★ 8 / 10
Human Lanterns Shine Bright In The Dark Thriller Genre.
P3n-E-W1s3
Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Human Lanterns; here's the breakdown of my ratings: Story: 1.75 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.50 Acting: 1.75…
Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Human Lanterns; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.75
Direction: 1.50
Pace: 1.50
Acting: 1.75
Enjoyment: 1.75
TOTAL: 8.25 out of 10.00
The surprising element of this movie is the complex and stimulating unfolding drama. And, the bonus is the martial arts sequences, which are superb.
The writers, Kuang Ni and Chung Sun begin the story with a party. Master Tan Fu is showing off his latest conquest, Yen Chu, who was Master Lung Shu Ai's concubine. The Masters have been in a state of rivalry for many years, and this peacocking is merely another one-up-manship by Master Tan to embarrass Master Lung. But Lung has other ideas and proclaims that Tan will again be the loser in the township's lantern festival. Lung rushes to his customary lantern artist, only to find that the old man doesn't craft the beautiful beacons; he purely sells them. Once Lung's heard the seller's secret, he enquires about the artist's identity. From that moment forward, life takes a darker and more deadly path for the two masters, especially for Master Lung. The writers weave a dark, crooked road for our victims to walk down. The devious twists along the way will keep you engrossed. And the police's and victims' logical decisions and consequences towards each deviation create a powerful revenge story. Though you know the villain of the piece right from the beginning, it's a pleasure to watch the intricate plot unravel. I usually prefer whodunnits of this style. However, I profess that I loved the way the narrative's structured. It is a clever piece of writing.
Chung Sun is a man of many talents; he's as skilled behind the camera as he is pushing a pen. Human Lanterns is a beautifully lit and filmed slice of Chinese cinematography. I especially liked how the lights in the lantern makers workshop are not as bright as elsewhere - though the guy has more illumination than Blackpool and Las Vegas combined. There are lots of dark shadows, which emphasise the crafter's evil craftiness. Chung Sun is also an expert when capturing the fight sequences. Most of the time, he keeps the combatants in full frame and only uses close-ups to show off special moves, for example, Master Tan's Fan Steps at the party at the start of the movie. It is always best to see the action in full. But he also realises it's better to show certain details to add to the spectacular fight's credibility. And when the action takes place over different levels and locations, he gets imaginative with his shots.
The cast is excellent, both in their performance and fighting skills. Their talent adds to the strength of the story and your enjoyment of the picture.
If you like your Dark Thrillers with more than a dash of martial arts, or you like your Kung-Fu with a side order of an intriguing storyline, then Human Lanterns is the film for you. I would happily recommend this picture to all movie lovers worldwide - it is more than worthy of your time. I will be checking in on this beacon of illuminating excellent moviemaking again.
Blow out those candles and pop over to check out my Killer Thriller Chillers and The Game Is A Foot lists to see where I ranked Human Lanterns.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Read full review
80%
AUDIENCE
6.6/10
1.3K
•••
When it comes to foreign language films like this, is it possible to make one with the English dub (720p) and the 1080p with the original language? That way we have the choice, since you can't include 2 languages on an MP4.