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Blu-ray Review: WOLF PACK

Jan 07 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Doctor Ke Tong (Aarif Lee) lost his father several years earlier, but the reason for his death was never explained. Before Tong’s mother died, she showed him a symbol, and said it would point him to the people who killed his father. Every since, Tong has traveled the world under the guise of providing medical aid, retracing his father’s footsteps and looking for answers. He also took Special Ops training along the way in preparation for the day he would finally come face-to-face with his father’s killer.

One day, while assisting some sick and injured people in a desert, Tong is abducted by a group claiming to work for the MEA (Medical Emergency Assistance), but it turns out they are mercenaries working for a private military company called Beiwei International Security and Defense Company. The owner of the company is Lao Diao (Max Zhang), who is joined by his longtime brother-in-arms, sniper Saiyan (Yi Zhang), intelligence expert Monstrosity (Jiang Luxia), and communications/tech expert Fireball (Mark Luu), as well as Bombshell (Kuo-Chung Tang), who’s in charge of suppressive fire, and Fly (Liu Ye), a veteran who was referred to him by a security headhunter. The group is on a mission to stop a terrorist group known as God Slave 206, which is working for some wealthy Eastern energy magnates, who are hoping to discredit and take down the cooperative gas field that provides cheaper, affordable energy to Chinese citizens. At first Tong is reluctant to join/assist these mercenaries, but he soon realizes that he was not chosen at random—Diao appears to have some connection with his father and may hold the answers he is looking for. So he puts his special ops training to good use as this small but well-tuned team sets out to save the world from an international conspiracy that threatens the lives of millions.





Wolf Pack is a non-stop, action-packed adventure. The team is a well-tuned military unit when it comes to executing a plan, but each of the members has their own quirks or unusual personality. We see early on that Tong is no ordinary doctor, and that he has some special skills of his own. The team initially kidnaps him to perform emergency surgery on a hostile in the middle of the desert, but without a hospital or the proper tools, he’s forced to MacGyver up his own emergency medical equipment out of some random things he can find. Then, as he tries to get away from his captors, Tong is able to hold his own against the other trained mercenaries. As he spends time with the group, he starts to become friends with the others and a full-fledged member of the pack himself.

The film does a nice job of exploring the backstory of each of these characters, giving a little info on how they came to join this mercenary group. Each of the characters also gets a chance to showcase their unique talents while carrying out the mission. The film has a lot of excellent action set pieces as the team faces various threats, and we see them using guns, explosives and even close hand-to-hand combat while trying to neutralize the threat. Much of the action feels very realistic. I especially enjoyed a scene later in the film as Monstrosity makes use of chairs and anything else she can find as projectiles and weapons. Over the course of the film you really get to know and fall in love with these characters, especially as the story takes some surprising and dramatic turns. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and would definitely like to see another adventure with this pack!

Well Go’s Blu-ray only offers the film in its original Mandarin language, though there are portions of the film that are in English, such as whenever foreign characters are speaking to one another or with Diao. The English subtitles are pretty well-written and easy to follow, and are offered in both English and “Full English”, where the English-spoken parts are also subtitled. The soundtrack is quite immersive, utilizing the surround channel to put the viewer right in the middle of the action, whether it’s helicopters overhead, bullets flying back and forth, explosions, or hand-to-hand combat. The video presentation is also excellent, with a clean, clear picture throughout that captures all of the action with an excellent level of detail.

Well Go’s Blu-ray release is a barebones, just including the film’s trailer and some previews for three other Well Go films as bonus material. The Blu-ray comes packed in a locking HD keepcase. There is no digital copy, but our review copy did include a nice cardboard slipcover.

 


What’s Included:

Film: (1:44:36)

    Blu-ray:

    • 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
    • Audio: Mandarin 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Mandarin Stereo
    • Subtitles: English, Full English

Extras:

 


Final Thoughts:

My Rating
Film:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Recommended

Wolf Pack is a fun, action-packed adventure, featuring some entertaining characters and exciting action sequences, both with weapons and hand-to-hand combat. I’d certainly go on another adventure with this team! Well Go’s Blu-ray looks and sounds great, but doesn’t include any bonus material besides the film’s trailer. The film is definitely worth a look for action fans. (It is also currently on sale for just $5 on Digital at Amazon at the time of this review!)



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