Why So Blu?

The Adventurers (Blu-ray Review)

Wai Lok-yan (Lau) was just eight years old when his parents were killed before his eyes in Cambodia, where his father had been working for the CIA during Pol Pot’s ascent to power in the latter days of the Cambodian Civil War. Taken to Thailand by his father’s colleague Seung (Chiang), Yan grows up to join the Thai Air Force and comes to discover that his father’s murderer – Ray Liu (Paul Chun, Royal Tramp), once a double agent – has now become a wealthy arms dealer based in the United States. With the help of the CIA, Yan intends to get close to Liu and have his revenge by taking on an assumed identity and gaining the trust of Liu’s daughter, Crystal (Jacklyn Wu, A Moment of Romance) – but first he will need to go undercover in San Francisco’s criminal underworld to rescue her from the clutches of the Vietnamese Black Tiger Gang. The Adventurers is a hidden gem amongst the many heroic bloodshed films produced in Hong Kong during the 1990s. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time in North America from a brand new 2K restoration. The Adventurers is released on Blu-ray April 29th,2025!

Film

The Adventurers is one of those Hong Kong action flicks that doesn’t always get mentioned in the same breath as the classics, but there’s a certain scrappy charm to it that fans of the genre can appreciate. Directed by Ringo Lam, who’s better known for gritty thrillers like City on Fire and Full Contact, this one leans a bit more into melodrama and globe-trotting adventure — but you can still feel Lam’s fingerprints all over the place.

Andy Lau plays Wai Lok-yan, a soldier-turned-mercenary who ends up entangled in a web of betrayal, treasure hunting, and romance. He’s trying to move past a tragic love affair and a rough childhood, but as these things go, trouble follows him everywhere. The plot kicks off with some promise — there’s espionage, jungle action, and even a gold-smuggling subplot — but it doesn’t always stick the landing. The story bounces between Hong Kong, and Cambodia, and while that sounds epic on paper, it ends up feeling a bit scattered. They even filmed some of this in San Francisco and Marin County, so go figure.

Still, Andy Lau is rock solid. The guy just has presence. Whether he’s blasting through a jungle ambush or giving a long stare into the rain, he holds the screen like a pro. His chemistry with Rosamund Kwan adds some emotional weight, though the romance angle feels a little under-cooked. The supporting cast includes David Chiang and Paul Chun, who bring a bit of old-school gravitas, even when the script isn’t doing them any favors.

Action-wise, there’s some good stuff here. Lam knows how to direct chaos — gunfights, explosions, hand-to-hand brawls—it’s all got that slightly grimy, high-stakes feel. One jungle ambush scene in particular is shot with intensity and some real grit, even if the pacing is a bit uneven leading up to it.

The movie definitely has its flaws. The pacing drags in spots, some of the dialogue feels like it came straight from a soap opera, and the tone is all over the place. But for fans of ’90s Hong Kong cinema, it’s an interesting piece—part action drama, part pulp adventure, and a peek at a director trying something a bit different.

 

Video

NOTE: Stills are provided for promotional use only and are not from the Blu-ray

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

HDR: N/A

Layers: BD-50

Clarity and Detail: The 2K restoration does a solid job bringing out texture and definition that was long buried in older home video versions. Facial close-ups, costume stitching, and set design elements come through with a newfound crispness. Stock footage and some of the scenes of the fighter jets fare a bit worse. Some shots still show soft focus inherent to the original photography, but overall clarity is a big step up.

Depth: There’s a nice sense of dimensionality in many scenes, especially in daylight exteriors and jungle sequences. Foreground and background separation feels more natural, and the remaster gives the image a subtle but appreciable sense of space and layering.

Black Levels: Black levels are vastly improved — deep and stable, with good shadow detail retention. Night scenes and dark interiors avoid crush and display better gradation than before, helping enhance the film’s moodier sequences.

Color: The color timing leans toward a natural, slightly warm palette that suits the era and setting. Greens and earth tones in the jungle pop nicely, while city lights and costume details gain new life. It doesn’t push saturation too far, keeping things filmic and faithful to the original look. Those greens were lush!

Flesh Tones: Skin tones look balanced and consistent throughout. The warm lean gives a slightly sun-kissed look in outdoor shots without veering into unnatural territory. Lighting variations are handled gracefully, avoiding the blotchy or overly red tones found in past versions.

Noise and Artifacts: Grain structure appears intact and filmic, adding texture without overwhelming the image. No signs of overzealous DNR or edge enhancement. Print damage has been largely cleaned up — no scratches or specks to speak of — and the encode handles motion and dark scenes without introducing compression issues.

Audio

Audio Format(s): Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Cantonese LPCM 2.0 (Restored Cantonese Stereo), Cantonese LPCM 2.0 (Unrestored Original Cantonese Stereo)

Subtitles: English

Dynamics: The DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix breathes new life into the film’s soundscape. Action scenes benefit the most, with gunfire, explosions, and score cues hitting with more punch and clarity. Quiet, dialogue-driven moments have a natural ebb and flow without any noticeable peaking or distortion. The restored LPCM 2.0 track also shows solid dynamic range, especially for purists who prefer a more original experience.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: Bass is present but not overwhelming. The LFE channel in the 5.1 mix adds some weight during shootouts and more intense sequences, though it doesn’t dig especially deep. It’s more about support than rumble. The stereo tracks keep things tighter and leaner, as expected.

Surround Sound: Despite being labeled as a 5.1 mix, the surround presence is minimal. Rear channel activity is almost non-existent, with the majority of the sound confined to the front speakers. Dialogue, music, and effects all feel anchored to the front soundstage, giving it a very narrow and forward-leaning presentation. It lacks immersive depth, and fans expecting an enveloping surround experience may be disappointed. The stereo tracks naturally follow suit, maintaining a clean but flat front-channel focus.

Dialogue: Dialogue is clean and well-prioritized across all three tracks. In the 5.1 mix, vocals stay firmly anchored in the center channel, with no issues during overlapping effects or music. The restored stereo mix slightly improves vocal clarity compared to the original unrestored stereo, which has a touch more hiss and a flatter, narrower presentation. Still, all tracks remain intelligible and authentic to the film’s age and production.

Extras

The bonus features pack a nice punch for fans of Hong Kong cinema. There’s a sharp new commentary from critic David West that digs into the film’s context and Ringo Lam’s style. Two Adventurers, an interview with Gary Bettinson, adds some thoughtful academic insight without being too dry. The archival interview with writer/producer Sandy Shaw is a cool time capsule, and the original trailer rounds things out.

• New audio commentary by film critic David West
• Two Adventurers – new interview with Gary Bettinson, editor of Asian Cinema journal
• Previously unseen archival interview with writer and producer Sandy Shaw
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by Hong Kong cinema scholar Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park

 

Summary

It’s not top-tier Ringo Lam, but it’s got moments that remind you why his name still carries weight. The Adventurers was made shortly before Ringo Lam departed for Hollywood to make Maximum Risk with Jean-Claude Van Damme. And hey, any excuse to watch Andy Lau run through the jungle with a gun isn’t a bad one. The Blu-ray looks great and sounds okay. The extras are above average. Overall,  a worthy entry into the Ringo Lam filmography on the Blu-ray format.

 

 

The Adventurers is released on Blu-ray April 29, 2025!

PRE-ORDER NOW!

 

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