The
Final Master (2015/Well Go Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
B+/C+ Sound: B+/C+ Extras: B Film: B+
Chen
(Fan Liao) is the last Wing Chun master sets off to seek fame and
fortune in Tianjin City to start a martial art school, but in order
to start a school one must not only face, but defeat the 19 schools
martial arts in Tianjin to gain approval. Also reputation must first
be built from through battles between apprentices and champions of
various schools. Chen will do anything to start school, but the
Grand Masters of Tianjin has other plans... will Chen have what it
takes to become the next Grand Master?
In
Haufeng Xu's The Final Master (2015), it is the turn of the
early 20th Century in China, Tianjin is the heart of schools of
martial arts, military and foreign powers. Chen is a martial arts
master with dual knife style, who seeks to start a school of his own.
Masters who have schools in Tianjin get to have beautiful women,
money and the respect people, but those who fail are forever banished
from Tianjin. Yet, the real truth is the Grand Masters of Tianjin
set up these rules to control the challengers and maintain their own
power and balance of power between the foreign and military powers.
This
was film was set in the era right after the Boxer Rebellion in China,
when foreign power reign in China and various clans are all fighting
over control of the city. The film is more about the ambiance of the
fights than the story. It was about the setting and tension between
various characters, the life and death battle between characters,
each battle was battle to death for honor, that honor is more
important than life, and they fear not death but to live as a cripple
or die without honor.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is pretty consistent in
its look down to color, detail and style, which is just fine and
works well. The DTS-HD Master Audio Mandarin 5.1 lossless mix. The
anamorphically enhanced DVD with lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 is passable
at best and pales as compared to the Blu-ray. Extras include bonus
feature: The Weapons, director's featurette and
trailers.
-
Ricky Chiang
