Hero (2002 Film Review)

Hello Everybody, so today I finally had a chance to watch Hero which is a 2002 Chinese Wu Xia film directed by Zhang Yimou and stars the main protagonist Jet Li who plays a nameless character. Set around 200's BC, this film is basically a storytelling film on how the protagonist was able to kill three assassins Long Sky, Flying Snow, and Broken Sword. 

Although this film received very positive reviews, for me I am not totally convinced on the plot as it does get a bit confusing at times as the film moves from present to the past and back and forth, with lies being told, it is uncertain if what we see from the past is actually part of the actual story or not. After about half way through the film I was completely lost(part of the reason why this review is so short).

On another note praise must be given to the artistic side of the film as almost all of the fighting scenes are shot beautifully and it's rare for costumes to always match the set(does that make sense)?? The director was able to film many scenes of fighting sequences interacting with water(just when is that ever really done in other films??). Sounds a bit random but if you take a look at the film for yourself you'll understand what I mean. An example such as two people hitting water droplets against each other. Did I mention that there's some really beautiful scenes of China too(at least you think it's in China).

As for the action, there is a fair bit of it in this film, and like I said before, the director(or choreographer??) took an artistic approach to all the fighting scenes as they are not like your usual fight scenes(Props for the use of wire-work). 

Hm... can't say much else unfortunately. I'd have to give this film a 6.5/10. I mean it's not too bad but I find it really confusing because one moment you think someone is dead, and the next minute they are fine. Anyway until next time, bye!

The Prodigal Son (Movie Review)

Hey everyone! I watched this movie yesterday, and first off, I want to say that I got it at a bargain! $1.50!!! Amazing!!! So anyway, this is a 1981 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Sammo Hung starring Yuen Biao as Leung Chang, the main protagonist who has a wealthy family. He was taught martial arts, and fought against numerous guys and won each time, until he faces a girl (later revealed to be a guy) who is in a opera troupe. Leung later finds out that he wasn't taught real martial arts due to the fact that his father didn't want him to be hurt, that's why he won all those previous fights until now.

Overall the film has a different feel to your usual Hong Kong martial arts film, obviously film techniques was limited during that time, but the overall plot is quite different to your usual films these days. It wasn't until maybe half way through the film did I figure out what the plot was actually supposed to be about, though I like how we see Leung learn martial arts, and we as viewers learn some moves at the same time too. Though the film got good reviews and won awards in the past, compared to films now, I fill a bit so-so about this film, it's not good or bad, I feel like it's just a film that passes, though most Hong Kong films during this time were sort of similar so I'm not complaining.

Of course martial arts films have lots of action in it, and this film sure has action. The type of fighting is bloody action, so you see lots of blood. What was new to me was fighting with Chinese Opera characters, they used make-up in one scene which was funny, and also there was a scene in which they fight in a burning building so these are two pretty new types of fighting scenes I have never seen before which is cool.

Yea anyway, overall I'd rate this film a 7/10. I bought a few other martial arts films at a bargain too, so can't wait to watch them! The cheapest was 50 cents!!

House of Fury (Film Review)

Hello everybody! For my final review today,  I will be reviewing the 2005 HK movie "House of Fury" written and directed by Stephen Fung, thought the people who produced the DVD cover decided to only add in the name "Produced by Jackie Chan", which is true, but fails to mention other names on the cover.

But anyway, this is a martial arts/ comedy film, more martial arts than anything.  To keep the plot short, a father(Terry Yue Siu-bo played by Anthony Wong)  is raising his two children (Nicky Yue played by Stephen Fung and  Natalie Yue played by Gillian Chung) after the death of his wife and is soon kidnapped and questioned about the whereabouts of a former CIA agent. It is up to the kids to find and rescue him, but as they do that, their father's past is quickly uncovered.

So anyway, you can expect a lot of fighting, and when I say a lot, almost the whole film revolves around fighting. In a way, I can say that the style feels similar to Kung Fu Hustle (the action director did direct that film after all). So if you're interested in martial arts films then this is definitely the film for you!

There is a part in the film where you suddenly think that a character turns out to be the bad guy, but you're shocked to find out that he's not, so I thought that was pretty smart! There are a couple of relationships going on in the film, but not much to think of it as a romance film. Comedy wise, I didn't find any bits funny at all, but that's just me.

Overall I can't say that there's anything bad about this film, but I feel like that it's missing something, so I'm not completely sold on it. But all I can say is that i it were an American film, then there'd be a massive explosion at the end!

My rating for this film would have to be a 6.5/10, so it's pretty average for me. But you can tell me what you think! Until next time, bye!