[wp-review id=”78805″]
In Xi’an, China, a professor of archeology named Jack is working at the Terra-cotta Soldiers Museum. He is approached by an Indian professor named Ashmita who wants to find the lost Magadha treasure in Tibet. Turns out, they aren’t the only people looking for this immense treasure and this is only the start of the adventure.
KUNG FU YOGA or GONG FU YU JIA as its known in China, is directed by Stanley Tong. He has helmed a few Chinese titles as well as American titles such as SUPERCOP and MR. MAGOO. This movie is an action/comedy like some of the other movies that Jackie Can has made in the past.
Cast
Jackie Chan as Jack
Aarif Rahman as Jones Lee
Zhang Yixing as Xiaoguang
Miya Muqi as Noumin
Sonu Sood as Randall
VIDEO QUALITY:
The movie is a 1080p AVC presentation that looks beautiful on the screen. You can see that this was shot digitally by the “cleanliness” of the images. The details are just one of the good-looking things in the transfer. Some of the best examples can be seen in the scenes with the intricacies in the clothing such as the headdress and patterns on the clothing. The CGI I mentioned at the beginning of the movie is on the softer side. I don’t know if it’s the quality of the animation or just the way it transferred to the Blu-ray but there is just something off about it. It helps that the movie moves around the world enough to show big changes in the scenery. There are the rich, earthy tones of Dubai that show off the region well. Then, there are scenes in the cool blue glaciers that really look excellent. There are a few lighting changes in this scene and the blue hues are one of the positive parts of the coloring. Some of the other coloring positives are in the bright colored clothing. The pastels tend to stand out in every instance that they occur.
AUDIO QUALITY:
The audio is a Mandarin DTS: X mix. The release also has an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 that I gave a listen to but I watched the Mandarin version. With that, I’ll say that the English track sounded excellent with the stronger track being the DTS: X. There are a lot of moments where the LFEs hit hard and work the home theater like the codec is meant to do. The highs are clear in terms of the dialogue and the effects.
SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING
-Best of Both Worlds: This short featurette about the cultural differences in the movie.
-The Dynamic Duo: This is about Jackie Chan and Stanley Tong.
-The Making Of: This featurette is a decent behind the scenes with cast and crew interviews.
-Jackie Chan Featurette: This is a short interview piece about Chan.
-Bloopers
-Bollywood Dance Featurette: This covers the dance choreography from the scene.
-Trailer
Disc Details
2-disc set w/ 1 Blu-ray and 1 DVD
Running Time
107 mins
Edition Ratings
Not Rated
Region Coding
Region A
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Mixes
Mandarin DTS:X
Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Mandarin DTS Headphone:X
Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles
English
Mandarin
THE BOTTOM LINE:
KUNG FU YOGA is in the same style as some of the other movies that Jackie Chan has made before but this one feels like there is a lack of direction. It sort of bounces around from place to place as if the filmmakers convinced the studios heads that they need a variety of settings to make the movie successful. The transfer looks great and the sound does just a well. The extras are also pretty good and if you’re a fan of the genre, I would say check it out.
