I never had a 3D TV and now even my friends who had them have upgraded to 4K. So I’m reviewing the red/blue anaglyph 3D version.
Magnificent Bodyguards is not a “Jackie Chan movie” since it’s still a Lo Wei film, but it’s been my only chance to see Jackie in 3D. We didn’t get Dragon Blade or Chinese Zodiac in 3D here.
The anaglyph kind of works. It’s a little blurry, but you see fights in front of the forests. Staffs maybe swing to the front of your TV stand if not all the way to your sofa. The ones that try to come out that far split into double vision. The subtler effects work better and really add dimension to even simple Kung Fu.
Punches and kicks come in front of the black bars and subtitles. The visible wires are in 3D too. Of course, the red and blue lenses color the film, and you may have to take breaks for your eyes, but you can do that at home. It still works better than Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare and 3D is the only reason to watch this basic Kung Fu plot.
Frank Djeng confirms in his commentary with F.J. De Santo that he still has four 3D TVs (one is an unboxed backup). They’re not watching a 3D copy but De Santo can still notice the widescreen framing with foreground to maximize the 3D effect.
Two new appreciations of the film by James Mudge and Steve Lawson give the film its due. As Chan’s career was breaking free of Lo Wei it may have seemed like a setback, but now it is a worthy curiosity, particularly for the use of early 3D technology.
The lenticular cover also gives a nice impression of the 3D awaiting inside.