Blind War - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Blind War



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Another reviewer buddy contact of mine told me that Blind War was basically the Ben Affleck version of Daredevil meets Liam Neeson’s Taken, and now I can’t see it as anything BUT that (it’s eerily accurate). The film starts out with a visceral action scene in a court house, filled with guns, knives and lots of punching, only to sadly dip into a lower tier for the rest of the movie. It’s a fun flick, but one that suffers from feeling like it wants to be the pilot for a TV series, as well as some plot points that fade into the background without ever being resolved.

Andy On is a Chinese cop named Dong who disobeys direct orders and enters the before mentioned court house scene to take down the bad guys. Unfortunately he loses his eyesight in the resulting shoot out, leaving him without his eyes, AND being forced to leave the Police Force in dishonor. The poor guy suffers greatly in the years ahead, having to deal with the PTSD of losing his eyesight, as well as getting used to almost super human senses that stem from his disability. The only thing that calms him down is his daughter playing the Violin during his times of turmoil. HOWEVER, Dong is called out of retirement when his daughter is kidnapped, and he is forced to use a particular set of skills (and his Daredevil like senses) to bring her home.

On gives a great performance as the tortured Dong, who has to come to grips with his disability, as well as his new found senses. Not to mention he delivers some seriously kick butt action sequences when he’s tearing through villains like tissue paper. However, it’s actually the villain Cena (Yang Xing) who steals the show as the megalomaniac villainous. She’s crafty, twisted, and uses Dong against himself to get her way. However, detective Rama is probably one of the major detractors of the main characters. They set him up as the comedic relief, complete with “comedic” music to point to the viewer and say “look, he’s the funny guy! Laugh!” (even though he’s really NOT funny). It’s frustrating to watch some great drama get dragged down with a mediocre “funny guy” but luckily he’s not in it for THAT long.

I found the film to be a bit frustrating in regards to tone as a result of Rama. On one hand we have all these great staged action sequences, and a gut wrenching tale of loss from Dong, only to have it shift straight into slapstick comedy whenever Rama comes on screen. It sadly takes away the urgency and intensity of Dong trying to find his daughter and really jerks the audience around.

Also, the film really suffers from trying to be the beginning of a continuing movie series (or at least a TV Pilot) by setting up things for the future, but never wrapping them up in story. The movie starts out with a bang, but sadly ends in whimper as the massive action scene at the beginning of the film is EASILY the highlight of the production, while the rest of the action slowly gets worse and worse. It’s not a bad movie, but just one that feels at war with itself with different tones and a lack of a major finale.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Presented in 2.39:1, Well Go USA’s AVC encode stands out as quite the looker. I once again (how shocking for a foreign film) could not find any technical information on the cameras used and the master struck, but it looks very impressive in 1080p nonetheless. The obviously digital shoot looks shiny and clean, with great looking detail levels and impressive black levels (though there IS some banding in night time shots). The typical teal and amber color grading dominates the picture, but overall it’s a very impressive looking digital image that should please just about everyone.









Audio:

Blind War features a rather immersive and intense 5.1 track in the original Mandarin as well as a downmixed 2.0 track in lossy Dolby Digital. Dong’s “super human” enhanced hearing makes for some really impressive use of the surround channels, honing in on discrete sounds and bringing them into the fore ground of the track quite a bit. Gunfire, fisticuffs and the rest round out the mix with a lively display of action, and dialog is crisp and cleanly located up in the front of the room. Dynamic range also stands out as being more than noticeable, as there are moments of quiet dialog mirrored with explosive action scenes that really lift you off your chair with punchy bass.












Extras:

• Well Go USA Previews
• Theatrical Trailers
• Behind the Scenes

Final Score:
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Blind War has some promise, but it feels more like a pilot for a TV show rather than a full feature length film (and a closing credits scene pretty much gives it away that they’re looking to make this into a franchise of some sort. Whether that is in the form of a TV show or film series), but it’s still moderately entertaining as a sort of Asian Taken in it’s own right. Luckily the Blu-ray looks and sounds stunning, so if you’re interested in the film at all, the Blu-ray is certainly an audio/video treat. At the end of the day, I’m going to put this into a pleasant rental category.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Pingqing Chen, Dao Dao, Xiao Deng
Directed by: Suiqiang Huo
Written by: Laogou Lin
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Mandarin DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, French
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 108 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 11th, 2024

Recommendation: Rental