The Treasure Hunter (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

If you watched filmmaker Yen-ping Chu and Jay Chou’s first collaboration in the 2008 film “Kung-Fu Dunk”, it doesn’t get any better with “The Treasure Hunter”.  Visually, it’s a pleasing popcorn action film but as far as its story goes, unfortunately it’s confusing and not that good. 

Images courtesy of © 2011 FUNimation Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Treasure Hunter (Ci Ling)

FILM RELEASE: 2009

DURATION: 105 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Dolby True HD Mandarin and English 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Eleven Arts/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: November 15, 2011

Directed by Yen-ping Chu

Produced by Yang Du

Music by Ricky Ho

Starring:

Jay Chou as Qiao Fei

Chilling Lin as Lan Ting

Eric Tsang as Pork Chop

Daoming Chen as Master Hua

Chu-he Chen as Desert Eagle

Will Liu as Friday

Pu Miao as Swords Thirteen

Ian Powers as Russian Smuler

Kenneth Tsang as Tu Lao-dai

Qiaofei (Jay Chou) is a relic expert with a gritty past. When his mentor’s daughter is held hostage over a map with a deadly history, the rugged warrior whips into action! Chaos erupts as he swoops in to the rescue and scours the sands for legendary riches buried deep in China’s northwest desert. Chased down by the shadowy Sandstorm Legion and challenged by countless greedy, bloodthirsty foes, Qiaofei faces danger at every turn to find the tomb – but some treasures aren’t meant to be found.

Jay Chou is a talented, chart-topping singer/musician from Taiwan.

Known in America for his role as Kato in the 2011 film “The Green Hornet”, most of Jay Chou’s previous films were films that I guess many people can call them “growth” films.  A musician turned actor who grows with each film.  Beginning with his starring role in “Initial D”, starring with two powerhouse talent in “Curse of the Golden Flower” with Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li but to create more “growth” films with “Kung Fu Dunk” (2008), followed by “The Treasure Hunter” (2009).

And now, “The Treasure Hunter” receives its Blu-ray and DVD release in America courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment.

The film begins with a tale of two men who fight on the dunes.  While one will win the title of “Desert Eagle”, the other would lose and never come back.

We then learn about how many have searched for hidden treasure in the dunes but many have literally been unsuccessful.

For Lan Ting (played by actress Lin Chi-ling), her father is a well known archaeologist/treasure hunter searching for the treasure.   But not more to steal it, but to make sure no one takes it.  As Qiao Fei (played by Jay Chou) works for Lan Ting’s father, his goal is to find treasure and return it back to their respective owners.

Qiao Fei is a man who has excellent martial arts fighting skills but he is also a man of mystery.

During one inspection of stolen treasure, Qiao Fei takes on a supernatural knight who rematerialized after he rings a bell (which he was told not to do).  But during the inspection, he discovers a map, the map that would lead people to the lost treasure in the dunes.  A map that must be protected at all cost.

But for Lan Ting, she has nothing but ill feelings towards her father because he has chosen his career and dedicated his life to finding the treasure in the dunes than being there for his family.

One day, Lan Ting’s father asks Qiao Fei to talk to his daughter about coming to visit him for dinner and we quickly learn that both Lan Ting and Qiao Fei have this not-so-kind relationship but he is the middleman to both as he tells them what both are up to.

Meanwhile, as Lan Ting decides whether or not to visit her father, he is visited by the notorious crime group known as “The Company” who are looking for the map.  Meanwhile, another group led by Pork Chop (played by Eric Tsang) kidnaps Lan Ting in order to blackmail her father in giving the map to them.  And to assist them in finding the treasure area, a man named Master Hua Ding Bang (played by Chen Daoming), who was the sole surviving member of an expedition crew that last searched for the treasure will be joining them.

Because Lan Ting was kidnapped, Qiao Fei is forced to give the map to Pork Chop’s crew but to give her the bad news that her father has been killed.  Pork Chop is shocked and tells them that they have nothing to do with it as they just kidnapped the daughter.

But immediately, a man from nowhere comes and steals the map which leads to a battle between Qiao Fei and the assailant.  Meanwhile, out of nowhere, a child steals the map and brings it to his mysterious boss in the desert.

