 |
 |
 |
 |
| Product Detail |
 |
|
Audio Format:DTS, DD 5.1 Surround
Video Format: Widescreen 2.35;1 ( Anamorphic)
Languages: Mandarin
Subtitles: English, Chinese (T/S)
Region Code: A
Year Made: 2008
Running Time: 95
Release Date: 07/28/2008
Bucking the trend toward grungier, more psychological Chinese costumers repped most recently by "The Warlords" vet Hong Kong action director Ching Siu-tung evokes an earlier, less complicated production age with the fast-moving crowdpleaser "An Empress and the Warriors." China-shot yarn about a young warrior empress and the two beaux in her life recalls Hong Kong action dramas of the early '90s (plus nods to classic Shaw Bros. pics) in its straight-arrow escapism and disdain for anything deeper.
Set during the Warring States period some two millennia ago, but hardly troubled by any historical exactitude, the story opens as the Kingdom of Yan is battling for survival against its rival, the Zhao (roughly the same setting as in Andy Lau starrer "A Battle of Wits"). Yan general Muyong Xuehu (Donnie Yen) defeats the Zhao, but at the last minute the Yan monarch is murdered by his nasty nephew, Wu Ba (Guo Xiaodong). Muyong is declared successor, much to the chagrin of Wu Ba and the other generals, especially as Muyong is only a "bastard orphan." To avoid civil war, Muyong nominates as successor the late king's only child, daughter Yan Fei'er (Kelly Chen), with whom he's been secretly in love for some time.
A striking-eyed singer-actress who's mostly known for contempo dramas and romantic comedies ("Infernal Affairs," "Tokyo Raiders"), Chen surprisingly steps up to the plate here as a young woman thrown into a male world. Adopting a severe look, and clad in knockout military duds by production designer Yee Chung-man, she holds her own in the warfare training scenes with vet action star Yen and has a commanding presence that evokes old-time Mandarin actresses such as Ivy Ling Po. Good, old-fashioned romance enters the picture when Fei'er is wounded by an assassin and saved by the handsome Duan Lanquan (heartthrob Leon Lai), a forest hermit who's invented a hot air-powered flying machine. Love blooms, Fei'er eventually returns to save her kingdom, and Muyong puts his feelings for her on hold to join the fray.
2008 isn’t the Year of the Rat, it’s the Year of the Martial Arts Epics. In the span of a few months, fans of Chinese cinema will be treated to the biggest number of films featuring big stars, big budgets, and big set pieces the likes of which they’ve never seen before. Tony Ching’s “An Empress and the Warriors” is the second of the epics to be released, following in the footsteps of 2007’s “The Warlords”. Still to come: Andy Lau and Maggie Q. in “Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon” and John Woo’s “Red Cliff”. You can even add the Jet Li-Jackie Chan Hollywood collaboration “The Forbidden Kingdom” to the list if you’re so inclined.
“An Empress and the Warriors” wastes little time jumping into the thick of the battlefield. When we first see him, orphan turned uber General Muyong (Donnie Yen) is leading the charge into battle alongside the King of Yan, while Princess Feier (Kelly Chen) stays behind to tend to the wounded. After the king is wounded, and then later assassinated by his ne’er-do-well nephew Wu Ba (Xiadong Guo), a power vacuum must be filled. Although the King had told the Princess that Muyong should take in the case of his death, Muyong has other ideas — he promises to train Feier as a warrior, so that she may rule the kingdom.
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
