A Legend

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, the formidable Huns troops and cavalry repeatedly invaded the Central Plains and occupied the Hexi region. The Han Dynasty's cavalry power urgently needed to be strengthened. Huo Qubing;s oficers Zhao Zhan and Huajun went deep into the Hexi region to survey the eney's situation and look for good stallions

Special features include the trailer and upfront previews.

The 2.39:1:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed digitally, post in Dolby Vision and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. This is a strikingly beautiful picture with a rich and warm color palette. The production design shifts from present time to historical Han time. The settings reflect each environment, one with modern interiors and settings and the other with mostly earthly settings, such as landscapes. The Han horses are magnificent. The colors exhibit earth hues and appear perfectly natural. The urban setting also appears realistic with excellent color accuracy. Contrast is superb. Black levels, such as the color of horses and their hair, are deep. Shadow delineation is revealing. White levels appear perfectly natural. Resolution is excellent with fine detail exhibited throughout. Facial features reveal tiny skin pores, complexions, beards and hair, Costumes are fabulous and well detailed, such as armored attire. Objects are well defined. Mountains, environments and backgrounds are detailed. This is a spectacular motion picture with incredible action sequences that are exciting. (Gary Reber)

Originally created in Dolby Atmos, the repurposed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel soundtrack is dynamic sounding. A prominent element is Nathan Wang's orchestral /choral score, which is spread wide and deep across the soundstage with a very aggressive extension to the surrounds for strong sound field envelopment and dimension. Sound effects also are intense as occurring during sword fight scenes. Such is enhanced with intense transients and deep sub-25 Hz bass in the .1 LFE channel. The sounds of thunder and explosions are powerful. The horses are amazing and their sounds are completely realistic. The clings and body slicings sound realistic. Atmospherics sound realistic. Foley sound effects are activity engaged and synched well to picture. Surrounds are constantly engaged, often with intensity and directionality. The Mandarin dialogue is accompanied with flash subtitles, which require close attention to understand the storyline. The English language soundtrack is preferred for understanding. In any case, the dialogue is mostly ADR produced, forward sounding and waning in spatial integration. This is action-packed holosonic® soundtrack that is very dynamic sounding and dimensional with intense sound effects, choreography and sweeping music. This is a good workout for a capable home theatre system. If it were not for the very forward dialogue and other sound element forwardness the rating would be 5. This also should have been released in 4K Ultra HD. (Gary Reber)