghaegun (Jang Hyun-sung) from a coup. One of the potential shortcomings of the film is that very little is contextualized, and in fact it's not until somewhat later in the film that it's revealed that one of the rebels is a guy named Seung-Ho (Jeong Man- Sik), a teacher that Tae-yul followed. The result is the ouster of Gwanghaegun, unfortunately, and while (again) it's not really dealt with until well into the film (at around the 45 minutes mark), it seems like Tae-yul suffers some kind of eye injury in the battle that opens the story. Interestingly, while The Swordsman is most definitely a revenge fantasy once things kick into high gear, it kind of unexpectedly deals with another nemesis for the most part rather than something directly related to this opening fracas, in an element that is at least a little innovative.

Instead of setting off on a quest for vengeance for his former king, Tae-yul actually ends up escaping, more or less, anyway, to the forested mountains with his infant daughter in tow. The film then segues forward a few years to find Tae-yul still in the woods, where he's busy raising a now teenaged Tae-ok. The film is set in the transition period from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, and there is evidently at least some tether to actual historical events here (I frankly admit I have no deep knowledge of this apparently fractious period). While Tae-yul encounters what might be termed "ruffians" led by a guy named Gurutai (Joe Taslim), it's not until Tae-yul's eye problems force Tae-ok to go looking for medicine by herself that things escalate quickly, with Tae-ok, well, taken and Tae-yul finally really out to settle a few scores.

Once the "real" vengeance angle is clear, The Swordsman moves very much into Taken territory, albeit with a certain feudal flair. Much as Bryan does in the first Taken film, Tae-yul engages in what might almost be thought of as a video game-like series of encounters where he marauds through the ranks of enemies to bigger and badder "prizes". The film perhaps offers one element which is both predictable but also at least a little unexpectedly developed when Seung-Ho reenters the story. But the main focus here is Tae-yul attempting to free his captive daughter, leading to a number of really visceral action sequences.

The Swordsman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Swordsman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is another film of recent vintage where I haven't been able to track down any verifiable technical data. While this looks to me to have been digitally captured, there are at least some scenes that have had digital grain added, though it's variable, and some shots, including some rather breathtaking wide vistas, have more of a "clean" digital appearance. The aesthetic of the film actually tends to emphasize more neutral, maybe even bland, tones like grays and beiges, but there are certainly pops of color, including some royal purples for the king in the opening, and of course blood reds. Detail levels are good throughout, and while some dimly lit material doesn't have fulsome shadow detail, there's nothing too major to complain about. Once again on a Well Go USA release, there are intermittent occurrences of banding, most noticeable in some sudden changes from very dark moments to some brightly lit outdoor scenes.

The Swordsman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Swordsman features a nicely robust DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in either the original Korean or an English dub. Aside from the differences in voice work, I didn't notice any huge variances in terms of things like overall mix or amplitude levels between the two. While I did toggle between the two tracks, I spent most of the time on the original Korean language track, and it provides a wealth of nice surround activity from the get go. The sword fights have the expected quicksilver sounds of blade hitting blade, and with some peripatetic camera and actor moves, there are frequent displays of panning and discrete placement in about equal measure. While the score also wafts nicely through the surround channels, I personally found some of the underscoring to not be particularly effective. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Swordsman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers includes:

  International Trailer (1080p; 1:17)

  
  

  US Trailer (1080p; 1:59)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the supplements have been authored to follow one another automatically (so that clicking on the the International Trailer under the main Trailers menu option is essentially a Play All button). After the US Trailer for this film plays, the disc has been authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

The Swordsman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In some, maybe even many, ways The Swordsman has been seen before, but the fact that the film manages to maintain a fairly consistent level of visceral energy is testament to its craftsmanship, despite some more than hoary elements to its plotting and characterizations. Technical merits are generally solid (especially audio), and even without much in the way of supplements, The Swordsman comes Recommended.