Badges of Fury Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Jet Li, Wen Zhang, Collin Chou, Cecilia Liu

Director: Wong Tsz ming

Format: Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, THX, Widescreen

Language: Chinese

Subtitles: English

Dubbed: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: January 7, 2014

Run Time: 98 minutes

 

 

        The cover art for Badges of Fury is widely misleading. With a stern-faced Jet Li facing forward and adjusting his cuffs with a somber gun-wielding Wen Zhang standing behind him, and a large explosion silhouetting the both of them, you might come to the conclusion that this is a buddy action film. In reality, this is simply a comedy that utilizes action for some of the jokes. All of the violence in the film is cartoonish, even when deadly, making the style of action more along the lines of a Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) film.

 

        The film even flirts with the supernatural when a series of gruesome deaths in Hong Kong are seemingly unexplained. Several men die with the same mysterious smile on their face, leading two troublesome cops in an unconventional investigation. Detective Wang is a young and reckless rookie with more zeal than intelligence, which is the opposite of his seasoned partner, Huang (Li). These two have different methods, but both are unafraid to go against police protocol to close a case.

 

        The investigation leads the detectives to discover a common link between all of the victims in a rising starlet Liu (Michelle Chen), who happened to date all of the men killed. The plot is simplistic, but the presentation is often overly elaborate, just like the explanation behind the murders once finally revealed.

 

       The Blu-ray has a making-of featurette and behind-the-scenes footage.

       

Entertainment Value: 6/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 5/10

Historical Significance: 4/10

Disc Features: 5/10