Having to face all sorts of dangers in the dunes, now the treasure hunter Qiao Fei, along with Lan Ting (with Pork Chop crew not far behind) must find the map before anyone steals the treasure.

VIDEO:

“The Treasure Hunter” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1).  The picture quality is quite warm and sports plenty of detail during the daytime, cooler colors during the night time.  Detail is very well-done as we can see the detail around the treasure relics, to the detail of the cool special effects featured in the film.  Black levels are deep and overall, picture quality for the film is very good.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Treasure Hunter” is presented in Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Mandarin and English.  I was surprised that this film was only a 2.0 mix but for the most part, the front channels definitely get a lot of work in showcasing the many sound effects during the intense action sequences of the film.  From windstorms, to shrieks by possessed characters and more!

It’s important to note that I did not listen to the English dub track as I prefer to watch Asian films in their original language.  With that being said, despite not liking English dialogue for Asian cinema, FUNimation Entertainment is well-known for their English dubs and doing a great work with them, so if you prefer English dubs instead of reading English subtitles, you do have that option.

SPECIAL FEATURES

“The Treasure Hunter” comes with the following special feature:

• Original Trailer – (2:08) Original theatrical trailer for “The Treasure Hunter”.

EXTRAS:

“The Treasure Hunter” comes with a slipcover case.

Another collaboration between Taiwan filmmaker Chu Yen-ping (“The King of Comics”, “Kung Fu Dunk”) and music artist/actor Jay Chou plus popular Hong Kong action choreographer Ching Siu-tung (“A Chinese Ghost Story” and “Swordsman” films), “The Treasure Hunter” was an interesting action film that tried to incorporate too much.

First, as mentioned earlier, this is a “growth” film for Jay Chou.  As a singer, he wanted to improve his acting, so he did a few popcorn action films, one was “Kung Fu Dunk” and the other was this film “The Treasure Hunter”.  Needless to say, these two films are not the best, and while they are both flashy in different ways, they are primarily popcorn action films with a popular singer as the main star.

And while these two Chu Yen-ping films are good starting blocks for Jay Chou’s acting and are literally stylish action films, while “Kung Fu Dunk” tried to capture the feel of “Shaolin Soccer” (which it failed to accomplish), “The Treasure Hunter” tries to be a martial arts Indiana Jones-style film with more plot holes than holes in Swiss cheese.

One thing that we know of the film is that Jay Chou plays a treasure hunter that returns the treasure back to their owners.  We know there is sexual attraction between treasure hunter Qiao Fei and his mentor’s daughter Lan Ting.

The problem of the film is that it introduces a lot of things to the film that make no sense.  From the hoard of attacking warriors on the dune and they happen to be stuck inside a diner, its reminiscent of the American film “Legion” but what is their purpose, we don’t know.  It seems that the film tried to incorporate one large action chase scene for action-sake, with nothing impacting the storyline.

Before the attack by the dune warriors, we see a soldier attacking Qiao Fei, but what is his purpose in the film?  Why even give this non-essential character a closeup.

And then all of a sudden, the film tries to become a zombie/vampire like film when Pork Chop’s employees start eating flowers that have grown from a dead corpse, thus making him to a zombie with super abilities.

And while it was one thing to introduce these supernatural beasts or whatever they are, we are introduced to a storyline that revolves around a woman named Dao-Dao and the Desert Eagle, which plays an impact to the story in the beginning and about Qiao Fei’s past.  But the brief interaction with Desert Eagle is so short that you wonder why the writer chose to introduce it to the storyline.

Unfortunately, as much as the film does look cool in terms of its warm colorized look and the visual effects, especially the fight choreography, the film was disappointing.

And what makes it even worse is that the film that Yen-ping Chu and Jay Chou did before this, was also the same.  Full of style, cool fight choreography but a storyline that tried to add to much but got nowhere.

The Blu-ray release is also “OK”.  While the picture quality is very good, we are only given a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 soundtrack (Mandarin and in English) and for special features, just a single trailer.

Needless to say, Jay Chou fans are going to watch this film because it features Jay Chou.  But the film didn’t do well in Taiwan and was a box office failure.  But since Jay Chou has become internationally well-known because of his work on “The Green Hornet”, the collaboration between him and Yen-ping Chu for their second film together is another mess.

