Plot: What’s it about?
Although he has been through intense battles before, Fong Sai-Yuk (Jet Li) will soon face even more of them, perhaps his toughest to date. He winds up joining forces with The Red Flower Society’s underground movement, in order to do his part in the rebellion. Of course, these forces wish to overturn the power structure by throwing out the current emperor, which would lead to the reformation of the Ming Dynasty. This plan has been in action for some time now, with many men giving their lives to see it fulfilled, but success is a distant prospect. In other words, it is still a dangerous realm to be in, especially if you’re part of the rebellion, since those in power would have you killed. At the same time the movement tries to put more plans into motion, it seems as though a traitor has emerged, though no one is certain who turned. The whole plan seems to end up on the shoulders of Fong Sai-Yuk, who has to do all of that, plus seek out new orders for the group, and deal with his own personal problems. Will it turn out to be too much for him to handle, or will he prove his worth and earn a place in history?
I love to see cool Asian films released to DVD, but when the butchers at Dimension are involved, you can rest assured the disc is worthless. As per usual, the Dimension crew has put little effort into this film, aside from pulling the movie’s original language, slapping on a weak visual transfer, and then opting to include no extras. This is all a real shame, as The Legend 2 (aka Fong Sai-Yuk 2) is a wonderful picture, but even the worst movies deserve a better fate than this, to say the very least. This is a solid sequel in all respects, with Jet Li back in the lead and a number of cool martial arts sequences. The story here picks right up where the original leaves off, so the two flow together well and that makes it fun to watch them back to back, of course. I don’t think it quite measures up to the first film in terms of action, humor, or performances, but it is a worthwhile picture, nonetheless. But in this horrific botched up release from Dimension, it is not even worth a look, so try to find an imported edition, as it is a cool flick.
As per usual, Jet Li is able to dazzle us with not only his skills as an action star, but also his skills as a thespian. He isn’t given quite the same level of material to work with as in the original film, but Li is able to provide some great moments. As there is a little less action here, Li is able to spend more time with his traditional acting motions, which he delivers on and plays off his fellow cast members well, especially in a few select scenes. But most of the impact of the performances here lose impact thanks to the awful dub track used, though Li’s efforts still shine through, even with Dimension’s tinkering. Other films with Li include The One, Once Upon a Time in China, Black Mask, My Father is a Hero, and Fist of Legend. The cast also includes Josephine Siao (Mahjong Dragon, Summer Snow), Adam Cheng (Fantasy Mission Force, Drunken Master III), and Michelle Reis (The City of Lost Souls, Swordsman II).
Video: How does it look?
The Legend 2 is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer. As usual, Dimension was able to give us a very clean source print, but also as per usual, they fail to take it to next level and refuse an anamorphic treatment. So we have a clean, sharp looking visual effort here, but there is some shimmering and other flaws present. The colors and contrast look excellent also, with rich hues and razor sharp black levels throughout. This is the kind of print condition we Asian fans dream of, so it is too bad Dimension left off the anamorphic enhancement, as this could have been a top notch, first rate visual presentation.
Audio: How does it sound?
A nice, solid Dolby Digital 5.1 track is found here, but Dimension has chosen to use an English dub option, instead of the original Cantonese soundtrack. This is just plain stupid, as fans want to listen to the original language and we’re used to subtitles, so at the very least, Dimension should include both options. There is some good surround use and the music is expansive, but the horrible dub ruins it, I think they pulled people off the street here. I hope Dimension comes to their senses soon, or decide to let someone else release their Asian titles, as this is getting tiresome. This disc also includes English subtitles, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc contains no bonus materials.
