The Game Changer - Blu-ray Review

Michael Scott

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The Game Changer

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Movie: :3.5stars:
Video: :4.5stars:
Audio: :4.5stars:
Extras: :halfstar:
Final Score: :4stars:



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Movie

In the world of cinema, the roaring 20s and 30s are a time of much drinking, gambling and other such fun scenarios revolving around crime and the mobster world. However, most of that has been focused on the likes of Capone and his ilk in the U.S., and very little spent dealing with Asian crime lords and the rise of what would become the modern Triads. Back in 2007 Xixi Gao had remade the 1980s crime show The Bund into Shanghai Bund in which Xixi himself stepped in for Chow Yun Fat’s legendary character. There was a remake of the show in 1996, and now after many years, Xixi is back in the saddle and bringing the dramatic role to the big screen in feature film form. The story has changed quite a bit from the original show (as well as Xixi’s remake), but it has kept many of the same beats and basic plot points among the various changes the director has made to the original (and his own) work. As such, the film’s similarities to Chow Yun Fat’s original 1980s show is nothing more than superficial icing, as the game of “change what came before it” unfolds on screen.

Li Zihao (Peter Ho) is a prisoner of the Chinese government after being caught as a member of the underground “Blue Shirts”, which was a student run organization that protested the Japanese officials in Shanghai (and covertly assassinating them as well). When the Japanese strike back they use Shanghai mob boss Tang Hexuan (Wang Xueqi) to carry out the deed of executing the ringleaders and sending the rest off to prison. As Li is sent away for his life, he watches as his girlfriend Lan Ruoyun is taken away to be put to death. A year later the young man is able to escape prison when Tang Hexuan’s adoptive son (who is also in prison) Fang Jie (Huang Zitao) breaks out. It turns out that Fang is engaged to be married to Tangs biological daughter Qianqian (Gulzanar) and wants to introduce Li to his family. Luckily Li has changed enough to where Tang fails to recognize him as one of the Blue Shirts, and is able to infiltrate the mobsters organization.

To make matters even more interesting, his old girlfriend Lan is still alive, and Tang’s mistress. So with Qiangqian falling in love with him, Li has to navigate the waters of his childhood lover, a newfround adoptive brother in Fangi, AND the amorous glances of Tang’s daughter, all in the hopes of getting close enough to the aging mob boss to exact revenge for his participation in the Blue Shirt massacre over a year ago. And of course make it out in one piece if he possibly can.
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The Game Changer doesn’t exactly reinvent the gangster genre, but it does a good job of creating a good 1930s era film that is full of style and flair, complete with kung fu rambo scenes that border on the edge of being classic Chow Yun Fat gun-fu. Everything is about as standard as they come. Gangsters run around with Fedora’s and black coats. Cabaret girls sing in swanky liquor joints where shady back room deals go on. Backstabbing occurs as each side vies for the power of the top, and one man is always out for revenge on the sly. It’s all very typical and very cliched, but it works well enough with the style and flair that is provided. Fights are incredibly well done, and the film’s obvious 3D oriented shooting style makes for a glorious end fight scene as Li shots, stabs and kicks his way through Tang’s men in a bloody battle for vengeance. There’s some weak CGI and some bad green screen work, but other wise it’s a visually sumptuous film that just oozes style and panache.

The film describes itself on the cover as “a gangster film on steroids”, and that really is what the film represents. A Michael Bay version of a 1930s gangster film, complete with slow motion running action shots, bullets flying everywhere (I did love the vintage .45 caliber sub machine guns and the traditional G.I. 1911’s used throughout the movie), people leaping off of buildings and landing intact on the ground, and a ramboesque fight scene at the end that has Li hacking, slashing, shooting and tearing his way through paper mache bad guys like they’re tissue paper. It’s a gloriously fun adventure, but it does have some hang time in the middle with too many love triangles going on. But, when the final act kicks into high gear the action is plentiful, the gunfire bloody and brutal (though I thought the red blood mist for bullet impacts was a little bit overdone) and the ending satisfying.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video: :4.5stars:
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I said up above that The Game Changer was a visually sumptuous movie and I stand by that statement. Well Go USA brings the 2.39:1 film over to Blu-ray with fantastic results, showing off the luscious 1930s mansions, with gold trim and exquisitely clothed cabaret girls for pure eye candy. Details are startlingly revealing, with each fiber and hair on the actor’s faces distinctly visible (watch when Lan pulls Le onto the floor in a scuffle and you can see the camera looking down at him, every bit of peach fuzz and handslap marks visible on his face. It’s stunning). The exquisite costumes are intricate and intimately detailed, with curves and flowing fabric showing light and shadow reflecting off of them. Blood is a bit awkward as it looks a bit too cherry red, and the CGI blood splatter is a little annoying. Not to mention some mild banding in darker shots. Other that that, the period piece gangster film looks stunning on Blu-ray.






Audio: :4.5stars:
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There may not be an Atmos or 7.1 track on the kinetic gangster film, but the 5.1 mix is a fantastically immersive mix that gets right into the heart of the conflict. The 1930s flavored score is melodic and leaves you transfixed to the screen, while the thunderous LFE and wild use of surround channels during the copious combat sequences puts the listener right in the heart of the maelstrom. Vocals are crisp and clean, place up front in the center channel without any flaws or imperfections to my ears. Low end is deep and constant, with a fantastic array of directional shifting that is eerily discomforting at time. Bullets wiz over shoulders landing in the rear of the sound stage. Cars come out of nowhere and smash into the left side of the screen, and the hustle and bustle of Shanghai creates a nicely layered backdrop for the listener to get lost in.





Extras: :halfstar:
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• Trailers









Final Score: :4stars:


The Game Changer isn’t a perfect gangster film ala Goodfellas or Scarface in that it will be considered a legendary classic, but it is a fun and stylish Asian inspired gangster flick that entertains the audience with a bloody good time. The action is fun, the stunts well done, and the story engaging enough to tie together the copious fight scenes. It’s the epitome of a fun popcorn gangster film without aspiring to be anything more than what it is. Fun entertainment. Audio and video are nothing short of stunning, but once again extras are about as sparse as hairs on Bruce Willis’s noggin. Worth a good watch.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ja-Hyeon Chu, Peter Ho, Zitao Huang
Directed by: Xixi Gao
Written by: Xixi Gao
Aspect Ratio: 2.39.1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Mandarin DD 2.0
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 133 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 3rd, 2017







Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

tripplej

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Thanks for the review. I am going to check this one out.
 
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