It’s unfortunate because I respect Jay Chou as a fan of his music and I have been supportive of his growth as an actor, even when he first starred in “Initial D”, but his two films with Yen-ping Chu may give him that acting experience but unfortunately they are bad films.  Again, these films were made before “The Green Hornet”, so hopefully, he gets better film roles to star in.

“The Treasure Hunter” is more eye-candy and a popcorn action-film with an anemic, kitschy storyline that is too confusing to be any good.

FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES THE TREASURE HUNTER

Flower Mound, Texas (April 22, 2010) – FUNimation® Entertainment today announced it has acquired home entertainment, digital and merchandising rights to the live action film THE TREASURE HUNTER from Eleven Arts Entertainment.

Starring Jay Chou (GREEN HORNET) and supermodel Lin Chi-ling, THE TREASURE HUNTER (also known as CI LING) is directed by Kevin Chu (KUNG FU DUNK). The chinese blockbuster opened in Asia in late 2009 and set box office records its first week of release.

In the northwest desert, there is rumour of a buried treasure of unbelievable riches. A group of mysterious guardians have kept the map to the location of the treasure safe, until a fierce rivalry erupts. A notorious international crime group is after the map but before they manage to take it the keeper passes the map to a young man: Ciao Fei (Jay Chou). Ciao Fei is forced to give up the map to save the live of his mentor’s daughter Lan Ting (Lin Chi Ling). Teaming up with a famous archaeologist, they all embark on a dangerous journey to recover the map and fight to protect the ancient treasure.

The dusty landscape of THE TREASURE HUNTER is captured by renowned cinematographer Xiao-Ding Zhao (HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS).

Eleven Arts will release the film in theaters in late summer 2011 and FUNimation Entertainment will release the film on DVD and Blu-ray in the fall.

About FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation® Entertainment is the leading company for Japanese animation in the United States. FUNimation is known for acquiring top-rated anime series from Japan and for being the market share leader for home video sales of anime in the United States. The company has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution.

The Green Hornet Get Justice May 3, 2011, on 3-Disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray & DVD

Culver City, CA (3/7/11) – Justice has a new name, a kick-ass sidekick and no tights in the exciting new action comedy THE GREEN HORNET, available on 3-disc Blu-ray 3D™ Combo Pack, Blu-ray and DVD May 3, 2011, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express) stars as a self-made superhero in this high-octane buddy action/adventure co-starring Asian pop superstar Jay Chou (Curse of the Golden Flower), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), Oscar® Winner Christoph Waltz (Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Inglourious Basterds, 2009) and Cameron Diaz (upcoming Bad Teacher). Oscar® winning director Michel Gondry (Best Writing, Original Screenplay for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004 – shared with Charlie Kaufman and Pierre Bismuth) brings his unique, cutting-edge visual style to this slick updating of the classic adventures of the masked vigilante “The Green Hornet” and his industrious sidekick “Kato.” Packed with irreverent humor and “explosive action” (Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News), THE GREEN HORNET is the superhero hit moviegoers have been buzzing about all winter. Now, action fans can catch the excitement on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD, featuring eye-popping picture and sound, plus the latest in high-tech bonus features!

THE GREEN HORNET will be available in a 3-disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack which will include the Blu-ray 3D, a 2D Blu-ray and a DVD of the film.  Exclusively available on THE GREEN HORNET 3D Blu-ray is the unique 3D Animated Storyboard Comparisons.  The storyboard is a crucial stage in planning the shots of an intricate action scene.  This feature presents the original storyboards for a scene in direct comparison (and contrast) to the final film.  The storyboards have been brought to life with animated movement and rendered in 3D to take advantage of today’s state-of-the-art home viewing systems.

Blu-ray bonus features include The Green Hornet Cutting Room Floor game, which allows viewers to edit their very own car chase scene, Filmmakers’ Commentary, Deleted Scenes, “Awesoom” -Gag Reel and the making-of featurettes “Trust Me”-Director Michel Gondry, Writing The Green Hornet and The Black Beauty: Rebirth of Cool, The Stunt Family Armstrong, Finding Kato and The Art of Destruction, Easter Eggs “Jay Chou Audition” and “Double Barrel,” movieIQ.

