Insight Blu Ray Review (Gravitas Ventures)

Insight is a 2021 action film written, produced, and directed by Ken Zheng (Down by the River and The Last Supper) and Livi Zheng (Brush with Danger, The Lost Soul, Amazing Blitar, Vibrant Jakarta, and Pixel). Jian Huang (played by: Ken Zheng from Brush with Danger) is a counter-terrorism agent that works for Frank (played by: John Savage from The Deer Hunter, Summer of Sam, Do the right Thing, The Godfather Part III, The Thin Red Line, Tales from the Crypt, Carnivàle, Dark Angel, and The Killing Kind). Jian is skilled with martial arts and he has clairvoyance superpowers that can be dangerous in the wrong hands. The detectives in Los Angeles which includes Abby (played by: Madeline Zima from Californication, Bombshell, Doom Patrol, Heroes, The Collector, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and The Nanny) and Carl (played by: Tony Todd from the Candyman franchise, Night of the Living Dead, Final Destination franchise, Hatchet franchise, The Rock, Platoon, The Crow, Sabotage, Wishmaster, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Flash, and 24) are not convinced about a recent situation when approached. Jian needs their assistance. Jian knows that his brother didn’t commit suicide so he does his own investigation. Abby gets involved but she ends up getting framed so she’s now hunted down by her own police department ran by Captain Duke (played by: Keith David from The Thing, They Live, There’s something about Mary, Requiem for a Dream, Armageddon, Spawn, Crash, Riddick franchise, Platoon, Dead Presidents, and Clockers). A high-tech criminal known as Wallace Jackson (played by: Sean Patrick Flanery from The Boondock Saints franchise, Saw 3D, Suicide Kings, Powder, Dexter, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Best Men, and The Dead Zone) sends mercenaries and corrupt law enforcement for the man with unique talents to use for his own greed!!!! Insight would have been a major feature if it was produced in the 90’s with this solid cast of veterans. That was a long time ago, lots of stuff has changed since then. This low budget action crime hybrid has an interesting concept that grabs your attention. You know when you see an independent film that’s written, directed, and stars the same person? That’s almost always a major red flag and a really bad sign, Insight definitely fits in that unfortunate category. Lead actor, writer, and co-director Ken Zheng as Jian Huang is awful here. It’s one of the worst performances that I’ve seen in a long time. He should stick to being a writer and director because he really hurt this production by putting himself as the lead in this. I will say that he handled the action fights with ease, that’s the best thing about him when it comes to Insight. Madeline Zima as Abby is the main reason to check this out. She still looks amazing, this was a different type of role for her. She tried her best to elevate Ken Zheng here but they didn’t have good chemistry together. Sean Patrick Flanery as Wallace Jackson was a solid villain. I know why they did it because of their budget but his character spends most of his screentime in a variety of rooms masterminding his destructive plans. He does do more towards the end. The supporting cast is better than expected here which includes Tony Todd, Keith David, John Savage, Adam Huss (Power), Jen Kuo Sung (Grandma’s Boy), and Jonny Siew (Heroes). Insight had enough action, suspense, and fights to keep you entertained. I really liked the superpower element and I think it could have been used a little more here. Insight had lots of potential but it’s hard to go anywhere with such a bad lead actor so it’s just okay to be honest. It’s worth watching at least once but just keep your expectations low. Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Gravitas Ventures! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer looks great on blu ray especially for it’s budget. The visual fx, locations, and cinematography shine. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The audio is better than expected here. All of the dialogue is very clean, the action is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. Unfortunately, there’s no special features on this. This is a professional BD-R home video release. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!