Reset - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Reset

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

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Movie
I have been a long time follower of Well Go USA’s offerings for quite some time, and have noticed a pattern with the Asian cinema that has been brought across into the west. Usually it’s a mixture of period piece dramas or fantasy/action flicks, or heavily dramatic cop stories (with a smattering of spies and the like). Usually full on science fiction is not something that you see China or Korea pumping out (although there ARE some horror movies with sci-fi elements that make their presence known every once in a while), but Reset is probably the first in recent memory that hits that genre. I first noticed it when I saw the words “Jackie Chan Presents” (as it’s produced by his production company) over the cover, and was intrigued. Jackie Chan, Sci-fi, and time travel all had my ears perks and I was eager to give it a spin. Reset doesn’t blaze any new ground in the genre, but it makes for a satisfying action/thriller/time travel film as it follows the standard pattern of time jumping to save someone that the main character loves.

One thing I’ve always noticed. If you’re in a high level government job where you’re working on a project that could be highly lucrative to criminals, make sure you’re family is protected. I mean, if I was working on a project where I could have my loved ones leveraged against me (especially something as important as time travel) I would at LEAST hire a bodyguard to make sure my kid wasn’t home alone with the babysitter. Well, that’s not how these movies work, and that’s exactly what happens. Xia Tian (Mi Yang) is a high level research scientist working on perfecting the art of time travel. Different corporations around the world had tried and succeeded to some extent, but only the Chinese branch where Xia Tian is the lead researcher has had any REAL success. The lab has finally broken the “code” and been able to send objects and animals back in time 1.5 hours, with the only thing left to do is incorporate human trials into the procedure.

Unfortunately, a rogue mercenary named Cui Hu (Wallace Huo) has been sent by a rival corporation to steal the Chinese data, and kidnaps her son Doudou (Yihan Zhang) in order to leverage the scientist into doing his bidding. Terrified for her son’s safety, Xia obeys the mercenary, only to watch the man sadistically murder her son in cold blood. Escaping with nothing but her life, Xia Tian goes back to her lab and jumps back in time, as the first human trial for the program, to save her son if she can. Repeating the process as necessary, Xia jumps back in time frequently enough to create multiple copies of herself in order to rescue her and son, and the trio of women from different time period all have the same objective. Save Doudou, and make sure that Cui Hu pays for his atrocities.

Reset really doesn’t blaze any new trails in the time travel theorem, but it is a fun little movie that is full of plenty of action to keep the audience busy. The first act of the movie is rather slow paced and sets up the character of Xia Tian, while also getting the audience used to the futuristic world where time travel is possible. Once Xia jumps back in time for the first time things get a bit crazier. There’s guns, knives, explosions, and more car chases than you can shake a stick at. What makes the film even more interesting is a unique twist that the universe has with it’s time travel theory. Here, the more you jump and go back in time, the more your brain chemistry changes. As the original Xia jumps and creates alternate universes where she and others exist in the same world, she slowly changes her personality to someone much more violent and aggressive than the variations that DON’T time travel (as well as her original self in the first act). It makes each of the three versions of Xia unique and different.

There are some cohesion problems due to the editing (especially when the second Xia jumps in time, it’s hard to realize which version it is due to the way the film is edited). Also the film can feel a bit “small” in scope due to the fact that a good half of the film is Xia redoing the same thing over and over again in order to save her son. However, that is part of the charm of the film and I will say that at the end of the day the movies is enjoyable for what it is. A popcorn sci-fi flick with a very strong female lead.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

I searched all over, but I just couldn’t find out any real information on the cameras used for the 2.39:1 framed film. I can obviously tell it was shot for 3D in China and Korea, but other than that , the only other information I could find out was that it was supposedly finished in 2K for the home video releases. Either way, Reset has all the earmarks of a modern digitally shot film and looks quite pleasing to my eyes. The film is a bit soft for a good portion of the runtime, but it is usually quite revealing, with excellent facial details for Xia and Cui, and some fantastic color saturation levels. There is the usual “Asian” color grading which makes use of strong teal and yellow/green colors, but many outdoor shots are rather neutral in coloring. Black levels are strong and inky, with only minor banding (it’s a Well Go USA title, there’s BOUND to be some banding) to keep it from being digital artifact free.





Audio:

Well Go USA has been really good with putting excellent audio tracks on their new releases, and Reset comes to Blu-ray with a really nice sounding DTS:X track. The sci-fi and action elements of the movie really play to the strengths of the newer audio formats, giving us a wildly kinetic experience with great surround usage. The massive escape car chase with Xia and Doudouc being chased by Cui is one of the best examples of immersive dimensionality, but there are plenty of moments for the whole sound stage to be engaged, with time travel machines pulsating, guns firing, and bombs going off in the background. Vocals are crisp and well defined in the center of the room, and LFE is quite punchy and powerful throughout (if not a bit softer than I expected for the genre). The overheads get some nifty little nuances that make the track that much more exciting, with cargo crates crashing from above, or the falling down from a building making the listener feel like the whole building is coming down ON TOP of them.






Extras:

• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews for Well Go USA films

Final Score: ​

Reset is a fun film that does quite a bit with its simple concept. The film’s wild action and nonstop excitement is fueled by Director Yoon Hong-Seung’s brisk pacing, and the Chinese/Korean hybrid film is more than entertaining for sci-fi fans. The movie can get a bit bogged down with its own rules and time travel tropes, but it is a whole lot of fun (and ironically just primed for a Hollywood reboot as well considering how palatable it is for western audiences compared to many Asian flicks). Well Go USA gives us a great looking and sounding Blu-ray, but once again the only extras that we’re able to have are the paltry trailers on the disc. Still, well worth a good watch, in my opinion.





Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mi Yang, Wallace Huo, Shih-Chieh King
Directed by: Yoon Hong-Seung
Written by: Muchun Zha
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: DTS:X, Mandarin DD 2.0
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 106 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 6th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Solid Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will keep an eye out for this one and will try and catch it.