THE GREEN HORNET will be priced to own at $49.95 SRP (Blu-ray 3D), $34.95 SRP (BD) and $28.95 SRP (DVD).

Synopsis
Britt Reid (Rogen) is the son of LA’s most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to maintain a directionless existence on the party scene – until his father (Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more industrious and inventive employees, Kato (Chou), they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime. But in order to do this, they decide to become criminals themselves – protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets.

Using all his ingenuity and skill, Kato builds the ultimate in advanced retro weaponry, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car equal parts firepower and horsepower. Rolling in a mobile fortress on wheels and striking the bad guys with Kato’s clever gadgets, The Green Hornet and Kato quickly start making a name for themselves, and with the help of Britt’s new secretary, Lenore Case (Diaz), they begin hunting down the man who controls LA’s gritty underworld: Benjamin Chudnofsky (Waltz). But Chudnofsky has plans of his own: to swat down The Green Hornet once and for all.

THE GREEN HORNET was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Pineapple Express, Superbad) and produced by Neal H. Moritz (S.W.A.T., xXx). Executive producers are Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Michael Grillo (The Uninvited, The Peacemaker), Ori Marmur (Battle: Los Angeles, The Bounty Hunter) and George W. Trendle, Jr. (TV’s “The Green Hornet,” “The Lone Ranger”). The cast also includes David Harbour (Quantum of Solace, Revolutionary Road) and Edward James Olmos (TV’s “Battlestar Galactica,” Stand and Deliver). It was distributed by Columbia Pictures and has a run time of approximately 119 minutes. It has been rated PG-13 for sequences of violent action, language, sensuality and drug content.

3-Disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack Bonus Material
Disc 1 (Blu-ray):
·         Feature Film in 3D
·         3D Animated Storyboard Comparisons (exclusive to the 3D Blu-ray)
·         Filmmakers’ Commentary

Disc 2 (Blu-ray):
·         Feature Film in 2D
·         The Green Hornet Cutting Room (exclusive to the Blu-ray)
·         Deleted Scenes
·         “Awesoom” -Gag Reel

Culver City, CA (3/7/11) – Justice has a new name, a kick-ass sidekick and no tights in the exciting new action comedy THE GREEN HORNET, available on 3-disc Blu-ray 3D™ Combo Pack, Blu-ray and DVD May 3, 2011, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express) stars as a self-made superhero in this high-octane buddy action/adventure co-starring Asian pop superstar Jay Chou (Curse of the Golden Flower), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), Oscar® Winner Christoph Waltz (Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Inglourious Basterds, 2009) and Cameron Diaz (upcoming Bad Teacher). Oscar® winning director Michel Gondry (Best Writing, Original Screenplay for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004 – shared with Charlie Kaufman and Pierre Bismuth) brings his unique, cutting-edge visual style to this slick updating of the classic adventures of the masked vigilante “The Green Hornet” and his industrious sidekick “Kato.” Packed with irreverent humor and “explosive action” (Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News), THE GREEN HORNET is the superhero hit moviegoers have been buzzing about all winter. Now, action fans can catch the excitement on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD, featuring eye-popping picture and sound, plus the latest in high-tech bonus features!

THE GREEN HORNET will be available in a 3-disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack which will include the Blu-ray 3D, a 2D Blu-ray and a DVD of the film.  Exclusively available on THE GREEN HORNET 3D Blu-ray is the unique 3D Animated Storyboard Comparisons.  The storyboard is a crucial stage in planning the shots of an intricate action scene.  This feature presents the original storyboards for a scene in direct comparison (and contrast) to the final film.  The storyboards have been brought to life with animated movement and rendered in 3D to take advantage of today’s state-of-the-art home viewing systems.

Blu-ray bonus features include The Green Hornet Cutting Room Floor game, which allows viewers to edit their very own car chase scene, Filmmakers’ Commentary, Deleted Scenes, “Awesoom” -Gag Reel and the making-of featurettes “Trust Me”-Director Michel Gondry, Writing The Green Hornet and The Black Beauty: Rebirth of Cool, The Stunt Family Armstrong, Finding Kato and The Art of Destruction, Easter Eggs “Jay Chou Audition” and “Double Barrel,” movieIQ.

