Chuck Norris is at it again. No, not your normal Chuck Norris…the bad Chuck Norris, directed by brother Aaron. Simply put, it is appalling acting and direction from a quality point of view, but the simplistic and thin story is appealing for younger children.
Chuck Norris stars as John McKenna, a man who is shot and killed in 1875 on Tanglewood Mountain while trying to bring medicine home to his wife. But the native elders know that McKenna’s spirit still remains in the woods, and the spirit is the Forest Warrior, watching over the forest and protecting it from deforestation.
The video transfer is really good, given the actual film content. It is presented in the Pan & Scan 1.33:1 ratio, originally being 1.85:1, as the packaging states. Oh well, I guess it is good practice for the Pan & Scan Harry Potter but that’s another story. As the film is 1.33:1, it is not 16x9 enhanced.
Colours look beautiful on screen, and the natural vivid greens and solid browns appear realistic and vibrant. Blacks are fairly solid, but appear slightly blue in parts. Shadow detail is reasonable, but not superb, however most of the film is in bright, well lit surroundings. The colours are all solid, with no signs of bleeding.
There is very little grain for the duration of the film, however during the beginning and end, film artifacts can be seen in clumps. There are no visible MPEG artifacts. There is some minor aliasing apparent in the usual spots such as a car grill, or other lines close together within the foliage. There are no subtitles on this disc, making it slightly harder for hearing impaired people.
There is only one audio track on this disc, and that is a Dolby Digital 2.0 English track. Dialogue levels are consistent and clear throughout the film, and sound effect levels blend into the dialogue levels.
There is no surround channel use, or discreet subwoofer use, however analogue subwoofer action could be heard, playing the lower frequencies from the stereo track.
The soundstage is fairly good, given the stereo track. When positioned correctly between the two sources, the sound has a fullness, and a richness which is similar to Virtual Pro-Logic.
Extras wise, this disc lacks, but what would you want? There is a theatrical trailer for the film, which is 1:43 in length, and is presented in the same aspect as the film, 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0. The menus are animated with audio, and look quite nice. The introduction to the menus is similar to that of Village Roadshow titles, with a non-skipable series of screens displaying copyright information and product information.
Film wise it is lacking severely, but transfer wise the disc does polish up well. The video transfer is reasonable good, and the audio not far behind, and the extras are sufficient for a film of its genre, age and budget.