When Taekwondo Strikes Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

When Taekwondo Strikes Blu-ray Movie Review

When Taekwondo Strikes is an exciting martial arts classic. Produced by Raymond Chow (The Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon) and Andre Morgan (Perhaps Love, Game of Death), When Taekwondo Strikes features a robust production. Starring Angela Mao, Jhoon Rhee, Carter Wong, In-shik Hwang, Ken Kazama, Anne Winton, Andre Morgan, Pao- Chin Hung, and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung.

Jin Zheng Zhi (Carter Wong) is a strong-willed Korean nationalist. Jin finds himself battling it out with strong Japanese warriors. Despite Jin’s incredible strength and martial arts skills, Jin finds himself captured while fighting the opposition. Lee Chung Tung (Jhoon Rhee) attempts to help Jin get released.

Unfortunately, Jin is captured as well. Wan Ling-ching (Angela Mao), Mary (Anne Winton), and even Jin, must then team up to help set Lee free. In an attempt to free Lee, an all-out battle ensues to the end.

The performances in When Taekwondo Strikes are solid and the performances add to the quality filmmaking well. Carter Wong and Jhoon Rhee are both impressive in their respective leading roles in the film. The supporting cast similarly does well with their roles, too. Angela Mao and Anne Winton are both especially noteworthy with their strong supporting roles.

The stunts are terrific. There is a sense of scale to the epic fight sequences. When Taekwondo Strikes is impressive at delivering excellent stunt choreography. The stunts were well designed and the actors provide exciting sequences that showcase the spectacle of the genre.

Composed by Tsao Hua Lai (Dragon Rider, Lady Kung Fu), When Taekwondo Strikes features a solid score. The music is engaging and a lot of fun. Lai is a gifted composer with a good sense of building action scenes and providing a nice backdrop to the martial arts. The score is a good highlight to the production and its sense of scale.

The cinematography by Yu-Tang Li (Encounter of the Spooky Kind, Lady Kung Fu) is one of the strengths of the filmmaking. The visuals are top-notch and there are a lot of impressive qualities to the feature filmmaking. Li has a good artistic vision as a cinematographer.

Written and directed by Feng Huang (Lady Kung Fu, Lady Whirlwind), When Taekwondo Strikes is an entertaining spectacle. Huang made an enormously fun kung-fu feature. When Taekwondo Strikes provides the right ingredients for a fun time. Martial arts fans won’t want to miss it.

When Taekwondo Strikes Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Shout Factory, When Taekwondo Strikes is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The transfer is pleasing in some respects but some have some visual imperfections. Unfortunately, some scenes in When Taekwondo Strikes do present a somewhat stretched image.

This stretched image detriment is not throughout the entire presentation but is notable as an issue with the telecine transfer on this particular film and can be seen in select screenshots as provided. Screenshots #7-#10 highlight these issues. The transfer fare better in other scenes and still looks decent on the whole. Not a perfect scan – there are some issues – but it is still a watchable presentation.

When Taekwondo Strikes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (with English subtitles) and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono. The audio presentation is quite impressive. Dialogue is well reproduced. The score is a highlight on the release and well worthwhile. English subtitles are well-done and free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

When Taekwondo Strikes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary With Authors Grady Hendrix And Chris Poggiali

Audio Commentary With Martial Arts Cinema Experts Frank Djeng & Michael Worth

Audio Commentary With Film Critic James Mudge

Audio Commentary With Frankie Balboa AKA Shogun Supreme & Peter Glagowski (Writer at Flixist)

Striking Out – Interview With Producer Andre Morgan (HD, 21:05)

Return to Tae Kwon Do – Frank Djeng Visits Yakhyeon Catholic Church (HD, 2:30)

Trailers (HD, 7:42)

Image Gallery (HD, 1:42)

When Taekwondo Strikes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When Taekwondo Strikes is a fun martial arts classic. The action scenes are well-done throughout the feature. There is a nice sense of scale to the martial arts sequences.

The Blu-ray release is somewhat inconsistent. The transfer could be better (there are some stretched scenes where there were telecine issues present – other scenes fare better), the audio is reasonably good, and the release is jam-packed with bonus features. Despite the inconsistent transfer, a well-rounded package. Recommended.