THE GREEN HORNET will be priced to own at $49.95 SRP (Blu-ray 3D), $34.95 SRP (BD) and $28.95 SRP (DVD).

Synopsis
Britt Reid (Rogen) is the son of LA’s most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to maintain a directionless existence on the party scene – until his father (Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more industrious and inventive employees, Kato (Chou), they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime. But in order to do this, they decide to become criminals themselves – protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets.

Using all his ingenuity and skill, Kato builds the ultimate in advanced retro weaponry, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car equal parts firepower and horsepower. Rolling in a mobile fortress on wheels and striking the bad guys with Kato’s clever gadgets, The Green Hornet and Kato quickly start making a name for themselves, and with the help of Britt’s new secretary, Lenore Case (Diaz), they begin hunting down the man who controls LA’s gritty underworld: Benjamin Chudnofsky (Waltz). But Chudnofsky has plans of his own: to swat down The Green Hornet once and for all.

THE GREEN HORNET was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Pineapple Express, Superbad) and produced by Neal H. Moritz (S.W.A.T., xXx). Executive producers are Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Michael Grillo (The Uninvited, The Peacemaker), Ori Marmur (Battle: Los Angeles, The Bounty Hunter) and George W. Trendle, Jr. (TV’s “The Green Hornet,” “The Lone Ranger”). The cast also includes David Harbour (Quantum of Solace, Revolutionary Road) and Edward James Olmos (TV’s “Battlestar Galactica,” Stand and Deliver). It was distributed by Columbia Pictures and has a run time of approximately 119 minutes. It has been rated PG-13 for sequences of violent action, language, sensuality and drug content.

3-Disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack Bonus Material
Disc 1 (Blu-ray):
·         Feature Film in 3D
·         3D Animated Storyboard Comparisons (exclusive to the 3D Blu-ray)
·         Filmmakers’ Commentary

Disc 2 (Blu-ray):
·         Feature Film in 2D
·         The Green Hornet Cutting Room (exclusive to the Blu-ray)
·         Deleted Scenes
·         “Awesoom” -Gag Reel

Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz and Jay Chou promote “The Green Hornet” in Madrid

Actor Seth Rogen, actress Cameron Diaz and actor Jay Chou attend The Green Hornet photocall at Villamagna Hotel on December 2, 2010 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.

Kung Fu Dunk (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Unless you are a big fan of the various pop stars in “Kung Fu Dunk”, the film suffers from a weak plot and bad utilization of its characters.

Image © 2008 Emperor Motion Picture (International Ltd).  2009 Showbox Media Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Kung Fu Dunk

DURATION: 99 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Dolby Digital Chinese 2.0 Mandarin, Chinese 5.1 Mandarin & English 5.1, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Showbox/Cine Asia

RATED: Suitable only for people 15 years and over (Contains moderate martial arts violence and bloody injury)

RELEASE DATE: July 13, 2008

Directed by Kevin Chu

Action Director: Tony Ching Siu-Tung

Written by Kevin Chu, Lam Chu-Wing, Anne Wang

Executive Producer: Albert Yeung, Wu Tun, Ren Zhonglun

Producers: Albert Lee, Xu Pengle, Fargo Pi

Associate Producers: Wang Tianyun, Wade C. Yaho, Jennifer Chang, Catherine Fu

Director of Photography: Zhao Xiaoding

Edited by Chen Po-Wen

Music by Ko Ishikawa

Costume Designer: Shirley Chan

Production Designer: Yee Chung-Man

Starring:

Jay Chou as Fang Shijie

Eric Tsang as Zhen Li (Uncle)

Gang Wang

Charlene Choi as Lily

Wilson Chen as Ting Wei

Baron Chen as Xiao Lan

Wang Gang as Wang Biao

Will Liu as Li Tian

Ng Man Tat as Master Wu

Bryan Leung as Master Fei

Eddy Ko as Shi Jie’s Master

Kenneth Tsang as Wang Yi Wan

Yen-ping Chu

Orphaned from birth, Jay is raised in a martial arts school, and becomes a prodigious master in the ancient art of Kung Fu. When he is expelled for overshadowing his teachers in an epic showdown, he quickly learns that lightning fast reflexes are good for more than just fighting, and agrees to play for the college basketball team in exchange for information on his long-lost family. After a dazzling display of backboard-breaking slam-dunks, alley-oops and gravity-defying circus-shots, he emerges triumphant as the team’s new star-player. However, when faced with a headlong race to the finals against a team of legendary brutality, he soon discovers that skill alone will not bring home the gold… Showcasing the breathtaking talents of one of action-cinema’s brightest new stars, Kung Fu Dunk delivers a high-velocity, hoop-tastic thrill-ride that will have you cheering for overtime!

