A Cambodian fighter pilot is recruited by American security forces to penetrate the inner circle of a billionaire arms dealer who murdered his parents two decades earlier. But his quest for vengeance is complicated when he falls in love with the dealer’s beautiful daughter.”
Directed by Ringo Lam, 1995’s “The Adventurers” is a revenge story, despite its cover image, which makes it look like some “Top Gun”-esque feature. (The slipcover imagery feels more appropriate for the movie’s tone.) Andy Lau stars as Wai Lok-yan. As a child, Wai witnessed the death of his parents at the hands of Ray Lui (Paul Chun) during the latter days of the Cambodian Civil War. Wai’s parents, along with Ray and his father’s friend, Shang (David Chiang), worked as informants for the CIA, with Ray acting as a double agent and betraying the others.
Following his parents’ death, Shang takes Wai to Thailand. Thirty years later, in 1995, Wai is a pilot in the Thai Air Force when he comes across a newspaper article discussing Ray. Deciding to have his revenge, Wai attempts and fails to assassinate Ray, leading to Wai moving to the United States and joining the CIA (with the help of Shang’s connections) to extract his revenge on Ray by taking on a new identity and getting close to Ray’s daughter, Crystal (Jacklyn Wu).
Obviously, a lot is going on in Lam’s film. It isn’t as overwhelming to follow as it sounds from the above description, and Lam does a good job of placing the viewer into the story, whether or not they know about the Cambodian Civil War. Considered one of Hong Kong’s heroic bloodshed films, it goes without saying that the film is action-packed (and rather bloody). Still, it feels like it drags on too long while also feeling like connecting chunks of the story are missing. The action set pieces don’t thrill despite their technical prowess. I did think the actors’ performances were good in the movie.
On the technical side, I wasn’t too impressed with this film’s transfer. The case for the disc states that this is a “1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration,” but doesn’t go into details. For a movie shot and released in the mid-90s, I expected a much better-looking and sounding release. While the image is fine in close-ups, long shots frequently look soft, lacking in depth and clarity.
Three sound options are available to view the film (four if you include the audio commentary by David West). None of the three audio options sounded too pleasing to my ears. I started the film with the restored stereo track. The first lines of dialogue are harsh and shrill, carrying an edge that makes the listening experience unpleasant. I rewatched these first moments with the other two audio tracks (a restored 5.1 and unrestored stereo) and ultimately ended up watching the entirety of the movie with the default restored stereo track. The unrestored track has the same dialogue issue but adds a muted, flat, hollow sound to everything. Both restored tracks are more lively and robust-sounding regarding the music and the SFX.
This Blu-ray is a limited edition release from Eureka Entertainment. The limited edition of 2000 units includes an O-card slipcase with artwork from Time Tomorrow and a booklet with an essay from Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park. Special features include an audio commentary by film critic David West, an interview with Gary Bettinson, an archival interview with writer/producer Sandy Shaw, and the film’s trailer. The interview with Bettinson and the commentary with West divulge plenty of information and tidbits about the film and its creators. These are worth checking out if you are interested in film history.
This movie didn’t completely click for me, and the disc failed to impress. For those looking to view the film, maybe check if it’s available digitally somewhere. That will probably be a cheaper viewing option than ordering this disc. If you are interested in the commentary or interviews, I’d recommend waiting for a sale or the non-limited edition that will probably follow this limited release.
Available on Limited Edition Blu-ray April 29th from Eureka Entertainment
