Signal: The Movie (Cold Case Investigation Unit) - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Signal: The Movie (Cold Case Investigation Unit)



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I’m going to have to admit that I made a boo boo with my preconceptions of the film going in. I embarrassingly thought that this was a movie continuation of the famous Korean TV show Signal. HOWEVER, it ended up being the movie continuation of the Japanese TV show that was an adaptation of said Korean TV show, whiiiiiiiich I didn’t see (unlike the Korean version). As such, I’m a bit at a disadvantage not having seen the Japanese show that this is obviously a made for movie on. However, not the end of the world as the beginning of the movie is one giant exposition dump of what has happened over the course of the series, but unceremoniously dropping you into the plot. A bit awkward if you haven’t seen the rest of the show, but not a HUGE problem if you pay attention.

The opening of the film sets up the premise about a cold case investigation officer named Lt. Kento Saegusa (Kentaro Sakaguchi) finds an old police walkie talkie in 2019 that actually connects to officer Takeshi Oyami (Kazuki Kitamura) who is back in 2009. Using the gaps in time and their own unique perspectives, the two solve cold cases together from 2019 in a much more comprehensive manner. A cool little time travel set piece, and one that worked incredibly well in South Korean show. Dropping you straight into the frying pan we learn that during the show Oyami was going to get killed, so another 2019 officer lets him know NOT to go to where his death will be, and the future gets changed forever.

Now, fast forward back to the present and Oyami and Saegusa have one of the most important cases of their careers to figure out. A government official dies in a car crash with his driver, only for the forensics team to discover that what was deemed a simple car crash was actually murder, with the official showing traces of a toxic gas in his system. Saegusa ends up contacting Oyami back in 2009, and finds out that a terrorist organization used that same toxin, but was eradicated in the past. Now it’s up to them to figure out who is using the old toxin in the present, and even more important when it’s uncovered that there is a mole in the 2019 police department who has been hiding information.

As I said, it’s not the end of the world, but not having seen the TV show this based off of, I had to do a let of research and watch the movie several times to grasp a lot of the nuances. Also, it’s pretty obvious that character connections and previous emotional attachments was at ground zero due to the same reason. As such, the movie is a fun sci-fi thriller, but it lacked enough emotional connection to be really effective. The reason for that is that the movie is such an extension of the show, that missing out on the show really hampers the enjoyment a lot. It’s basically a double length episode of the series and that means this is going to be targeted directly at an already established fan base.

I remember back in the 1980s and 1990s that a big reveal of a new song by a band was a HUGE thing. Like the kind of thing where people would watch a TV show, or a commercial just to check out the song. While it’s not the 1980s anymore, BTS is big enough of a name that this actually is still sort of the case. When the largest K-Pop band of all time announces that they’re unveiling a new song as the theme song of Signal, you can bet people across the globe were salivating to get a chance to watch the movie. I got a chuckle out of it as I know people in my anime and Asian cinema circles who had no previous experience with the Japanese show go and watch this film SIMPLY because of BTS and the song. I don’t know whether that makes me nostalgically old, or whether it’s just a new trend, but it really drew me back to my childhood where I would wait to stay up till past midnight to check the latest MTV drops during the late 80s.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Shout Factory’s 1.85:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray is pretty solid, with it’s main limitations being the shooting style that powers that be used. Like most Japanese movies, it’s a rather flat affair with a very digital look to it. It almost appears to have been shot at a higher frame rate with the way it handles motion, and while clarity and detail levels remain high, the colors are a bit dulled and monochromatic. Ambers and blue/grays are the highlights, with decent blacks. HOWEVER, I did notice grain spikes during darker shots, and a sort of milkiness to some of the darker scenes. Overall it’s a good encode, and a good image, just not a stellar one.











Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA Japanese track (only one onboard, sorry, no English dub) is a solid mix for a TV show movie. It’s a fairly dynamic with some of the action, and has crystal clear dialog. I’ve never been wild about how Japanese film capture their audio as they have a sort of raw and slightly harsh sound to them, but this one is pretty smooth and clean. Dialog is locked up front in the center, and while a BIT front heavy, still has good use of the surrounds. The LFE channel can be quite active during said action bits (the 1 hour and 1 minute mark strikes a good tone), but generally the mix doesn’t flex its muscles TOO much. Perfect? No. Checks off a lot of marks to be quite good? Yes.












Extras:

• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Signal: The Movie (Cold Case Investigation Unit) seems to be a solid retelling of the South Korean show, and a decent extension of the Japanese show from what I can tell. I felt a little left out in the cold due to not having watched the Japanese show, but I caught on quickly enough and the movie allows newbies to sort of absorb themselves into the pre-established universe well enough. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great too, although the only extra that Shout Factory was able to include was a single trailer. As such, I’d say that this release is geared directly for the fans, and that’s who I would recommend it too.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kentaro Sakaguchi, Kazuki Kitamura, Michiko Kichise
Directed by: Hajime Hashimoto
Written by: Kosuke Nishi
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: Japanese: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Japanese DD 2.0
Subtitles: English
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 122 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: March 15th, 2022

Recommendation: For the Fans