Wheels on Meals Blu-ray Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

Greeting viewers with a gritty film stock, the heavier grain structure doesn't pose a challenge for Shout's encode. Going chronologically, Wheels on Meals is the looker between the two Jackie Chan Collection box sets so far. It's beautifully mastered at high resolution, dazzling in its sharpness and rich in detail. Texture is a constant whether in close to at distance. Location cinematography shines.

Excellent color reproduction keeps imagery lively, flushed with firm, rich primaries. In places, saturation can pass for a modern film, pushing flesh tones to their natural peak and allowing the other hues to thrive. The meal van's yellow is truly brilliant.

Likewise, Wheels on Meals brings firm, impressive contrast, peak brightness exceptional. Black levels marginally crush at their deepest points and skew blue, a minor flaw in a fantastic '80s restoration. Consider the total lack of damage on the print too; impressive work.

Audio

Six (!) audio options, with a default to Cantonese mono. Additional DTS-HD mixes include alternate Cantonese (different soundtrack) and an English dub in mono. Dolby Digital tracks in a rough Cantonese 5.1 upmix, and two 5.1 English dubs, one the original, the other done in 2006.

Each mix struggles to resolve the dialog. As each is dubbed, the muffled recording quality difficult to hear and hard on the ears. The music, while flat, thankfully doesn't suffer the same distortion.