★ 7 / 10
Enjoyable Chinese fantasy/martial arts
steveha
There is a tradition in Chinese martial arts movies where people strong in "qi" power can jump around light as a feather, fight in treetops, and do other…
There is a tradition in Chinese martial arts movies where people strong in "qi" power can jump around light as a feather, fight in treetops, and do other superhuman feats. (Example: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.) There is plenty of that in this movie, and additionally some characters seem to have special powers that other qi masters don't have, making this in some ways like a Western superhero comic story.
My favorite character was the girl who is stuck in a wheelchair, but whose qi powers are strong enough that she is far from useless in a fight. Her name is Yayu but her nickname is "Emotionless". Like Jedi in Star Wars movies can detect each other, she can also detect other nearby qi masters. Another IMDb user review speculates that she is simply a ripoff of two characters from X-Men, but I don't agree.
The movie has a confusing start, but if you stick with it the characters and plot sort themselves out. There is a shifty criminal in a city, and it turns out that three different groups have their eye on him: the police of "Department 6", the undercover police of "The Divine Constabulary", and some mysterious assassins. Additionally a bounty hunter is after him. The initial action is confusing, as it's not clear who is who. But stick with it, and the end of the movie pays off pretty well.
This movie also has a bit of a "steampunk" vibe, with unreasonably advanced clockwork mechanisms that might be partly qi-powered. For no obvious reason there is a giant clockwork crane that Emotionless uses to reach scrolls on the high shelves of a bookcase! And mid-way through the movie, Emotionless gets a nifty upgraded wheelchair that proves useful at the end of the movie.
At nearly two hours it runs a bit longer than necessary; I can think of a few cuts that would not have hurt. Still, I give this a 7 on the 10 scale. If you like fantasy martial- arts you might want to add a point to that! Also, I really liked the music.
Note: some plot threads are left unresolved, setting up for possible sequels, but this movie has a pretty satisfying ending.
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★ 7 / 10
Enjoyable Martial Arts/Fantasy Film
champjohnson29
Thank God for Netflix because if I didn't have an account, I wouldn't have discovered an enjoyable movie. The negative reviews I read just make me roll my eyes…
Thank God for Netflix because if I didn't have an account, I wouldn't have discovered an enjoyable movie. The negative reviews I read just make me roll my eyes and want to punch those users in the face with a bad of rice hahahaha.
Firstly, I'd like to say that it's obvious that different cultures have their own, unique way of telling stories through film. It's evident in America, Europe, Asia, India and more. I took the movie for what it was and enjoyed it very much. It was like X-Men meets Naruto Shippuden meets Dragon Ball Z. I personally love a light weight corny action film. No one watches for the story, we watch to see some dope fighters go at it and if they have superhuman abilities, it just adds more fuel to the fire.
I enjoyed the small twists and turns. The film kept me interested because I was constantly trying to figure out who was being loyal to whom. There were a lot of characters who appeared to be aligned with one side, then the next thing you know they are fighting for another side. It kept me wanting more. I especially loved seeing certain actors on the big screen again after seeing them give great performances in The Matrix and Forbidden Kingdom.
The set design was dope, the acting was cool. I doubt anyone expects an Oscar award winning acting performance in an action film. The costuming dope. Special effects dope and of course the action was amazing to watch from beginning to end.
Want my advice? Don't listen to the ridiculous and immature reviews below me. This movie embodies what the Asian film market enjoy and it works for them. I enjoyed it and would definitely watch it again.
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80%
AUDIENCE
5.7/10
2.6K
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Seed please