Police Story: Lockdown Blu-ray review
Mathew Plale
August 28th, 2015
The man awakens in a cab. He’s had a long night of drinking and is after more. On the way to a nightclub, he calls his daughter, who he hasn’t seen in six months. Inside, the man, Zhong Wen (Jackie Chan, thankfully not sporting “duang” hair), meets his daughter, Miao Miao (Jing Tian, Clarence Fok’s SPECIAL ID, in which she costarred alongside Donnie Yen), with the hopes of getting reacquainted.
It’s there that he first meets her boyfriend, Wu Jiang (Liu Ye, Lu Chuan’s THE LAST SUPPER), the owner of the club who Zhong Wen greatly disapproves of. It’s also there that he is attacked and knocked out. When he awakes, Zhong Wen is tied to a chair, and he soon learns that he’s not the only one. Naturally, Zhong Wen has little difficulty escaping, and naturally, he’s not going to tolerate any goons tying him and his daughter up.
POLICE STORY: LOCKDOWN (released as POLICE STORY 2013 in its homeland) is the second reboot of the POLICE STORY franchise, after 2004’s NEW POLICE STORY. (The other entries in the series: 1985’s POLICE STORY, 1988’s POLICE STORY 2, 1992’s POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP and 1996’s POLICE STORY 4: FIRST STRIKE.). But those looking for more of the same might be a bit disappointed, since this entry is primarily linked by name only.
The real draw, aside from the title, is its star. Those who want to see Jackie Chan doing his trademark stunts and action moves will be pleased, especially since the actor, now in his 60s (and, for some reason, starting to resemble Sylvester Stallone), still has most of the chops. Still, there seems to be a certain amount of charisma missing in the fight sequences (as few as there are), and while this is to be expected considering Chan’s age, the viewer might find his attempts more unwelcome than he thinks they are.
What hurts POLICE STORY: LOCKDOWN the most, though, is the pacing. Since so much of the movie takes place in the nightclub, it’s up to flashbacks that show Zhong Wen on the job. While this offers some of the requisite action sequences, it also slows down the pace of the main plot, inadvertently revealing that there just isn’t a whole lot going on in the movie.
Ding Sheng’s (2010’s LITTLE BIG SOLDIER, which also starred Chan) POLICE STORY: LOCKDOWN is a hollow effort that doesn’t have nearly as much depth or energy as it wants to. Attempts are made to have Wu Jiang’s motives pack a great punch, but by the point anything is revealed, the viewer has checked out. There just isn’t enough to keep the audience entertained, no matter how many kickboxing strikes or piranha gnashes are thrown in.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: 2.35:1 in 1080p with MPEG-4 AVC codec. This video transfer offers fine details and accurate colors.
Audio: Mandarin 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Subtitles in English. The audio is also strong, particularly during the fight sequences, which come through the speakers with a punch.
Interviews: Director Ding Sheng (4:20), Jackie Chan/Zhong Wen (3:51), Liu Ye/Wu Jiang (6:11) and Jing Tian/Miao Miao (6:14) all sit down for interviews.
Behind the Scenes (5:15): This featurette offers on-set footage that shows certain scenes being shot.
Trailer
