“Police Story: Lockdown” is the darkest “Police Story” film made so far! A riveting popcorn action film, after many decades, Jackie Chan still retains his martial arts persona and keeps you captivated. Recommended!
TITLE: Police Story: Lockdown
FILM RELEASE: 2013
DURATION: 107 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 16:9, Mandarin 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Dub, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Well Go USA Entertainment
RATED: NR
Release Date: August 11, 2015
Directed by Sheng Ding
Written by Sheng Ding
Producer: Yang Du
Co-Producer: Yong Er, Zhang Wang
Music by Zai Lo
Cinematography by Yu ding
Edited by Ismael Gomez III
Art Direction by Feng Ligang
Starring:
Jackie Chan as Zhong Wen
Ye Liu as Wu Jiang
Tian Jing as Miao Miao
Tao Yin as Lan Lan
Yiwei Liu as General Manager Niu
Wei Na as Na Na
Xiaoou Zhou as Wei Xiao Fu
Rongguang Yu as Captain Wu
Peiqi Liu as Chief Zhang
Hailong Liu as Pi Song
Zha Ka as Bin Ge
Police Captain Zhong Wen (Jackie Chan) knows all about sacrifice. He s always been too busy chasing bad guys to be a father to his daughter Miao (Jing Tian). Tonight, he s seeing her for the first time in years and meeting her fiance, club owner Wu Jiang (Liu Ye). But Wu knows Zhong. And his plans for the evening include taking Miao, Zhong, and the entire club hostage. Zhong knows about sacrifice. What will he give up to save his daughter?
Since 1985, the “Police Story” films have entertained Jackie Fans all around the world.
While the first four films featured on action and comedy and the fifth film being a reboot of the film series, with the sixth film “Police Story: Lockdown” (also, known as “Police Story 2013”), the film is yet another reboot and also features Jackie Chan playing a different character.
Directed by Sheng Ding, who directed Jackie Chan’s 2010 film “Little Big Soldier”, the sixth film is known for its darker storyline and it is the first “Police Story” film to be shot in Beijing and feature Jackie Chan in his first role as a mainland policeman.
The film will now be released on Blu-ray and DVD in August 2015 courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment.
“Police Story: Lockdown” begins with Detective Zhong Wen (portrayed by Jackie Chan) visiting the Wu Bar to look for his estranged daughter (the two have not had a relationship since Zhong’s wife has died and her daughter feels that her dad is more concerned about his work than his family).
He is not happy that his daughter Miao Miao (portrayed by Tian Jing, “Special ID”, “The Warring States”) is dating the nightclub owner, Wu Jiang (portrayed by Ye Liu, “Curse of the Golden Flower”, “City of Life and Death”) and father and daughter get into an argument. But after a ruckus in the bar, a group of people locks many people inside the bar and Detective Zhong Wen is knocked out cold. His last image before he knocked out is of his daughter ripping the mask off the assailant, who ends up being the nightclub owner, Wu Jiang.
When Zhong Wen wakes up, he is tied to a chair and is questioned by Zhong. Knowing that working in the police, you make enemies, Detective Zhong Wen tries to piece together from information that he has and figure out why Zhong Wen has captured him.
As Wu Jiang discusses with police that he wants a prisoner named Wei Xiaofu released from prison, Zhong escapes and sees that the bar patrons including his daughter have been locked up in a cage.
He finds out that Wu Jiang is a former kickboxer and that there are photos of him and a girl in the photos, but also blue prints that show that bombs have been put throughout the entire bar and that Wu Jiang will detonate unless his demands are met.
Will Detective Zhong Wen be able to save his daughter and the other bar patrons?
VIDEO:
“Police Story: Lockdown” is presented in 1080p High Definition and presented in 2:39:1 aspect ratio. Picture quality is fantastic as detail on the the skin, especially the cuts and bloodied detective is very clear.   While I did notice maybe a single scene with banding, the majority of the film looks magnificent.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Police Story: Lockdown” is presented in Mandarin 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and with an English dub. Dialogue and musical soundtrack is crystal clear and while an action film, you can hear the surround channels come into play with efficacy near the end of the film. But overall, lossless audio is very good.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“Police Story: Lockdown” comes with the following special features:
- Interviews – Featuring interviews with director Ding Sheng, Jackie Chan, Liu Ye and Jing Tian.
- Behind the Scenes – (5:16) Behind the scenes of “Police Story: Lockdown”.
- Trailer – Theatrical trailer for “Police Story: Lockdown”.
For those who grew up watching the “Police Story” Jackie Chan films, one should probably not come into watching “Police Story: Lockdown” and expect a similar type of film.
While Jackie Chan shows us that he is still an action star at 60-years-old and he still can deliver, the action still remains forefront in the sixth “Police Story” film but gone is the comedy which has been traded in for a darker, action film.
Which is not at all a bad thing because I have to admit, it’s been awhile since I really enjoyed a Jackie Chan action film this much and while a bit over-the-top and it seems to borrow elements from other films, “Police Story: Lockdown” is enjoyable in its own kind of way.
Sure, the storyline is over-the-top in a manner of how a bar is transformed into a full-lock-down, high security compound with underground tunnels (or slide) and you wonder how if a bar owner or former underground kickboxer could make that much money to develop such a building…it’s best to throw logic out the window and just enjoy the film for what it is. A popcorn action film that puts Jackie Chan in a character plot that has him taking a beating.
That is possibly why I enjoyed this film so much, because we see Jackie Chan’s character, Detective Zhong Wen so vulnerable. His daughter has been captured and the captors know that they have the upper deck because he will do anything for his daughter. And Detective Zhong Wen must endure a tremendous a lot of pain throughout the film, but it’s the payoff that we get from Jackie Chan films, that keeps us glued to the screen.
We know that Jackie Chan continues to do a lot of his stunts and you can’t help but be amazed that after all these decades of being one of the most popular martial arts talent in the world, he’s still able to deliver and you can’t help but root for him.
As for the Blu-ray release, picture quality is magnificent. Close-ups feature a lot of detail, there is a scene in which Detective Zhong Wen is beaten pretty badly and you can see the blood in the whites of his eyes. Lossless audio is very good as action scenes feature its fair share of sound effects, especially explosions and more. You also get a few special features included as well.
Overall, “Police Story: Lockdown” is the darkest “Police Story” film made so far! A riveting popcorn action film, after many decades, Jackie Chan still retains his martial arts persona and keeps you captivated. Recommended!
