Valentine: The Dark Avenger Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Valentine: The Dark Avenger Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 18, 2019

It’s not easy to introduce a new superhero in an already packed marketplace. “Valentine: The Dark Avenger” is an Indonesian production with American filmmaking interests, finding the producers eager to create their own take on “The Dark Knight,” only without the iconic battle between Batman and Joker. Instead of DC Universe familiarity, there’s Valentine, a plucky amateur crime-fighter looking to make her presence known when baddie The Shadow rises to take control of Batavia City. “The Dark Avenger” doesn’t have the budget or depth of a typical modern comic book adaptation (the material is credited to Skylar Comics), and it really doesn’t have much drama either, preferring to do much of its speaking through martial art battles, which are often edited into a visual mush.

Sri (Estelle Linden) is a café waitress still mourning the death of her father. After fending off the advances of bad customers, her martial arts skills are noticed by screenwriter Bono (Matthew Settle), who’s trying to develop a superhero character to sell. With help from stylist Wan (Arie Dagienkz), Bono helps to transform Sri into a mean machine, rebranding her Valentine and sending her out to become a viral video sensation. Terrorizing the city is The Shadow and his three trained enforcers, with the masked man aiming to take over Batavia City, determined to destroy the local police force.

“The Dark Avenger” isn’t a regal motion picture. It’s more of a scrappy, low-budget affair, using a substantial amount of greenscreen to generate the scope of Batavia City, a place where crime is a constant problem. The rise of Valentine isn’t special, born from a meet cute between Sri and Bono, and montages take care of training time and martial arts practice (Silat being the discipline of choice here). It’s action where the feature is supposed to shine the brightest, watching Valentine enter criminal situations and unleash her skills, with periodic help from gadgets. Linden certainly has the physicality for the role, but editing here is out of control, matching fast cutting with digital zooming, making it difficult to see what exactly is being beaten or thrown. For reasons unknown, the production doesn’t trust the natural appeal of stunt work, trying to whip up some artificial excitement, and it’s hard on the senses.

Valentine: The Dark Avenger Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.38:1 aspect ratio) presentation supplies ample sharpness with the HD-shot feature. Skin surfaces are defined, along with costuming, offering a full sense of fabric with smoother hero and coarser villain gear. Locations retain dimension, and interiors present decoration to survey. Colors are bright and clean, with bold purples on Valentine's costume, while cityscapes provide varied lighting. Greenery is also healthy. Skintones are natural. Delineation isn't problematic. Banding is periodically detected.

Valentine: The Dark Avenger Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix defaults to an English dub, but it's probably best to hear "Valentine" in its original team-up of English and Indonesian, which supplies as much natural dialogue recording as possible, helping out intended performance choices and emotional emphasis. Scoring isn't inspired but it's defined, providing a routine synth presence with distinct moods. Surrounds deliver some movement with action sequences, with adequate separation. Sound effects are strong, capturing gunplay and body blows. Low-end isn't stunning, but explosive rumbling arrives periodically.

Valentine: The Dark Avenger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Image Gallery (2:12) collects film stills and BTS snaps, which reveal how much of the movie was captured with greenscreen assistance.

• And a Trailer (1:51, HD) is included.

Valentine: The Dark Avenger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Dark Avenger" doesn't pursue extraordinary encounters between Valentine and The Shadow, preferring to be a crime story with superhero additions. Intended grittiness doesn't arrive, leaving the picture more of a glossy stunt reel with performers who deserve better than the visual presentation provides. Obviously there's nothing wrong with some B-movie heroism, but "Valentine: The Dark Avenger" seems like it wants to be more epic and outrageous, but it never achieves its goals. It's a fine introduction to Linden, who does well in the central role of a hooded defender of the city, but the rest is messy, limited in vision, and quite underwhelming.