Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio:
Theatrical: Leonard K.C. Ho
Blu-ray: Fortune Star (HK)
Disc:
Region: A
(as verified by the
Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)
Runtime: 2:01:25.278
Disc Size: 38,416,824,943 bytes
Feature Size: 36,331,493,376 bytes
Video Bitrate: 28.99 Mbps
Chapters: 20
Case: Standard Blu-ray case
Release date: December 12th, 2009
Video:
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio:
Dolby TrueHD Audio Chinese 2269 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2269
kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby TrueHD Audio Chinese 2254 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2254
kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital EX Audio Thai 640 kbps 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640
kbps
Subtitles:
English, Chinese, Thai, none
Extras:
• Interview with Stuntman Benny Lai – SD (15:42)
The Film:
7
Jackie Chan has appeared in numerous noteworthy movies, but
he seems to be in top form when playing policemen. In a
career filled with high points, the Police Story and Project
A series feature most of Chan’s greatest stunts and best
acting. This is true even of the recent New Police Story
(not connected to the other Police Story movies), which was
a return to form for Chan even though he is no longer able
to push his body to extreme limits. Chan is limited to
playing a goof in the Rush Hour series and Shanghai
Noon/Shanghai Knights, but he emotes mightily and credibly
as a dedicated member of the Royal Hong Kong Police.
Police Story was defined by Chan’s stunning leap onto a
light pole in the middle of a department store. That one
stunt is probably his greatest moment. With Police Story 2,
Chan tried to top the first movie’s department-store
showdown with a brawl in an abandoned factory. However,
since Chan has not yet found a way to top the light-pole
stunt, the action is simply on par with what we saw with
Police Story, though to be fair, the scale of destruction is
impressive.
The movie’s strength lies in the further development of Ka-kui
(Chan) and May’s (Maggie Cheung) relationship. Ka-kui is so
dedicated to his job and so daring/reckless that May feels
like an afterthought. Ka-kui and May nearly split, though
when the villains kidnap May, Ka-kui finally learns how much
she cares for him. Chan is at his best when his characters
are forced into impossible situations; the sense of
desperation and love that Chan and Cheung exhibit while
being tortured is what makes the action so exciting. Because
we genuinely care for characters that are simply trying to
make a relationship work--something that we all do on a
daily basis--we share Ka-kui and May’s commitment to each
other and to justice.
Excerpt ofYunda Eddie Feng's review from DVDBeaver located HERE
Image:
4/6
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were ripped directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
The first number indicates a relative level of excellence
compared to other Blu-ray video discs on a ten-point scale.
The second number places this image along the full range of
DVD and Blu-ray discs.
As noted in my review of the Blu-ray of Police Story,
Fortune Star released a freshly remastered Police Story
Trilogy for DVD in 2004. It arrived in a smartly crafted
box, with each movie housed in its own sleeve plus a nice
photo album – the sort of care and expense we see precious
little of on Blu-ray from any studio. As we can see from the
comparative screencaps, the Blu-ray for Police Story 2
appears to be drawn from the same source as Fortune Star's
2004 remastered DVD, but fares better than its predecessor.
Compared to that DVD differences are not great, but at least
they are consistent and in a positive direction. While
generally soft, sharpness and detail varies with the scene –
some seem shot with a fog filter, others are reasonably
crisp and clear, with less smoothing applied, especially to
faces. The color palette is on the pastel side with contrast
far less aggressive than we saw in the first movie. Gone is
the tendency to overbrighten scenes seen on the Blu-ray for
Police Story. Grain is present, but kept from overwhelming
the image without heaps of DNR. As with the original Police
Story on Blu-ray, where the DVD was too cyan/yellow, the
Blu-ray is too magenta. The same curious horizontal
compression of the image at the sides on the DVD, where
figures tend to narrow, is corrected to an extent on the
Blu-ray. It's still evident, however, in shots such as in
the locker room (see cap.) The bitrate is quite high, for
all the good it does. A grudgingly acceptable presentation.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
|
1)
Genius
Products/The Weinstein Company - Region 1 - NTSC -
TOP
2) Fortune Star (Police Story Series) -
Region 0 - NTSC -
MIDDLE
3)
Fortune Star (HK) Region A -
Blu-ray
- BOTTOM |
Audio & Music:
4/6
There are times when the DTS uncompressed 7.1 comes remotely
close to being worth the trouble, as when a caravan of
trucks lumber down the highway or when rain is drenching the
scene (as contrasted from when it is heard from under the
protection of a pavillion ceiling.) Then there are times
when the foley work is positively laughable, as when Chan
and his superior are walking across a hotel lobby and,
despite the visual presence of others, these guys are the
only ones whose footsteps we hear. The lack of
differentiation among body blows is a hallmark of this
generation of martial arts movies: there is nothing about
the Blu-ray that modifies this. Dialogue is clear enough,
though sounding as if under some pressure. The Dolby Digital
EX track, while closer to the original, has the misfortune
of lacking ambiance in some scenes to the point that the
added foley effects feel disconnected from the action.
Operations:
4
We might have hoped for better a revised English translation
for Fortune Star’s Blu-ray edition, but it still suffers
from occasional spelling and usage lapses – not nearly as
bad as the old, old days, but hardly as good as should or
can be.
Extras:
3
The HK Blu-ray for Police Story II includes an interview
with stuntman and actor Benny Lai. Lai talks about his
career as a martial artist, specializing in kicking and his
work with Jackie Chan's stunt team. Police Story II offered
Lai his first opportunity as a "visible" supporting
character, the deaf/mute pyromaniac. The feature is
presented in very good quality SD with alternating aspect
ratios.
Bottom line:
5
Fortune Star’s new Blu-ray is a modest step-up from their
remastered DVD of 2004. As compared to the original movie on
Blu-ray, Police Story II has fewer annoying technical
mishaps. If you already have the remastered DVD as part of
the Trilogy, I wouldn’t say the Blu-ray is worth the price
of an upgrade, but at least it is an upgrade.
Leonard Norwitz
January 2nd, 2010
