Emergency Declaration - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Emergency Declaration



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
While one would assume from the plot that Emergency Declaration was crafted as a result of the pandemic we’ve been experiencing for over 2 years, it was actually created right before the pandemic took off in full swing, so we’ll just have to chalk it up to eerie consequences. It’s not going to totally blow you away with it’s uniqueness or individuality, but one can say that it carries similarities to Contagion and Train to Busan, replacing zombies and a train with a virus and a plane. Simple, effective, and generally an unsettling film that was actually rather entertaining.

Most of the film will take place on an airplane, our story starts out with Detective In-ho (Song Kang-ho) investigating a nasty looking murder only to find out that the murder seems to have been caused by a virulent virus that eats flesh and causes internal bleeding galore. Simultaneously we’re introduced to Jae-hyuk (Lee Byung-hun), an eccentric virologist who is sneaking on said deadly pathogen onto a transatlantic flight to Hawaii (which just so happens to have Detective In-ho’s wife on board as a passenger) in order to release the virus.

As passengers start dying from the mysterious plague, it’s up to the detective, a dedicated flight crew, a man and his daughter, as well as basically every typical trope from disaster movies. Yeah, Emergency Declaration can be rather rote and well worn at times. However, it makes up for the basic design change from Train to Busan by including some absolutely chilling plot points regarding the passengers and their deaths. Coming from a post pandemic world the story seems to hit a bit closer to home than usual (ironically something the producers and writers didn’t even plan for)

The 2 hour and 47 minute film is a bit long in the tooth, but it is quite a rapid tonal pace so it goes by faster than expected. It’s scrappy, and more than fun enough to capture the attention of most viewers. Lee Byung-hun absolutely steals the show as the crazed virologist (his persona is downright autistic in nature, and many times it’s hard to see the Korean Martial artists underneath all the layers of crazy), but Song Kang-ho is a close second for the intrepid detective.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 by the MPAA





Video:

The Blu-ray release sports a very handsome looking 2.39:1 framed AVC encode that supposedly used a 4K master for said home video release. Sadly that means the native 4K master doesn’t have a 4K UHD disc to go along with it, but the Blu-ray definitely looks quite nice. It has a heavily green pushed teal color grading to it and a sort of milky look to it that permeates every aspect of the film. The black levels are surprisingly good considering the milky tone, and shows off some solid detail levels throughout the movie (such as a dim plane cabin, or a dark warehouse). However, there is some mild horizontal lines and some banding to go along with the image, and I occasionally felt that the colors were a bit muted. Overall it’s a nice looking encode, but the murky tones and aesthetic choices keep it in the “ok, this is good, but not a GREAT looking disc” category.









Audio:

The Korean Dolby Atmos track (would have loved to have an English Atmos track on board to compare against, but aw well) is a killer mix, and probably the single best portion of the entire package. It’s absolutely massive and incredibly immersive, with sounds of planes taking off, screams in the cockpit, and a throbbing bass track that keeps the heavily surround forward mix kicking hard and heavy. There’s some really great effects moments in the film, especially when the plane takes a nose dive part way through, and you can literally hear the shift from the overheads straight into the surrounds and backs as the plane descends. Quiet moments are subtle and precise, but the massive dynamic range literally throws sounds from one end of the sound stage to another, jolting you out of said quiet moments with a real sense of ferocity and power.












Extras:

• Cannes Film Festival interviews
• Making of - featurette
• The Characters - featurette
• The 360 Shot - featurette
• Original trailer

Final Score: ​

Emergency Declaration is a bit long in run time, but surprisingly agile and a quick watch. I rarely looked at my watch the entire time, even though it clocks in at nearly 2.5 hours. It’s smart, vicious, and makes a fun watch for those who like disaster thrillers. In a world rife with pandemic fears, the film is able to pull a few surprises out of the hat and keep the audience guessing. The Blu-ray looks good, sounds utterly amazing, and actually has a more than average array of extras for a Well Go USA disc. Fun watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jeon Do-yeon
Directed by: Han Jae-rim
Written by: Han Jae-rim
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Korean: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English, Korean DD 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, English
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 147 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: November 29th, 2022

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never heard of this so thanks for bringing this to our attention. Will check it out.