Shock Wave - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Shock Wave

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

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Movie

It’s been an Andy Lau kind of week it seems. First The Adventurers, then this one, and just as I’m getting ready to watching Shock Wave I get Well Go USA’s Chasing the Dragon to review as well! Not that I’m complaining, I really do love Andy Lau as an actor. It used to be a time when all America got was the Hong Kong action films out of China, like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, and Chow Yun Fat movies. Either that or period piece Chinese films if we wanted to see some dramatic acting. However, Andy Lau has been pumping out hundreds of movies from Hong Kong over the last 3 decades or so, and it’s only been recently that we’ve had a glut of his films. He seems to be the “go to guy” for serious acting and dramatic chops over there and he very rarely disappoints in his performances. Even if the film he’s in isn’t the greatest. Shock Wave is a capable action/drama about a bomb removal expert in a hostage situation, and while it doesn’t blaze any new ground, manages to be quite entertaining nonetheless.

Like many Asian films, there’s some continuity issues with Shock Wave, but what is clear is that an undercover EOD (explosives ordinance department) cop named Cheung (Andy Lau) has been working a case against a group of thieves for quite some time. In an explosive confrontation, Cheung blows his cover and helps arrest the brother of the main thief, along with several other of his associates. Sadly the master thief himself, Peng Hong (Wu Jiang) gets away in the chaos. After spending some time doing “normal” cop things, Cheung gets involved with a beautiful young teacher named Carmen Li (Jia Song) and is even given a commendation for all of his hard work. However, things can not go along this peaceful forever, as a series of bomb threats seems to lead back to one man, Peng Hong himself. Before they can apprehend the master bomb maker and thief, Peng Hong breaks his brother out and traps himself in the center of a Hong Kong’s giant under ground transportation tunnel system and sets up a hostage situation.

Called into action once more, Cheung and his crew of Hong Kong police try and figure a way out for the hostages, as well as a way to catch Peng Hong as well. Peng has barricaded himself in there, and there seems to be no way out, but he’s also wired the whole tunnel to blow if anyone make any sudden moves. Unbeknownst to Cheung and the rest of the Hong Kong police force, Peng Hong has made a business deal with the owner of the tunnel and set up an entire escape method that may leave everyone high and dry.

Andy Lau is probably one of the hardest working men in Hong Kong cinema. The man is a machine, pumping out no less that 3-5 movies per YEAR over in Asia. That’s more than most actors do in 2 years, and Andy is no spring chicken either. He’s in his mid 50s doing stuff that most young actors shy away from doing, and would rather have their stunt men do. Instead, Andy continues to be a beast with his highly physical acting style, and that’s what makes him so intoxicating to watch. He puts his whole heart and soul into his job sand no matter the direction of the film, continues to be the highlight of them. Shock Wave is not what I would call an inventive film. It’s your typical hostage situation film with very few plot reveals that would shock any veteran thriller fan. However, Andy Lau stands out as the best part of it, and for good reason. He’s so likable and tough at the same time and even though the action is predictable (but pretty fun), he makes the film seem so much better than it really is.

As I said, there’s nothing INVENTIVE about the movie, but in typical Hong Kong fashion, it’s a boat load of fun. I was initially envisioning a sort of Daylight scenario (Sylvester Stallone flick), where Andy’s character would be caught under the tunnel the whole time, but it’s really the criminals who stay down there. The first 1/3rd of the film is spent above ground, and even when Peng Hong and his thugs take over the tunnel, Andy and his crew spend most of their time outside trying to penetrate his barrier of hostages. The final fight scene sends us directly underground and speeds up the action dramatically, giving us your standard fare action gun battles that we’ve all come to know and love from Hong Kong cinema.





Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Shock Wave was shot using Red Epic cameras and then finished with a 2K resolution master for the home video release, and the results are quite amazing. The digitally shot film is razor sharp with a slightly stylized look that uses a lot of amber and some mild teal grading in indoor shots. Besides that light color grading, Cinedigm’s 2.35:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray is sharp as a tack. Facial details are startlingly revealing, especially when Andy Lau’s character is trying to defuse the bomb in the middle of the courtyard. Individual lines and creases on the police uniforms are visible to the naked eye, and the black levels are deep and inky. Underground in the Hong Kong tunnel we can see quite clearly, despite dim lighting and lots of shadows dominating the screen. Overall clarity is excellent, though we see some mild crush here and there with minute amounts of banding in the tunnel.






Audio:

The Blu-ray comes with 2 Chinese audio tracks, one in the original Cantonese, and one in Mandaring (both DTS-HD MA 5.1). Comparing both side by side I can’t detect any real sonic differences, but I definitely prefer the original Cantonese dialog as the guy dubbing Andy Lau in the Mandarin is decidedly “off” considering how many movies I’ve seen with Lau’s original voice in it. The track is aggressive and powerful, allowing the energetic score and the heavy LFE of the explosions and car crashes to create a visceral and intense experience. Dialog is well placed in the center channel, and the surround channels are given quite a workout with all of the activity. There are some more dialog centric portions of the film that are a bit front heavy, but this is an action track to the core and a well designed one at that.





Extras:

• Making Of
• Trailer

Final Score: ​

It’s another day in the life of Andy Lau, and frankly a very decent one at that. Lau is one of my favorite Chinese actors, and a really good one at that. His films rarely ever disappoint, at least they never seem to have HIM to blame for any shortcomings found within. Shock Wave is an entertaining little thriller, with plenty of action, some light humor and lots of explosive effects for good measure. Cinedigm’s Blu-ray is technically amazing (minus some very sparse extras) and the price is just right for a purchase, in my opinion. Worth it as a fun watch for Hong Kong thrillers.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Andy Lau, Wu Jiang, Jia Song
Directed by: Herman Yau
Written by: Erica Lee, Herman Yau
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Cantonese DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Cinedigm
Rated: NR
Runtime: 119 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: January 2nd, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never heard of this one.. Will keep an eye out for this one.