I can easily remember the hype that was built around “Kung Fu Dunk”.

First the announcement of pop star Jay Chou playing the lead character and then word that the film would be based on the Japanese manga/anime series “Slam Dunk” caught  the attention of many who were familiar with the series.

But then things changed and the next thing we heard is that the film would be like a “Shaolin Soccer” and feature Kung Fu with basketball.  Needless to say, it sounds unusual but “Shaolin Soccer” was an enjoyable film that you just have to sit back and see what Director Kevin Chu and writers Kevin Wu, Lam Chiu-Wing and Anne Wang had put together.    And the collaboration of Taiwan, Hong Kong and even mainland Chinese talent definitely raised the curiosity of fans of the various talent in the film.

“Kung Fu Dunk” is about an orphaned boy named Fang Shi Jie (played by Jay Chou).  When he was a baby, someone left him with a homeless man.  The homeless man gave the baby to a Kung Fu instructor and at this school is where Fang would be raised.

But one day, his instructor/master was experimenting with a technique and somehow ended up freezing himself to death.  With his master gone, Fang would grow up to become the punching bag by the principal of the school.  And one day when he was to be the punching bag by the principal, Fang played the part right but because he wore a Shaolin iron vest, the principal was upset and kicked Fang out of the school for the night without dinner.

Depressed about not eating, Fang hung out in the city and started throwing cans from a long distance right into a garbage can.  This catches the eye of the down-and-out street hustler Wang Li (played by Eric Tsang).  Wang challenges Fang to throw a coin in his throat from a long distance and if he can, Wang would take him out for dinner.   And Fang does just that and thus, gets a free dinner for the night.

Because of his skill, Wang comes up with an idea to use Fang to win some money at a local gambling club via bet of darts.  Fang keeps winning by throwing the darts directly at the center of the target and because he had won so much money, the local triad boss, Brother Hu has his men try to take back the money from Wang.  But Fang, being raised from a Kung Fu school ends up defeating every gangster at the club (and also destroying it).

What Fang doesn’t know is that the Kung Fu school’s owners are working for Brother Hu and are being paid by him.  Because one of their students has caused considerable damage at the triad boss club, Fang is punished and beaten by his teachers and is expelled from the school.

With nowhere to go, Wang takes him in and decides to use his talent by having him join the First University basketball team.  Fang meets the girl of his dreams, manager Lily (played by pop star/actress Charlene Choi) and her brother Ting Wei (played by Bo-Lin Chen), the captain of the team.  Fang learned that the Captain hasn’t been the same after losing an important championship match against a former teammate and has now become an alcoholic. But Fang learns that although he has talent because of his shooting technique and martial arts training, he doesn’t have the basketball discipline.

So, the Captain Ting Wei and their slam dunk expert Xiao Lan (played by Baron Chen) teach him the value of teamwork and how to improve his game and hope they can make it to the basketball championships and get revenge against their former teammate and now rival Li Tian (played by Will Liu) who leads a team of martial arts brutes.

VIDEO:

“Kung Fu Dunk” is presented in 1080p.  For the most part, the picture quality looks very good on Blu-ray and much better than its DVD counterpart.  Blacks are nice and deep, I didn’t notice any aliasing or compression artifacts but for the most part, the PQ was very solid for this release.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Where the Blu-ray shines in PQ, unfortunately this 2008 Blu-ray release is missing a lossless soundtrack.  Not sure why but “Kung Fu Dunk” is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Mandrarin and English Dolby Digital 5.1.  The audio quality is fine, but the fact that the audio is not lossless is a bit of a letdown, especially since the film has its share of action sequences.   The Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 track is good but the English dub is on par with a lot of the English dubs for Asian films these days.  It’s not my preference but I did re-watch the film in English and for the most part, it works.

