Butterfly Lovers - 武俠梁祝 (劍蝶)

Butterfly Lovers (武俠梁祝/劍蝶) is a 2008 film out of Hong Kong filmed in Shanghai. The movie stars Wu Zun, Charlene Choi, and Hu Ge.

This movie takes from a classic Chinese story that is compared to Romeo and Juliet. The story is compared to because of the ending. However, the story that leads to the ending isn't very much like Romeo and Juliet. The original story doesn't include any wuxia elements. But this is a movie and a wuxia at that. So, throw in the wuxia elements.

Choi plays the only daughter of a rich family named Yanzhi. Sent to learn kung fu at a friend of her father's. Hu Ge plays Chengen, Yanzhi's long time and childhood friend. Chengen escorts Yanzhi to the kung fu school. On the way there, Zhongshan rescue's Yanzhi from local thugs. Zhongshan is a little tipsy during their first encounter. Off to school Yanzhi goes. Yanzhi finds out that Zhongshan is the 1st brother of the students of her generation. Yanzhi is assigned to take care of Yanzhi. All the while, Yanzhi is disguised as a dude. Zhongshan keeps thinking Yanzhi is a gurl and they strike up a bond. Chengen is secretly in love with Yanzhi and sets in motion a string of events to gain power and to take Yanzhi as his bride.

Love triangle? Yupe, except, Chengen is the man left out. Queue action, locked up parents, mis-communications. You've got the other half of the movie.

I was surprised to see Hu Ge as a villain. And a villain he is. Using any means possible to force Yanzhi to marry her.

Wu Zun and Choi did not have any chemistry in my opinion. The relationship that builds up between the two of them seemed forced and un-natural.

The movie had a 1990s HK wuxia movie feel. Was it good, no. Was it entertaining, for the most part. It received such bad reviews in general, that I was expecting it to suck really bad. Of which, it didn't. Sometimes, the hype that comes with a film doesn't do it justice. Wu Zun and Hu Ge will need another venture to break into the film world.

I couldn't find a trailer on youtube, but the film site has it. Who knows how much longer the film site will be up.