Vengeance

 (2009)

Action | Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller


A father comes to Hong Kong to avenge his daughter, whose family was murdered. Officially, he's a French chef. Twenty years ago, he was a killer.

For more details about Vengeance on Blu-ray, see the Vengeance Blu-ray Review

Starring: Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Testud, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
Director: Johnnie To

Vengeance Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, February 8, 2010

Nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or award at last year's Cannes Film Festival, Johnnie To's "Fu chou" a.k.a "Vengeance" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors MegaStar. The only supplemental feature on this disc is the film's original theatrical trailer. With optional English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese subtitles. Region-A "locked".

A lonely Frenchman in Macau

An aging French chef, Francis Costello (Johnny Hallyday, Man on the Train), arrives in Macau looking for revenge - someone has attacked and critically wounded his daughter (Sylvie Testud, Fear and Trembling), and killed her husband and two children. He does not have a clue who might have ordered the attack, but hopes that the Police would point him in the right direction.

In his hotel, the chef encounters three hit men - Kwai (Anthony Wong, Infernal Affairs), Chu (Lam Ka Tung, Lam Ka Tung) and Fat Lok (Suet Lam, Sparrow). He offers them a deal - he would give them his restaurant and big house in Paris if they help him find the men responsible for the attack on his daughter's family.

The chef takes the hit men to his daughter's apartment. Then, while they are looking around, he cooks them a meal. They gather around the table and eat. Later on, the chef confesses to them that many years ago he also killed for money. He left the "business" because someone shot him, and the bullet got stuck in his head. The chef knows that his time is running out.

The chef, Kwai, Chu and Fat Lok head to Hong Kong where they quickly discover what they are looking for - three professional killers. They all meet in a quiet public park but no one gets killed. The Hong Kong killers manage to escape and the chef, Kwai, Chu and Fat Lok head back to Macau. Shortly after, Kwai gets a phone call from George Fung (Simon Yam, Election), a powerful triad boss, who orders him to help the same men he has been paid to eliminate.

Vengeance is yet another Johnny To film that seems to be rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. I liked it; a lot of other critics did not. The main complaints seem to be gravitating around the fact that the film is heavy on style but light on substance. So, I wonder - when was the last time To made a film that had an original story?

To's films have always been about style. Usually, they are slow, moody, dark and at times even funny. They have characters that see the world around them differently - and through their eyes, so do we. When they speak, they use simple words. When they kill, they don't hesitate.

Vengeance is a typical To film - it is slow, moody, dark, at times even funny. In a lot of ways it reminded me about Jean-Pierre Melville's Le samourai - but not because Johnny Halliday and Alain Delon's protagonists share the same name (interestingly enough, Delon was initially considered for the main role). Rather, because in both films killing is seen as a ritual.

What does not work in Vengeance is precisely what was meant to make it special - the Memento-esque spin. For the most part, Halliday's transformation into a cool killer who struggles to remember who his enemy is simply does not work. He is a lot more impressive as the aging, jaded chef who needs Kwai, Chu and Fat Lok's guidance. Still, I like the dark atmosphere in Vengeance. The film may not be one of To's greatest, but parts of it are truly engrossing, oozing with style.

The lensing is fantastic. Cinematographers Cheng Siu-keung and To Hung Mo have done a terrific job with the elaborate shootouts. The panoramic vistas from Hong Kong and Macau are also impressive.

In 2009, Vengeance was nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Vengeance Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and grated a 1080p transfer, Johnnie To's Vengeance arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors MegaStar.

This is a somewhat inconsistent high-definition transfer. Many of the nighttime scenes, for example, look soft, at times even a bit noisy. Contrast levels also fluctuate a bit, especially during the second half of the film. Clarity, however, is mostly pleasing. The film's unique color-scheme - a mix of warm yellow, green, orange and blue - is never overwhelming, but it certainly is one of the major factors for the presence of the softness mentioned above; another factor is the mild noise-filtering that is noticeable during selected scenes. On the other hand, aside from a few tiny flecks popping up here and there, I did not notice any disturbing scratches, cuts, or stains to report in this review. To sum it all up, while Vengeance may not be reference material, it is also far and away from being a major disappointment, and I most definitely do not have a problem recommending the film to Johnnie To fans. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Vengeance Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, MegaStar have provided optional English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I expected an aggressive English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track, one that would rival the Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track found on MegaStar's Blu-ray release of Johnnie To's Exiled. There are plenty of shootouts in Vengeance that I assumed would sound as spectacular as the shootouts in Exiled. I must say, however, that the English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track is quite conservative, with rear channel activity that is far from spectacular. This is not to say that the English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track is disappointing - on the contrary, I thought that it was very strong - but not as punchy and as aggressive as I expected it to be. This said, the basics are certainly intact - the bass is rich and the high-frequencies not overdone. Additionally, the dialog is crisp, clear and very easy to follow. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

Generally speaking, the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track is unremarkable. I tested a couple of scenes with it, and while I did not find any specific technical flaws, dynamically it is notably underwhelming.

Vengeance Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

Trailer - The original theatrical trailer for Vengeance. With optional English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

Vengeance Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

There is definitely more style than substance in Johnnie To's Vengeance, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. So long as you know what not to expect from this film, I believe you would enjoy it. RECOMMENDED.

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