- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (24Hz)
- Audio Codec: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/16-bit), Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
- Subtitles: English
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: NR
- Run Time: 101 Mins.
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Digital Copies: N/A
- Studio: Well Go USA Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: December 4, 2012
- List Price: $29.98
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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Director Patrick Leung’s (Blade of Kings) Wu Dang is a like a mixture of Indiana Jones and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. Stars Zhao Wenzhuo (Sacrifice; True Legend), Yang Mi (Painted Skin: The Resurrection) and Fan Siu-Wong (Flying Swords of Dragon Gate) form the star-studded cast of this mildly entertaining martial arts fantasy adventure. The story is centered around an American-educated treasure hunter (Wenzhuo) who learns of seven powerful sacred treasures hidden on Wu Dang mountain in the Chinese mainland. He takes his young martial artist prodigy daughter there to compete in a martial arts competition held at the Taoist temple as he tries to locate and steal them all for himself. Along the way, he is must team up with a beautiful femme fatale (Yang Mi) also looking for one of the treasures. As the hunt for the treasures is on and their true nature is revealed, the search becomes more deadly, and more vital.
The story underlying Wu Dang isn’t exactly Oscar worthy material, but the comedic and romantic chemistry between leads Wenzhuo and Yang is solid while the fight choreography from Corey Yuen (Shaolin) is top notch. Leung’s direction also keeps Wu Dang from drifting too far into cliché and schmaltz, although there is always a certain level of that in all of these kinds of films, and that’s what gives them their innate charm.
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Wu Dang was shot in HD using the Red Epic cinematographic high definition camera in 4.5K resolution. As such, there is no film grain and there is also very little video noise apparent in this AVC/MPEG-4 1080p encodement from Well Go. In fact, we get a rather crisp and clean presentations with strong contrasts, great color reproduction and little digital artifacting that can be seen.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio is just as strong as the video presentation. It is provided in a lossless Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/16-bit) mix that is rather active with its panning of sounds across the front and also makes good use of the surround channels for atmospherics and the occasional discrete sound effect. The overall sound is balanced and dynamic with lots of low end that helps to give the various fight sequences a lot of bottom. There is also a Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track on offer.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
The half-hour Chinese-language “making-of” in standard definition with English subtitles is interesting enough, but that’s all we get besides the theatrical trailer.
- Behind the Scenes (1.78:1; SD; 00:31:12)
- Trailer (2.35:1; 1080p/24; 00:01:33)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Wu Dang is a rush of adrenalin from start to finish that will give martial arts fans a big dose of everything they desire. The visuals, effects, and acting are all top notch, but the standout is definitely the gorgeous Yang Mi who is just made for the camera and does comedy really well.
Additional Screen Captures
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Purchase Wu Dang on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
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[amazon-product]B009846274[/amazon-product]
Purchase Wu Dang on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
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