Operation Mekong - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Operation Mekong


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Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
There’s a strange difference between mainland Chinese films, and Hong Kong films. Even if they’re right next door to each other and share much of the same talent pool, I can’t help but be constantly frustrated with the mainland films as they seem more intent on being a propaganda arm for the military more than making a fun movie. I don’t mean that Hong Kong cinema is the bastion of intellectual works of art, but they are legendary for making plain FUN films that are high on explosions, fisticuffs even though there usually isn’t a whole lot of brainpower involved in watching one. I grew up watching Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, Benny the Jet and countless other Hong Kong action stars over the decades and seem to notice a lack of “fun” in the mainstream Chinese films when comparing against their HK counterparts. I had a slight suspicion going into Operation Mekong that this wasn’t going to be a 100% perfect film due to the fact that Dante Lam was directing. Dante is probably one of the most frustrating directors in China today, not because he’s bad, but because all his films seem to hover on the EDGE of being really good, but never actually attaining that level.

As the front of the movie says (including opening credits), Operation Mekong is based off of the true events of the “Mekong Massacre” that happened about 5 years ago. The events leading up to the action-packed film are pretty much identical. A boat was traveling up the Mekong river, only to be attacked by a drug lord, leaving dozens slaughtered and the people of China in a complete rage. The military and the police know WHO the drug lord is, but he’s stuck in the Burmese triangle where he’s pretty much invincible. Realizing that nothing can be done without this guy, they send in a crack unit of military spec ops soldiers to engage in a series of drug stings in order to find out the PRECISE location of the drug lord Naw Kham (Pawarith Monkolpisit).

The film is actually pretty complicated, yet still painfully straight forward at the same time. The head of the spec ops group (played by the venerable actor Hanyu Zhang) is given access to Thai drug rings, and with the help of narcotics cop Fang Xinwu (Eddie Peng) he is able to infiltrate the Naw Kham’s associates. Naturally, things go south in a hurry, but not before they are able to ascertain the drug lord’s precise position and get back to China with the news. Now it’s no longer a covert operation, it’s a full on assault the base level of mission where there is only one goal. Bring back Naw Kham to stand trial in the People’s Republic of China.

Dante Lam directing a historical film like this had me wondering just how this would play out. The man has a distinct sense of exuberance and excitement that he infuses into his films, so I was sure there would only be two outcomes. Either he would tame his sense of style just a bit and make a somber military drama, or he would go full Michael Bay on us and we’d be privy to a visual extravaganza that may be a SLIGHT exaggeration. Well, we definitely got the second of those two options. There are guns, knives, explosions, more guns, more knives, more Michael Bay level of craziness, and you know what. There’s a lot of it that actually works! The film is a bit bloated with over 2 hours of run time on the clock and there is a LOT of mischief and mayhem. The opening scene of the movie is fantastic, with a superhero dog named Bingo (not lying), and the action was superb. The only problem is that it gets to Michael Bay mind numbing after a while. By the 15th action sequence I was having a hard time telling them apart.

Acting wise the film was surprisingly capable. Hanyu Zhang is great as the fearless leader, and Eddie Peng is always entertaining in whatever he does (though sadly he doesn’t do as much martial arts as I would have hoped). Pawarith Monkolpisit hammed it up as the maniacally crazed drug lord, and the rest just blended in quite nicely. I could have done without the very obvious shilling of the great and powerful People’s Republic and their NEED for justice, but it was a solidly done action thriller that just went on a bit TOO long at times.





Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Using a mixture of Arri Alexa and Red Epic Dragon cameras, Operation Mekong looks amazing on Blu-ray. The digitally shot film is almost always crystal clear, with some absolutely amazing eye candy to feast upon. The colors are bright and well saturated, with the greens of the jungle and the yellows of a sportscar popping off the screen in ways that made my jaw drop. Plus the fine detail is second to none. Most of the time I was just sitting there marveling at how much facial detail and individual pieces of dirt you could see on the heroes faces. Some of the CGI IS a bit spotty (usually the blood spray when someone got shot, it was very obviously digital), but overall the picture uses a lot of practical effects and wire work so that those scenes aren’t overly annoying. Blacks are deep and inky, with plenty of shadow detail, and the film’s only artifact that I could see was intermittent banding that comes and goes in darker bits.





Audio:

One thing the movie does to absolute perfection is employ a stunning DTS:X track for complete impressiveness. The film is a nonstop roller coaster ride of action and the dimensionality of the mix is nothing short of amazing. Gunshots ring out from all directions, bullets impact in the rears, the sides, and the front. Not to mention the guttural use of LFE in the explosions. I do like that they didn’t mix the gunshots overly hot like so many movies, and each gun has it’s one texture and done instead of sounding like a cannon no matter the caliber. Surrounds are filled with constantly shifting sounds and the overheads get a nice workout with the helicopters and buildings crashing down around people. Vocals are well situated in the front of the soundstage, and the whole experience is simply breathtaking in the ability to put you in the center of the action and just feel completely surrounded by sonic loveliness.






Extras:

• 6-Part "Making of" Featurette
- Uncovering the Truth
- The Team
- The Secret Mission
- The Journey
- Two Heroes
- A Force of Nature

Final Score: ​

I really wanted to like Operation Mekong more than I did. The cast was superb, and the trailer promised LOTS of action (which the film delivered on), but it stumbles and falls in a few spots that seem indicative of many mainland China films that are only there to serve as propaganda films. Don’t get me wrong, I had a fun time with the movie and the stunts were bone crunchingly awesome. It’s just that I saw the potential for where the film COULD have gone, and the fact that the movie seemed just awash with subplots and characters that the action was stretched thinner than I would have liked. The audio and video, though, are simply amazing and the home theater experience was a joy to behold. Extras are one again a bit thin, but still a fun watch for me. Recommended as a decent watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Joyce Wenjuan Feng, Baoguo Chen, Xudong Wu
Directed by: Dante Lam
Written by: Dante Lam, Kang Kei Chu
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: DTS:X, Mandarin DD 2.0, Mandarin DTS Headphone:X
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 124 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 6th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Decent Watch

 

[Todd Anderson]

Mike - general question:

Do you find that the surround sound/Atmos mixes on these foreign films fall short / meet / or exceed Hollywood releases?

(generally speaking)

 

[Michael Scott]

easily on par... they Mix differently than us. They use LFE in different way (they're not as obsessed with making every gunshot sound like a shotgun blast), but they are very capable of making a VERY immersive mix.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'd assume there are "regional" expectations as to how certain action on the screen is enhanced by sound. Back in the 80s most probably would readily identify the sound of a fist punch as being weirdly exaggerated in foreign films...interesting that you note differences in gun shot sounds. I wouldn't have expected that!

 

[Michael Scott]

they tend to leave gunshots a bit more natural sounding over there (at least in modern days, John Woo was king of making guns sound more aggressive) than we do here in the united states. As much as I love gunshots in movies like John Wick they're SUPER exaggerated compared to real life. Even in Asian films they modify them slighltly, but a whole lot, so they sound softer etc. Most people don't realize it but guns don't sound like a sonic LFE wave like they do in movies

 

[Todd Anderson]

It is kind of funny how certain sounds are exaggerated but not to the point of seeming unnatural or unrealistic. To your point, the trained ear recognizes it as unnatural. But the average viewer interprets it as an enhancement of the movie experience.

Just one of the many reasons movies are such a fascinating medium of art.

 

[Michael Scott]

yup