As for subtitles, subtitles are presented in English and the good news is that I didn’t notice any bad subtitling errors or anything problematic.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Kung Fu Dunk” comes with the following special features:

Please note: This is an all-region Blu-ray but there are times with European Blu-ray special features will not work on American Region A players.  For “Kung Fu Dunk”, I was able to play the special features with no problems.

• Original Theatrical Trailer – (1:36) The original theatrical trailer.
• Interview Gallery – Featuring interviews with Jay Chou (11:49), Charlene Choi (7:31), Kevin Chu (5:26), Zhao Xiaoding (1:32), Lichun Lee (2:47), Ni Yan (2:03), Ka-Yan Leung (1:02), Gang Wang (1:41), Chen Bo-lin (3:14), Eric Tsang (4:34), Wu Tun (4:22), Baron Chen (4:01), Shaun Tam (1:33), Bo Huang (:52), Man Tat Ng (2:21) and Jacky Wu (2:51).   Subtitles are in English for the interviews.
• Behind-the-Scenes – The following behind-the-scene features are in five parts: The Action (7:05), The Stunts (2:52), Training with the Bus (1:03), Shooting on the Streets (2:16) and Shooting Hoops (3:13).
• Storyboard – (:51) Featuring the hand drawn, digital and printed storyboards.
• Lost Scenes – Featuring two behind-the-scenes footage not used in the final cut: Cheerleaders (:39) and Punishment (:44).
• Just For Fun – (3:00) Featuring Jay Chou playing the piano and having fun on the set.

First, let me just say that I was really looking forward to this film.  As a big fan of music from Jay Chou and even TWINS member Charlene Choi, I felt that their pairing would be something unique and enjoyable.  And as a fan of Eric Tsang and seeing how he was there for HK actor Nicholas Tse when he first started out on film, I figured that Tsang would be a wonderful father-like figure for Jay Chou’s character in “Slam Dunk”.

But when I heard that the film was going to be more like “Shaolin Soccer”, my skepticism for the film reached it’s peak.  I couldn’t fathom it.  If anything, memories of the video game “NBA Jam” came to mind and I imagined there would be high flying, crazy looking slam dunks and after watching this film, I was right.

The good news is that some action sequences were quite entertaining and the cameo by a few of the stars from “Shaolin Soccer” making their appearance on “Kung Fu Dunk” was pretty cool.  But unfortunately, the plot of the film is extremely kitschy.  After seeing Chou in “Initial D”, I figured that this film would bring him more emotional depth but he’s playing a stoic character and if anything, putting the talent in a martial arts position.  Nothing wrong with that, since it’s common to see this in films, especially HK films.

But the build-up to the battle against the rivals wasn’t as impressive as “Shaolin Soccer”.  You felt the emotion of when the team was beaten by their rivals.  In “Kung Fu Dunk”, everything was all over the place and to make things worse was the inclusion of “time travel” via martial arts.

Unfortunately, unless you are a hardcore fan of Jay Chou, Charlene Choi or any of the talent…”Kung Fu Dunk” is a film that has its few enjoyable moments but mostly moments because of a badly written screenplay that the characters are not well-utilized, too many variables thrown in and as mentioned, everything looked like it was all over the place.

Where “Shaolin Soccer” focused on team dynamics, taking on a bad team and a relationship angle for the protagonist, in “Kung Fu Dunk”, the viewer has to deal with not just those elements but also a relationship between Fang and Wang, Fang looking for his real parents, the inclusion of his martial arts teachers in a basketball match (which was not done well at all) and did I mention “time travel”.  “Shaolin Soccer” kept things simple and utilized its characters effectively, director Kevin Chu may have been the action director of “Shaolin Soccer” but somehow his directorial effort in this film was poorly executed and part of it has to do with its ambitious screenplay of trying to have so many characters with too many variables.

As for the Blu-ray, you do get a lot of special features and a good looking film but unfortunately no lossless track.  Granted, I can chalk that up to this being a 2008 release (and its Hollywood counterparts doing the same thing for their older Blu-ray releases).

Overall, “Kung Fu Dunk” is a film that I was longing to see and in the end, I felt disappointed.  I’ve read that there will be a sequel and I can only hope that the writing for the film is much better than the first.