DVD REVIEW: Silver Hawk

Silver Hawk (d. Jingle Ma, s. Michelle Yeoh, Richie Ren, Luke Goss) Studio: Media Asia (Region 3)
Film: ***, DVD: ***
I just got this disk direct from Hong Kong the other day, a little apprehensive about what I was in for. You see, I had read about the film before buying it, but nothing was terribly positive about it, mind you, most of the reviews were luke warm. But, it still looked like something I may like, so I thought I'd give it a shot. So I made the order a few weeks ago and yesterday it arrives, time to put it to the test.

Well, the results were positive! This movie was a lot of fun to watch. It comes across as equal parts James Bond, Batman, and The Matrix. We get secret identities, gadgets, fast paced action, humor, and of course, an over the top villain bent on world domination! Despite all of these formula pieces, it still manages to carve out it's own world and vision. Definitely a fun action movie, on the lower end of the brain scale, but at the high end on popcorn munching fun power!

Our hero is Lulu Wong(Michelle Yeoh), beautiful, demure, and rich. For fun she puts on a silver outfit and a mask and fights bad guys with some neat gadgets, a high powered motorcycle, and kung fu. Before you know it, she is facing off with Richman(Richie Ren), a police detective, focused on unmasking the menace that is Silver Hawk. But soon enough, they find themselves on the same side taking on the evil Alexander Wolfe(Luke Goss). Wolfe has some elaborate plan to take over people's minds through their cell phones. Yeah, I know, sounds pretty far fetched, but what can I say? It's a lot of fun.

Alexander Wolfe is right out of a James Bond movie, from his crazy world conquering plot, the use of sci-fi technology, and of course the elaborate underground lair. We can't forget his pair of flamboyant minions, Morris (Michael Jai White) and Jane (Bingbing Li). Wolfe and crew kidnap a doctor who has created an AI that can basically be made to run a person. Wolfe wishes to incorporate this technology into cell phone ear pieces to get his way.

The movie plays out in a predictable manner, with fun along the way with cases of mistaken identity and fights involving bungee cords and hockey sticks. As predictable as the movie is, we are introduced to an interesting heroine, that I would like to know more about and a silvery metallic world of the "not-too-distant-future."

The film does have a few negatives, one is we don't get enough backstory on Lulu, we see some of her childhood, but I would love to know more about her reasons for picking up the mantle. Another is there may be a bit too much comedy, I like it, but it makes Richman come across as a bit incompetent. These are minor quibbles as the movie is a lot of fun. One of the more bizarre aspects, and a bit of a negative, the movie jumps back and forth between Cantonese and English. For the life of me I cannot figure out why they chose to do this? I know that our baddie, Wolfe, is an English speaker, and that's OK, but the rest of the cast are native Cantonese speakers. While delivering their English dialogue, it seems very unnatural and they are uncomfortable in appearance as they deliver it. Still these minor quibbles aside, it is definitely worth checking out.

Bottom line is if you like super heroes and martial arts, check this movie out! Michelle Yeoh, still attractive after all these years, is perfect for the role with her charismatic screen presence. Recommended.

As far as this DVD goes, the presentation is excellent. The image is a little soft, but never loses any clarity, as far as my experience with HK releases go, this is very good. I am used to inferior transfers, although it does not bother me much, as I am less picky about transfers as I am about quality films. There is no dust or print damage apparent, it is more or less what you would expect from a recent, presumably, high profile title. Audio is available in it's original language in both Dolby Digital and DTS flavors. I chose to listen in DD, as I am not DTS capable at the moment, and it was a good, if unspectacular track. There is no hiss and the range is adequate.

Extras are a mixed bag, but not terrible. We get the original trailer, plus a couple of others for related titles. We get a nice section of conceptual art viewed accompanied by music from the film. There is also a text story outline in both English and Cantonese. The main extra is a behind the scenes segment, which sadly is only in Cantonese with no English subs. It is an entertaining featurette, even though I can't understand it the language, the actual footage is interesting, showing a lot of wirework. It's worth a watch.

I guess I should mention, that I do most of my watching on my PC with a 17" monitor and a stereo mini-system. I don't have any elaborate home theater at this point, so take that into consideration when reading my reviews, thanks. This will become a standard disclaimer for my DVD reviews.