New Gods: Yang Jian - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

New Gods: Yang Jian



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
When I saw the press release for New Gods: Yang Jian it stirred a weird memory in me, as if I’d heard that name before. Then after watching about 50% of the movie I hit google and then it hit me. This is a sequel, as their was a New Gods film back in 2021 named Nezha Reborn that I had hoped to see. It was a massive hit in China, but the movie never made it state side on Blu-ray, so I never ended up reviewing the film and thusly I sort of forgot about the world. Well, now that I knew why this whole story was slightly familiar I can luckily say that you don’t have to actually watch New Gods: Nezha Reborn to enjoy Yang Jian. The film handily summarizes some of the goings on in that film, and picks us up in the world without hitch.

Enter into the world of the New Gods, a fantastical realm of Chinese mythology adapted for a sci-fi/period piece adventure that is pure eye candy to behold. Our hero from Nezha Reborn, Yang Jian (also known as Erlang Shen) no longer is a god, but scrapes by as a bounty hunter, pick up skiptraces for the heavenly hosts. However, in the line of duty he runs across a familiar young man named Chenxiang, who is also on a mission to gain a mysterious artifact. Turns out, this young man is Yang’s long lost nephew, and just so happens to be looking for the very artifact that could free his mother from the prison that Yang defeated and imprisoned under a mountain 13 years ago. Along the way, Yang Jian makes a few more friends, comes to grips with his own past, and must face a whole new host of enemies who are out to get the free wheeling bounty hunter.

New Gods: Yang Jian is one of those films that was heavily geared towards theatrical 3D (the film almost screams it with all of the in your face slow motion) and as such is a bit light on plot, even though it almost feels overstuffed with 2 hours and 9 minutes of runtime including credits. That is to say, the film is a gigantic battle scene, with high flying stunts, flashy fights, and gorgeous animation that leads the audience to believe that it was the focus of the film rather than the plot. At the same time there are a dozen different characters with differing motivations, all differing from each other. It feels a bit overstuffed and under explained, but then again, that’s not a horrible thing. The movie flows along nicely, with minimal necessity to study up on ancient Chinese Mythology to have a good time (though if you have at least a rudimentary knowledge it makes the watch a lot more understandable).

The film plays fast and loose with the mythology it’s drawing from, instead of trying to keep a period piece fantasy authentic, it goes more for full on reimagining of the ancient ideals and putting them into a mystical almost steampunk/sci-fi wrapping for modern audiences. A risky proposition, but it seems to have worked as Yang Jian has become a smash hit over in China, ensuring that not only did this live up to Nezha Reborn, but surpassed it in many ways, and guaranteed that we’ll get a 3rd film in the franchise sometime in the next year or so.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

As I mentioned above, New Gods: Yang Jian was pretty much made for 3D theatrical viewings, and while it would have been lovely to see it that way, 3D is pretty much dead on home video so it’s no surprise that Gkids and Shout Facotry have opted to provide us a 2D Blu-ray to enjoy. That being said, this is a near perfect looking 1080p image, with some absolutely GORGEOUS 3D animation. Colors explode from every corner of the room, with flashing lights, blazing flames, and mystical blue shades to awe the audience. Blacks are deep and inky with only a few glimpses of banding here and there, with the only real noticeable artifact be the digital noise that you see in the clouds sometimes. Otherwise this is a wonderfully animated transfer (although weird thing, the faces all seem to be slightly smoothed, though it’s only FACES, which leads me to surmise that it was an animation stylistic choice vs. something done to the master).









Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track (both English and Mandarin) is an excellently bombastic mix, with both the English and Mandarin tracks sounding pretty much identical except for the vocal dub. Personally I will always choose original language track over a dub, and this is no different. The vocals are crisp and cleanly located up front as expected, and the audience is just awash with surround and bass usage throughout the film with the copious battles that our hero undergoes. Rocks crash down with absolutely punishing weight during a prison breakout, the swoosh of the flying air ship as it cuts through the sky, and the sharp clash of blades during combat all make for an incredibly immersive and impressive experience from beginning to end.












Extras:

• Interview With Director Zhao Ji
• Animating New Gods: Yang Jian With Zhao Ji
• Original Cast Interview
• Arts And Culture Spotlight
• Art Gallery

Final Score: ​

New Gods: Yang Jian is a fun romp that brings Chinese blockbusters over to the United States. The film IS a bit of style over substance, but there is more than enough meat on the bones to make for an entertaining romp. If I had to compare it to anything, it would be an animated Chinese Wuxia epic with some modern day dialog. It’s fun, a bit cheeky, and absolutely mesmerizing to watch with all of the lovely animation. The Blu-ray looks and sounds incredible, with a moderate array of extras to enjoy from Gkids/Shout Factory as well. Solid watch in this reviewers humble opinion.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Su Ling Chan, David Chen, Alex Hom, Kai Wang
Directed by: Ji Zhao
Written by: Kai Wang
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Mandarin DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 129 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: April 25th, 2023

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never heard of this one so happy to read about it. Will check it out.