Bluray Review: Dragon Wars: D-War
By
David Miller
Video Format: 2.40:1 1080p
Audio Formats: English, French Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Starring: Jason Behr, Amanda Brooks, Robert Forster, Craig Robinson, Aimee Garcia
Directed By: Hyung-rae Shim
Release Date: 1/8/08
Studio: Freestyle Releasing
General
Stunning computer-generated special effects are the main selling point of Dragon Wars: D-War, a Korean-made fantasy about ancient monsters wreaking havoc in modern Los Angeles. The complex plot, based on legend, pits an evil serpent and its demonic army against a young woman (Amanda Brooks) who is the reincarnation of a young woman from 500 years ago. She has the heaven-sent power inside her to transform the either good or evil serpent creature into an all-powerful dragon. Jason Behr (The Grudge) is the reporter who discovers that he too is a reincarnated warrior bound to prevent Brooks and her power from falling into the wrong hands. Director Shim Hyung-rae and his talented team offer scene after scene of exceptional CGI creations, most notably an aerial dogfight between helicopters and winged lizards in the skies above downtown L.A., and a climactic battle which makes good on the title's promise.
Tech Specs
Video:
I’m going to start by saying this is a stunning movie given it is almost completely CGI. The CGI effects blend perfectly into the scenes. The color was brilliant throughout the movie and the dark sense show amazing detail. Overall I have to say for such a low budget movie it was very well done throughout and I saw no artifacts.
Audio:
Wow, this movie has a truckload of slam it in your face sound. It seemed as if the director wanted a very aggressive sound track that took advantage of all the action in this movie. The sound had great separation; while watching tanks flying across the screen the sound followed perfectly. There was also plenty of ground-shaking bass!!
Extras:
Not an over whelming amount of extras here. There is an Interview with the director and storyboard comparisons. There is an art gallery to finish the extras off. Given it is low budget Korean movie I wouldn’t expect much more.
Menus/Navigation:
Very simple interface allows easy access to all the features the movie has to offer.
Overall Impressions:
This is a great popcorn movie. You have to take it for what it is. I would recommend it as a rental at a minimum. I’m glad I bought it and I’m sure it will get a few showings for those man movie nights.
Linear Mode
