Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1985)
In the fifth century, constant civil war scars western China. To escape death, Ti, a young scout, jumps through a crevice in the Zu mountains where he gets entangled in a great battle against the Blood Demon, a supernatural entity seeking to wreak havoc upon the world.
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What you'll take away from this film very much depends on your own experiences and preferences towards cinema. It is heavy on special effects, the plot is somewhat confusing (no more so than most kung-fu fantasy movies) and due to CGI in 2006 being so good, it does look rather dated. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me reminisce on those Saturday / Sunday morning films I used to watch as a kid (like Sinbad)which were great fun without being particularly thought provoking or cinematic masterpieces. The actors do their bit and the film has a genuine comedic edge to the dialogue, and some excellent visual comedy too. The music is suitably dramatic, stirring and heightens the feeling of awe caused by the special effects and snappy camera-work. Groundbreaking in terms of special effects (1983!!)and a real comeback for fantasy kung fu, but a little light in characterisation and looks a bit dated. I also prefer martial arts films with conventional fight scenes so would have liked a few more of those. Worth seeing.
This is a film that was the border of the old era in Hong Kong and the beginning of the new, effectively heralding Tsui Hark as the force of the future. The plot of a bunch of warriors taking on a great evil had been done before there was something about the way it was done here that made everyone sit up and take notice.Personally I'm underwhelmed by this film. It is a good film but taken out of its historical context it plays rather routine. Worse it suffers from Tsui Hark's habit of stressing form of content and the plot gets lost in the second half. Truthfully, by the time I actually saw this I was so hyped up that there was no way it could ever live up to what I was expecting.If you like martial arts film, or even action fantasies, try this, its not bad, its just not the be all and end all I know some people claim it is.
Frankly, I am confused that this movie has such a high rating from other users. I am a huge fan of Hong Kong period action/fantasy/swordplay movies, but I just couldn't get into this movie. I kept waiting for it to get better, but unfortunately, it just got worse! So much is said about the "ground breaking" special effects, but I felt like I was watching a Saturday morning cartoon. On paper, this movie should've been great. Produced by Tsui Hark, and an all-star cast... Too bad the plot was so silly/bad. I would definitely recommend the movie Deadful Melody (aka Deadly Melody) over this one. Better fight scenes, better humor, colorful-well-played characters, and a plot that makes sense.
This is the best kung-fu-comedy-action-horror film I've seen since "Big Trouble in Little China". I know that Asian films a bit...off centre but this takes the biscuit. The story revolves around a Scout during an Ancient Civil War who, via the most colourful battle scene EVER, ends up a mystical mountain range. There he meets heroes who battle the vile demons who roam the mountains. Who attack with flags. Then the Blood Monstaer appears and things get a little surreal...