Warlords Review

Hey guys,  just back from the second HK premiere of 'Warlords' - Peter Chan's epic new film, starring Jet Li, Kaneshiro Takeshi and Andy Lau. 

The film opens in theaters on Thursday the 13th, yesterday's blog was of pictures from the 'real' HK premiere,  which I went to watch as only a spectator (which is why my pictures sucked). But tonight we actually got to SEE the film.  I'll put pictures of the pre-film festivities up later,  but for now, this will have to whet your appetite:

Yes, I have San Miguel Beer to thank for my access this time!

OK, so on to the actual review:

If you don't like REALLY BLOODY, VIOLENT movies,  do NOT see this movie.  It is extremely graphic... lots of severed limbs and bloody stabbings.  Its also really dark.  If you want to see a movie with rainbows, bunny rabbits and 'Happily Ever After'  this is NOT the right film.



That said,  its also a really powerful movie. Lots of huge scenes with thousands of extras, but also lots of great acting.  For you Jet Li fans,  be prepared to see Jet act in a way he has never acted before...   much more emotion, much darker, much more passionate than I've seen in any of his other movies.  Credit has to go to Peter Chan for illiciting some great performances from Jet, Andy and Takeshi.  All do a great job with very complex characters. 

The cinematography is not 'beautiful' like you expect from a Zhang Yimou or Wong Kar Wai film... its definitely at the other end of the scale... extremely 'GRITTY'... boy there were a LOT of dirty people in 1860's China...  but it all serves to put you in a frame of mind of the characters and their emotions and situations...


When I review a film I like to make sure I don't skip the negatives, even if I really liked a film, there are a few here... there's a bit of a disjoint between the first two thirds and the last third,  but both are powerful in their own way.  Some of the editing feels rushed,  the story and characters get a bit confusing at times too...  so you better pay attention or you may get a bit lost.  Xu Jinglei does a pretty good job as the female lead as well, although her character is not quite as developed as it should be.

Like I said the battle scenes are extremely large and extremely graphic,  the film combines some great wide shots with some close-ups of the fighting,  but as a martial arts film purist,  I never like it when they zoom in to close and do a lot of fast cuts...

Despite those minor foibles,  it is a really good movie. Definitely Jet's best since Hero!  He does a good bit of fighting,  but no gravity defying acrobatics... never leaves the ground, never kicks higher than his waste and definitely no wires. 

If you can handle a bloody, downer of a movie,  this one is pretty impressive to watch.  I'll go out on a limb and give it a rarely awarded 9/10.

Premiere pics coming tomorrow!

日本語：すみません、今日ジェット・リーさんの新映画「投名狀」を見た、このレビュー英語で書きました、でも日本語まで翻訳一寸難し過ぎ。それからとても短レビューだけする：この映画とても良い、ジェット、アンディー、武君とても良かった。でもとても暴力シーンが有る。血戦一杯が有る。注意下さい！

中文:因為沒有時間﹐我不能翻譯我的'投名狀'評論。對不起!這個電影非常好﹐拍得
很好﹐演得很好﹐可是故事是非常強暴﹐有好多的浴血鏡頭。注意!