Movie:
Meltdown, originally titled Shu dan long wei and released in 1995, was directed by Wong Jing. The film stars Jet Li (Kit), Jacky Cheung (Frankie), Charlie Yeung (Joyce), Valerie Chow (Fai-Fai), and Kelvin Wong (the Doctor). Due to be released on June 19th from Columbia Tristar, the film does not feature the original language track. Shu dan long wei is, however, being released/re-priced by Tai Seng on July 17th as High Risk and the DVD does include the original audio track.

After failing to deactivate a terrorist bomb planted by the Doctor that killed his wife, Kit Li leaves the army. Two years later, Kit is working as the bodyguard and secret stunt double of a high profile martial arts actor named Frankie Lone. Lone, along with many other rich and famous people, is invited to a showing of Russian jewels at the Grandeur Hotel. At the gala event, however, the Doctor and his men arrive, seal off the building, and completely take it over in an attempt to claim the jewels. And all that stands in their way is Kit Li…

As it should be obvious from reading the summary, Die Hard heavily influenced Meltdown. The two films share quite a few similarities, though the director did add a few new elements. However, instead of being mostly all action like Die Hard, Meltdown has quite a bit of comic relief in the character of Frankie Lone, a martial arts actor who's afraid of real fights. At times, the Lone character seems to be a spoof on Jackie Chan and even Bruce Lee. I also felt the film was anticlimactic – Jet Li and the Doctor don't even square off once. The film does have quite a large body count and Jet Li does have some great fights, so action fans should be pleased.

Picture:
Meltdown is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The transfer is, on the whole, quite good, though I did notice some problems. At several points during the film, it seems as if the movie skips slightly, which might be from missing frames. Also, several fight scenes are "sped-up," which is easily noticeable. Print defects, however, are absent - I didn't notice any marks, scratches, or lines.

Sound:
Meltdown is presented in three dubbed tracks: Dolby Digital 5.1 in English and Dolby Surround 2.0 in English and French. The 5.1 surround is almost entirely front based, with the rear surrounds used mainly for ambience. Directionality is rather limited as well. None of this is too surprising, as the film was originally presented in 2.0, not 5.1. Dialogue is center channel based, and for the most part, it's clean and understandable. However, several scenes feature rap music, which may or may not have been present in the original Hong Kong version of the film. The rap music, I feel, detracts from the movie and masks some of the fighting effects later on. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are also available.

Extras:
Extras include filmographies for Jing, Li, Cheung, Yeung, Chow, and Yau Shuk Ching, trailers for this film, Once Upon a Time in China, Red Dragon, Jackie Chan's The Prisioner, and Jackie Chan's Gorgeous, and a photo gallery with Jet Li trivia.

Summary:
Meltdown is a decent action/comedy film with Jet Li – the movie feels quite familiar to Die Hard, but this is mostly a good thing. I was disappointed that Columbia Tristar has only provided dubbed language tracks, but those who prefer them should be pleased. The film, either as Meltdown (dubbed) or High Risk (original language), is definitely worth a rental for fans of Hong Kong action films or Jet Li, though for most, the film won't warrant a purchase. Rent it.