Spiritwalker - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Spiritwalker



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. South Korea is fast becoming the Hong Kong of modern Asian films. Hong Kong was once revered as THE place to go for Asian films outside of Hollywood, but has since faded out in favor of mainland Chinese films (which suffer from a vast array of issues stemming heavily from government interference, to simple lack of vision). However, the last decade has really seen South Korea step up as the go to place for excellent Asian cinema, and their action genres are really rather robust and entertaining. Also, I’m a big fan of Quantum Leap, so when I read the press release for Spiritwalker I was anxious to check it out.

The film opens up with an amnesiac trying to figure out how he got shot. However, before he can figure out just what happened to him, he’s jolted into the body of another person. Shocked, wondering what’s going on, he comes to realize that he’s basically jumping from body to body every 12 hours or so (albeit without the time travel element of Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap). Known as Kang I-an (Yoon Kye-Sang, who appears as himself for a vast majority of the film, until he looks into the mirror and realizes he’s in another body), the film attempts to walk us backward through the series of events, looking for clues on who he is, and why this is happening to him.

The film dances a fine line between comedy and action, while never delving into the truly slapstick. There’s a lot of “gotcha!” moments in a new body that get played for laughs (such as the Abbot and Costello version of “Who’s on First?” with the homeless guy). The action trailer sets the movie up for thrilling chases, tons of hand to hand combat, and non stop action, but that trailer kind of hides the whole body jumping facet of the film and is almost a red herring. Sure, a lot of action does show up later on, but this is a body jumping drama (with some comedy) that has some action in it, and it was actually kind of funny to go through the extras and watch the trailer post film and just LAUGH wondering how many people that trailer tricked.

I actually enjoyed Spiritwalker despite the misleading Action trailer, and thought it was a fun drama with some mild caveats. I guess it’s already slated for an English remake (which will most likely be bigger and more over the top), but weirdness and clashing genres of films aside, will probably still be best in it’s native form. A fun, but awkward, movie that felt right at home for fans of Quantum Leap and Scott Bakula’s witty humor as I am.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

The digitally shot 2.39:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray looks stunning on home video. Shot with that sort of blue/gray filter that Asian cinema loves so very much, it looks crisp, clean and devoid of any major artifacts outside of the typical Well Go USA banding issues. I couldn’t find any confirmation over what cameras were used (even the credits or my other critic contacts had no idea), but I’ll guess that it was most LIKELY an Arri Alexa shot film with your typical 2K master (if I’m wrong and you have sources, please let me know as I’d love to update my hypothesis). Yellow hues peak into the picture when we have electrically lit scenes, and fine details are usually resplendent. Sometimes there is a splash of black crush (such as when conversing with the homeless guy), but otherwise this is an artifact free film with great visual highlights.







Audio:

We get both a Korean AND an English dub for the film in DTS-HD MA and 2.0 Dolby Digital, but naturally I found the Korean track to feel more natural to me. Dialog is crisp and clean, and the track has a rather kinetic sense of energy that pulsates with a nice score, as well as interspersed with bursts of heavy action that pops the surrounds and bass channels. The opening few minutes where he switches bodies for the first time in the coffee shop is quite bombastic as things change and shift around him, and the gunfire really adds some weight to the mix. Great 5.1 track, with very little negative to say about it outside the fact that some of the more dramatic moments tend to be quieter and more subdued (like you would expect).












Extras:

• Behind the Scenes
• Action Trailer
• Trailer

Final Score: ​

Spiritwalker is an interesting dichotomy of a film. The trailers are a bit deceiving, the title makes it seem like a big supernatural film, while the movie itself is a bizarre mix if comedy, drama, and action. Chewing through the film again, I have to say it’s perfectly bizarre, yet strangely normal at the same time. A fun little sci-fi/action/drama romp with a good Blu-ray presentation. Fun Watch will by my recommendation.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Yoon Kyesang, Ji-Yeon Lim, Yong-woo Park,Gi-jun Hong
Directed by: Jae-geun Yoon
Written by: Jae-geun Yoon
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Korean DTS-HD MA 5.1, English, Korean DD 2.0
Subtitles: English
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 108 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: April 12th, 2022

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never heard of this movie but now, I am interested. Will check it out.