Mark Chao continues his accent into leading man status with the lead in this film by replacing Andy Lau as the younger Dee. The trailer starts with Mark's voice and it's on. Angelababy takes up leading lady status for this film. With the mystery set on high, we'll see if they can make these prequels a franchise. I for one hope it does.
Saviour of the Soul (九一神鵰俠侶) is an 1991 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau and Anita Mui. The supporting cast include Aaron Kwok, Gloria Yip, Kenny Bee, and Carina Lau. The title of the film is translated to 91 The Return of the Condor Heroes.
Silver Fox breaks his master out of prison. But there clan doesn't accept failure. Thus Silver Fox is forced to kill his master. In order to take revenge, he seeks the person that prevented his master from succeeding, May. May is a bounty hunter in a group. Ching is May's partner from their younger years. Siu Chuen is a recent addition to the group. Siu sacrifices himself to save May during a brutal attack from Silver Fox. May wants to protect her loves one and goes into seclusion. However, Silver Fox and Ching both wait a year before they see May again.
This movie was early 1990s goodness all rolled up into one. Cheezy acting and style, a la the crazy trench coats. The crazy kung fu magic of the clans. The modern take on The Return of the Condor Heroes. I love it. But I am from that era and learned to love HK film during that time. The craziness of HK films was so different than the American films of that era.
The story itself is based on one of the more famous story arcs of The Return of the Condor Heroes. GuGu and Yang Guo are separated for ten years and crazy things happen to them both. Although some elements were swapped, it was in essential the story arc made into a film, with a modern spin.
Let the Bullets Fly (讓子彈飛) is an 2010 film out of Zhong Guo. The movie stars Chow Yun-fat, Jiang Wen, and Ge You. The large supporting cast include Carina Lau, Feng Xiaogang, Zhou Yun, Jiang Wu, Chen Kun, Hu Jun, Liao Fan, Wei Xiao, Shao Bing, and Miao Pu. There were many more. I only listed the ones I know.
The movie starts with a train going through southern Zhong Guo in 1920. The train is hijacked by bandits. The bandits demand money. The man on the train suggest that they can get money from a nearby town if they pretend to be the governor. The bandits and the man goto Goose Town to get money. Once there, the bandits find that a business man functions as the town warlord. The bandits go into battle of wits with blood and lives.
The movie is a thriller about how a bandit group takes on a local warlord and wins. I don't know if this was to play on the current state of how the people in Zhong Guo feel about some of the government corruption. When the people feel hopeless, they go with the one with power for safety. When they feel that fairness is within reach, they will fight for it. At least, that's what I walked away from the film thinking.
The acting in this film was pretty awesome. From Chow to Wen to Ge. It was pretty amazing to see them at work. Through in there a who's who of the current Zhong Guo actors landscape, you have a pretty amazing film, in terms of acting. The story was also quite convoluted. You have to pay attention to follow. No bathroom breaks for this. But you have the pause button.
It took me two sittings to get through this. The first was over a year ago via a local video store. The second was via Netflix.
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (通天神探狄仁傑/狄仁傑之通天帝國) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movies stars Andy Lau, Li Bing Bing, Carina Lau, and Tony Leung Ka Fai. Tsui Hark plays both producer and director. The movie is based on China's first and only female Empress Wu Zetian. Detective Dee was a high official during that time.
We Zetian is on the eve of announcing to the world that she's the boss of China! To show off, a 60 story statue is being built. When some mysterious deaths start, the queen sends for Dee to solve the mystery. Dee than starts on a deep exploration of the area around the kingdom to find the answers. But as the clues start to add up, they are thwarted and ambushed quite often. Do not fret as Detective Dee is on the case.
This was a pretty amazing film. The CG was pretty good for a HK produced film. More importantly, the story of mystery and historical doom kept me on the ride. Andy puts on a masterful performance that I think will deserve award type recognition. The story was wrapped in intrigue and mystery. The exact type of movie that keeps me engaged and thinking.
