Sky on Fire - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Sky on Fire


​

• 

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

​

Movie
Ringo Lam was once a giant in the world of Hong Kong cinema. He directed everyone from Jackie Chan, to Van Damme, to Chow Yun Fat himself, and his biggest claim to fame is probably the 1986 film named City on Fire. A film that starred a rising legend with Chow Yun Fat, and was a hart hitting action movie with just the right amount of dumb action and gritty thriller to make a fantastically engaging film. Even though they have no correlation, Ringo Lam has kind of a thing with films that end with On Fire, as he directed Prison on Fire, School on Fire, and now Sky on Fire as well. Sky on Fire is one of the better efforts from the action director in quite some time, and harkens back to a time when Hong Kong dominated the action landscape, giving us just a taste of that classic feel of City on Fire.

The medical world is a big hotspot right now for a lot of people. Ringo Lam has decided to go that way with his latest action/thriller, setting a medication that could cure cancer as the item that the big, evil corporations are trying to keep out of the hands of the lower class. Much like a Hong Kong film I reviewed a few months back call Three we have a good guy, a sick person, and the evil scumbag all coming together for a good old-fashioned tale of greed and revenge.

Sky on Fire’s first half is kind of an effort in patience. A lot of the scenes are just slapped in there and we’re just expected to catch on to the nuances of what is going on as the film unfolds. We have a giant pharmaceutical company named Sky One operating out of a GIANT skyscraper on an Island outside of Hong Kong, a brother and sister pair (with the sister suffering from some sort of late stage cancer), and office fire that scars one of the survivors for life, a big scheme to get rich off of the new cancer medication Sky One has formulated, and a daring heist to steal said medication from Sky One. And this is all in the first 30 minutes. Ringo Lam’s formula seems to just show all of these vignettes and let the viewer figure it out on their own (which we do, MOSTLY), before deviating into the second half of the film.

Basic idea. A group of “rebels” have stolen the Ex-Stem cells used to create the cancer cure and are trying to replicate it on their own because Sky One is just hiding the research to increase their wealth. The brother and sister duo are caught in the middle, seeing the heist going on, and using the situation to their advantage so the sister can have her cancer cured. At the same time we find out that the head security officer of Sky One is having second thoughts about his boss and the situation he finds himself in. It’s only a matter of time before he joins forces with the thieves (and the two siblings) in order to get the drug, and take their revenge on Sky One.

There is multiple sub plots of romance, friendship and evil betrayal, but it all focuses in on one giant effort to make sure that Sky One doesn’t squash the medical breakthrough of the century for pure profit. The first half of the film is a bit slow paced, but you get the hang of it quickly. By the time the second half rolls around, Ringo Lam decides to change up the pace and turns it into a Bourne style action movie, with martial arts, guns, knives, explosions, and long chase scenes that run us through the crowded city.

The plot for the film is just a BIT overstuffed if you ask me. An hour and forty minute film with over 5 different sub plots, and the different interactions that the people have with those subplots makes me wonder just a bit. There are times when you start to rewind and say “hey, what happened with that character over here?”, and I feel that the film could have trimmed a few of those subplots and still maintained a healthy amount of material to put into the film. Lam does a good job making Sky on Fire feel like a much older film, harkening back to those old criminal heist movies of the 80s and 90s, with some really nice action scenes too. I won’t say that Daniel Wu is a perfect replacement for Chow Yun Fat, but the action set pieces are well choreographed, and the characters are interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Well Go USA gives us an incredible looking 2.39:1 framed Blu-ray to enjoy today. The film was obviously filmed digitally (supposedly with Red cameras) the film looks very clean and precise, with very sharp details and incredibly amount of clarity despite the heavy color grading. The movie employs what I jokingly call the “Asian Grey” look, with a blue and grey tinge to the settings. The outdoor daylight sequences show the most visual clarity, with natural colors and whites that border on the edge of blooming. Still, contrast is well balanced, and skin tones show a natural hue to the them. Black levels are usually deep and inky, with one small caveat that keeps the image score from being a 5/5 rating. Banding. Banding will come and go throughout the movie, but usually only really noticeable in 3-4 main shots (and when they’re noticeable, they’re NOTICEABLE). Without those few instances of banding (especially near the end) the film would have gotten a perfect score.





Audio:

The Mandarin 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is just as stunning as the video, immersing us in the world of Sky on Fire with an active mix that doesn’t let up until the end. There’s an array of effects that come and go throughout the film, ranging in detail from the background noises of a busy city, to Glock 18 automatic gunfire, to the rumbling of a giant skyscraper toppling to the floor. The LFE is nice and deep, but never becomes over bloated or thunderous like so many modern action flicks. Gunshots show heft without sounding like a howitzer blast, and the screech of tires on the pavement is replicated with perfect clarity. Dialog is strong and well centered in the center channel, and the fairly wide dynamic range allows from some big “jump out of the chair” moments.






Extras:

• Trailer

Final Score: ​

Sky on Fire probably could have benefited from a more tightly woven first act, but once the action gets going the film is more than entertaining enough, despite the loose structure that was present for the first 45 minutes. Action is fun, the special effects are good (except for some dodgy CGI with the fires and the building coming down), the martial arts scenes are a blast. It’s not Ringo’s best work, but it’s a close return to form for the legendary Hong Kong director. Well Go USA’s Blu-ray presentation is simply fantastic (except almost no extras). Definitely worth a fun rental.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Hsiao-chuan Chang, Andrew Dasz, Amber Kuo
Directed by: Ringo Lam
Written by: Ringo Lam
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Mandarin DD 2.0
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 99 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 6th, 2017

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Decent Watch

 

[Todd Anderson]

Nice write up Mike... for some reason this slipped under my radar on its commercial release. I'm curious tho...

 

[Michael Scott]

It's a fun action movie that kind of hails back to the 1990s and 1980s a bit. Definitely has it's flaws, but a fun watch if you like Honk Kong action/thrillers