An Empress and the Warriors
Tony Ching Siu-Tung
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Plot Summary
In the tradition of Seven Swords comes the action saga of a kingdom locked in a desperate battle for survival. Martial arts superstar Donnie Yen (Seven Swords) and Hong Kong Film Award winners Kelly Chen (Infernal Affairs) and Leon Lai (Seven Swords) team up as sword-wielding heroes on a quest to unite a divided nation and wage a massive was against an invading horde.
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Customer Reviews
It could have been so much better
This film tries hard (and fails in many respects) to be an epic war movie (ala Gladiator). It also tries to be an epic romance amid the backdrop of a major historic event (ala Titanic - even some of the soundtrack sounds like it's ripped off straight from that movie). The conspiracy here plays very straightforward and offers little surprise. Donny Yen is completely wasted and has very little to offer other playing a hero who kicks butt. If it was staged as simply an action film, I would forgive this aspect. And don't get me started about Leon Lai. An actor of his reputation and stature seemed wildly out of place as a tree hugging hermit living in the woods. Misuse of cast aside (and don't get me started with Kelly Chen - who offers a schizophrenic performance as a princess forced into a leadership role and does a good job acting like a Queen in one moment, only to discredit her character by acting like a 15 year old school girl during more intimate moments) - the storyline moves predictably. The only plus are the battle scenes, which are filmed well and offer some pockets of brutal intensity. Unfortunately these are few and far between. And as some folks have mentioned elsewhere, the props look nice - and it seems most of the budget was spent on the impressive armor that the actors were wearing (albeit questionable in terms of historical accuracy). It's unfortunate a film with a decent premise and noteworthy action scenes gets bogged down by an unbelieveable romance. It is also too focused on Kelly Chen, who isn't strong enough to carry a movie of this scale - while relegating strong players like Yen or Lai into questionable side roles. If you're into Asian historical epics - try the far better Mongol instead. At least there is some reward for the viewer. In the case of this movie, the only reward is knowing when it ends.
An Empress and the Warriors
Beautiful cinematography, as only as only a wuxia film out of Asia can offer. Thank You ITunes for leaving the original dialect in Mandarin, the way it should be. Dubbed Asian movies are hideous. If you like this genre of film, you will enjoy this.
a great movie
magnificent scene, best action actors in China
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- $14.99
- Genre: Action & Adventure
- Released: 2009
- © 2008 UNITED FILMMAKERS ORGANIZATION LTD.