Operation Condor Blu-ray offers solid video and audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
The swashbuckling hero-for-hire "Asian Hawk" is called from the deep of the African forest to lead a mission in search of a huge cache of gold hidden in the desert by German soldiers during World War II.
If it's the name "Jackie Chan" on the marquee or the video box, audiences pretty much know what to expect. The worldwide martial arts sensation
has dazzled moviegoers for decades
with his unique brand and blend of physical action, funny bone, and personal appeal. His name is synonymous with fast-paced action and dizzying
practical
effects. He's the definition of an international superstar, one of a few figures identifiable the world over and always worth stopping to watch when one
of his movies appears on television. If there's a negative, it's that many of his movies seem fairly repetitive. Often, it feels like a case of "seen one,
seen 'em all," but with Chan's movies, seeing them all isn't necessarily a bad thing. The appeal of watching a human being perform unspeakable
stunts never seems to grow old; he's a one-man circus act, but rather than tightropes and hoops and lions, he uses whatever he can get his hands on,
his body across, or his mind wrapped around, making use of his environment like no other entertainer in history. Operation Condor is the
latest Jackie Chan movie to land on Blu-ray. It's a bit more streamlined and mainstream in tone, but the core remains the same: a whole lot of Jackie
Chan doing what Jackie Chan does best, with a plot that's only in place to frame the action, not define it.
Deadly.
Treasure hunter Jackie (Jackie Chan) has just returned from a brush with death following an unsuccessful effort to nab several jewels, unsuccessful
thanks to the human thirst for...water. Back home, Jackie is given a new assignment: retrieve long-buried gold. It turns out that the Nazis
plundered riches from several nations back during the Second World War, and it was subsequently left long lost in the African deserts. But it appears
that the treasure is on the verge of recovery, and the United Nations is eager to make sure it receives the prize so as to facilitate its redistribution to
its rightful owners and avoid a potentially dangerous international incident. Jackie is given the secret key which will open the vault and is paired with
a brazen young woman named Ada (Carol Cheng) who demands Jackie's full cooperation in the retrieval adventure. The team is also joined by Elsa
(Eva Cobo de Garcia), a
German woman whose recent family history dates directly back to the gold stash. Along their journey they are joined by a fourth friend, Momoko
(Shôko
Ikeda), and together must fend off wealth-hungry individuals determined to get to the gold first at any cost.
Operation Condor enjoys a balanced tone that effortlessly offsets action with humor. The script is witty and quick, fairly vacuous when it's
all
said and done but competent and coherent, just good enough to house the action without sinking to bad movie levels -- not that Jackie Chan would
allow that to happen. The picture deals in basic adventure plot lines, with a long-buried treasure, various groups vying to discover it first, and several
traps and secrets along the way (sounds an awful lot like a precursor to The Mummy, or maybe it really is just that casually cliché). The
specifics really don't matter all that much, except in how the final act shapes up and brings about the resultant appearance of various deadly
contraptions that significantly
heighten
the action. Chances are most won't watch for the story, anyway; the movie knows its place and knows what its audiences want, and
the
good news is that Operation Condor delivers in spades.
Operation Condor benefits from Chan's direction. After all, who better to direct him than himself? He knows his abilities and even
limitations
(he's human after all) better than any filmmaker ever could, and considering these movies emphasize action over plot or dramatic structure, it's a
natural decision to place Chan on either side of the camera to get it all just so. Chan's direction frames the action with action star know-how, but he
also nicely captures the basic essence of the story and humor. Operation Condor's humor is nicely balanced against the action; it never
dominates but rather settles in as a fine supportive element that eases off the accelerator just enough for audiences to giggle and exhale in between
action scenes. The fight choreography is exemplary as always, and while some of the action -- that coming in the final minutes in particular --
seems a bit contrived and unnecessarily over-the-top, it fits in well with the theme and expected Chan style where everything's bigger, faster,
better, where it seems the more danger, the more comfortable the star and the more exciting the movie.
Operation Condor arrives on Blu-ray with a satisfactory high definition transfer. Generally, Echo Bridge's image offers crisp, sharp, sturdy details
with only a few instances of noticeable softness. Definition isn't pristine, but viewers should be pleased with the level of complexity evident on sandy
terrains, ornate furnishings, skin, and clothes. Colors are fine, often earthy through much of the movie but balanced and mostly accurate, from brighter
clothes to tan desert floors. Blacks and skin tones are fine, and the transfer is enhanced by light grain retention. On the other hand, there's a fairly
steady stream of pops and speckles and debris, often not overwhelming but occasionally heavier here than there. Light shimmering is evident during a
car/motorcycle chase around 21 minutes into the movie, and a few edge halos are present as well. Yet despite a few issues, this is a good, pleasing
transfer from Echo Bridge.
Operation Condor features a highly aggressive DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This one's all about volume and energy. Clarity is fine, even
as the listener is bombarded with music and effects from every corner of the listening area. Indeed, the track is highly immersive, lacking in precise
clarity but sounding loud and exciting nonetheless. Everything may be described as "big:" big music, big effects, big soundstage. What the track lacks in
sonic subtlety and accuracy it more than makes for in sheer effort. Bass is heavy, deep, and strong, a bit rattly and sloppy at the bottom but potent and
never shy. The surrounds work overtime to carry a host of sound effects and music. There's not an obvious balance towards the front but rather an
all-in sort of surround usage. Gunfire effects impress; rattling machine guns crank out rounds with speed and sonic accuracy, a heavy, powerful rattling
sensation that defines one of the film's critical action scenes. Dialogue is fine, the English dub clear and accurate. There's a lot of energy and effort
here; this isn't the best soundtrack, but it gets high marks for being so entertaining.
Echo Bridge's Blu-ray release of Operation Condor contains only the film's trailer (480p, 0:29). Note that this is the 90-minute version of the
film previously released on DVD, not the original version which runs approximately 15 minutes longer.
Operation Condor isn't any kind of remarkable motion picture or even the highlight of Jackie Chan's career, but it's a good, well-made, and highly
entertaining little slice of escapism and largely representative of what Jackie Chan movies are all about. This one has the formula down: a thin plot offset
by modest humor and a whole lot of over-the-top excitement that only a man of Chan's natural gifts can deliver. Don't watch the movie to exercise the
mind; instead, watch it to see Jackie Chan pulling off impossible stunt after impossible stunt. This, and movies like this, absolutely define thematically
light martial arts
entertainment. Echo Bridge's Blu-ray release of Operation Condor features no extras of value, but the disc does offer solid video and aggressive
audio. Recommended at a bargain price.
