SWAT captain Dong Gu (Andy Oh) makes a bad call during a violent siege at a courthouse caused by insane terrorists that, while made with good intentions, was counter to politically motivated demands. As a result, several of his men are injured or killed, and while he does manage to take down the head terrorist, the incident renders him blind and discharged from service, with the terrorist’s crazy imprisoned wife (Yang Xing) swearing vengeance against him. Moving on, Dong Gu has now settled into a domestic family life free of the day-to-day rush of being a cop while slowly learning how to fight again without sight. His life is thrown into turmoil though when his daughter is kidnapped by a sex trafficking ring. Meanwhile the insane female criminal whose terrorist husband he killed has escaped prison and has tracked him down, posing as a cop wanting to “help” him find his daughter, like a cat toying with a mouse. Neither she nor the sex traffickers realize what Dong Gu is willing to do to get back his daughter at all costs.
Blind War is equal parts classic Hong King action (with a dash of comedy), Marvel’s Daredevil and Liam Neeson vehicle Taken and is honestly a hell of a lot of fun. While it’s obvious we aren’t dealing with a blockbuster budget here (some of the CGI effects look pretty cheap and the editing is a bit jittery in places to hide some of the flaws), this preposterous flick throws one over-the-top action sequence after another at us, never really giving the audience the chance and stop to think too hard about the plot. While that sounds a bit dubious, I honestly appreciate it. Sometimes I just want to relax and watch a blind guy murder the ever-loving shit out of goon after goon. Yang Xing as the crazy terrorist pretending to help him is also great to watch, really chewing scenery at every opportunity. She is also given a great action scene toward the end that rivals anything from our lead. While I mentioned the editing is a bit spotty in places, the actual directing of the action is very dynamic and impactful, the kind of stuff that’s sure to get your adrenaline pumping, and Andy Oh is able to create real pathos for a character that could easily have been one-dimensional.
Once again, Well Go USA has provided an excellent HD transfer with lots of discernible detail and a crystal clear image. On the audio front, we get two Mandarin audio tracks in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The 5.1 track especially offers lots of separation into the rear channels to place you in the midst of battle. It’s a very nicely mixed track for an action-heavy movie. Unfortunately the disc includes no extras beyond a few promotional trailers for other Well Go USA releases (although the closing credits of the film has some nice outtakes).
If you yearn for violent shootouts and bone-crunching blind guy action, Blind War should sate your appetite quite nicely.