Mojin: The Lost Legend - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Mojin: The Lost Legend



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
This is another "Legacy" review of a previous reviewed film to coincide with the release of Mojin: The Worm Valley, and as such will have references to 3 years ago rather than the present.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was a moderate success In the U.S. market and even was able to craft a solid sequel (in some ways better than the first) with Cradle of Life back in the early 2000 era. There were several films that tried to mimic the success of the tomb raiding heroine, but none were as successful as The Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe that came out of Hong Kong a few years back. Mojin: The Lost Legend is actually the second in the series, with The Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe looking like it will come out from Well Go USA in the next couple of months (which excites this author more than a little bit). It takes the idea of Lara Croft and turns her into a team of tomb raiders who have given up their old past only to be dragged back into the profession when one of the members is hired to dig up an old grave that holds great sadness for the two founding members. While this is the second film in the franchise it isn’t wholly necessary to have seen the prequel, and in fact, while there is some issues here and there with the exposition, The Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe doesn’t really play much into the plot besides pre knowledge of Hu and Wang.

Hu Bayi (Kun Chen), Wang Kaixun (Bo Huang) and Shirley Yang (the incredibly beautiful Qi Shu) are the newest generation of Mojin, otherwise known as Tomb Raiders who steal from the riches of the buried to fund the wealth of the modern Chinese government. It has been a tradition for over 80 generations, but now the Mojin have disbanded and moved to America after a job gone poorly. There is some information that is certainly lost in translation during the first act, as we’re really not let in on WHO the characters are and what their motivations are until a bunch of flash backs start happening. All we know is that there is some sexual tension between Hu and Shirley (which is kind of amusing to hear the Mandarin language try to pronounce the English name), and that Wang is a bit of the comic relief. There’s an even further disconnect when Wang decides to take a job offer from a mysterious woman and her cult after seeing a mysterious artifact. This is later explained through flashbacks where the viewer is privy to seeing the two men back 20 years ago in 1969 (the film is set is 1989 instead of the present). Back then they were in love with the same girl, Ding Sitian (played by Chinese model Angelbaby), and were involved with the People’s Republic of China and the Rise of Chairman Mao. After going out and disturbing an ancient tomb as a sign of rebellion against the old order, Ding is lost in the mystical mayhem that is unleashed.

Now, 20 years later Wang and Hu have been given the opportunity to go back to that very tomb at the behest of this cult and their leader. The only problem is that getting into the tomb is one thing. Surviving all the traps of the ancient burial rites is another. That and getting to their goal alive. Especially since their benefactors have been keeping a few secrets of their own along the way. This cult is after the same power that destroyed Ding and the rest of their group 20 years ago, and Wang is still desperately obsessed with finding out what happened. Despite Hu’s decision to leave her death in the past. Now the group of tomb raiders has to find their way through the maze of the tomb, NOT get eaten by zombies or burned alive by phosphorous traps AND somehow law Ding’s memory to rest at the same time.

As I mentioned earlier, there’s some eccentricities in the first act that seems to have been lost in translation or poorly laid out in the exposition. The first act takes a bit of getting used to as the viewer struggles to find out just how the group dynamic works between Wang, Shirley and Hu. Once that’s established the rest is actually a very enjoyable “Tomb Raider” knockoff that keeps the spirit of the video game and movies alive, just with a Chinese twist. There’s plenty of gold and traps to keep our heroes busy, but there’s a lot of Chinese mythology and emphasis on ethnic methods of mythology and lore to keep it interesting. Not to mention the copious fight scenes with hand to hand combat thrown in that would make Angelina Jolie and her stunt double jealous.

The movie happens to be a LOT of fun, with great special effects (something the Chinese usually skimp on) and fun action sequences, but the first act tends to bring the film down as well as the feeling that there was a lot of instances where the script could have been trimmed and tightened a bit, as the film feels about 20 minutes too long. It’s not overly intrusive or boring, it is just the distinct feeling that there was some bloat in the storytelling, especially with the flashbacks and the very first act. Much of that could have been trimmed down or said explicitly instead of drawing out the exposition too long. The very thing that feels like a flashback actually ends up being the main storyline and it takes a while for that particular train car to get its wheels on the tracks and going under full steam. However, as I mentioned earlier, once it gets going the film doesn’t let up until the very end




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Mojin was originally theatrically aired over in China as a 3D film and that is VERY obvious with the composition of certain frames early on. Wood exploding outward in all directions, stones skipping across a lake, angles of wires and devices in the shot. It all screams 3D, but sadly the U.S. was only give the regular 2D version. Shot MOSTLY in 2.39:1 (the film expands out into some pretty epic 1.78:1 shots later on in the film that really do look incredible), Mojin manages to look incredibly beautiful on Blu-ray with burned gold and red outdoor sequences, and deep blue and grey tones once our heroes descend underground. That’s not to say that burnished reds/golds and dark blues and grays are the only colors. The underground tomb is awash with all sorts of neon greens, purples, oranges and the like from reflecting crystals or the brilliant CGI green of phosphorous flames. Fine detailing is magnificent from beginning to end and shadow detail is quite commendable. The only real problem that drags the encode down just a bit is the presence of some pretty constant banding, especially in the tomb. The banding itself is never too bad, but is consistently present, ranging in severity throughout the film.






Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA Mandarin track is pretty impressive and also pretty typical of the genre. Bass heavy and aggressive, it’s a swirling affair of constant activity from the surrounds and an upbeat score that adds to the overwhelming sense of “adventure” that he movie strives to exude at every turn. Dialog is strong and clean. No instances of distortion or imbalance throughout the dynamic range. Surrounds are naturally pretty intensely used as the echoes of the big underground tomb create a ton of ambient effects that bounce off of one wall and into the next, creating a really wide dispersion of directional tones and sounds. LFE is intense and heavy, adding some impressive power to the action sequences as well as the creaking and groaning of the ancient tomb.







Extras:

• Making of
• Behind the Scenes
• Trailer

Final Score: ​

It’s a little funny to see the sequel after the prequel is just announced. It’s almost like cart coming before the horse in some ways, but it really should not be seen as a negative as The Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe stars different actors in the same roles and really can be seen separately from Mojin. For being a knockoff of “Tomb Raider” I was impressed with how much fun the movie is, and even relished in the typical video game style traps and tomb puzzles the group had to follow. The ending is typical and certainly been seen a bit in the “Tomb Raider” films and games, but it fits the genre to a T and sometimes being predictable isn’t bad. It’s just comfortable. The audio and video look FANTASTIC on the Blu-ray and despite minimal extras I have to give a solid thumbs up to the entertaining romp. Recommended.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Angelbaby, Kun Chen, Qi Shu, Bo Huang
Directed by: Wuershan
Written by: Chia-Lu Chang (Screenplay), Muye Zhang (Novel)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Mandarin DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, Mandarin (Simplified)
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 127 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 3rd, 2016

Recommendation: Recommended

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I suppose all of the Mojin movies are going to be in the Chinese language requiring use of subtitles.

I am somewhat getting use to it, as I keep closed captioning on most of the time now because my wife don't like it loud (even with her in the other room) and I can't hear well enough to make out what they are saying about half the time. It's not near as hard to read and watch as I thought it would be.

 

[Michael Scott]

you are correct. They are in Mandarin with subtitles, no english dub for the 3 of them.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will add this series to my watchlist.