Maidgethma
Wonderfully offbeat film!
Plustown
A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Micah Lloyd
Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
drystyx
This is a visual masterpiece that outdoes the special effects of later movies with sheer artistry, because it is a magical piece.It is a larger than life movie about a fight against evil. It begins with a "scout" giving two leaders a report. They each give him conflicting orders, and then ask which he'll obey. He says "Both", so they both call him insubordinate and condemn him to die.He finds himself on the run. This sets the pace for the film, which is nonstop action and breathtaking visuals. It helps that the visuals are perfectly placed, and logical in their Magic.The scout finds comrades, at first another warrior from an opposing side, and then later some monks who work in a very magical world.The film manages to be the best of all worlds. In spite of the magic, the comedy of human errors is always there. The characters fly in the air, fight demons, and do outrageous acrobatics, yet bump their noses, can't swim, and get smacked by pretty girls. They engage in battle, but play dead at the first opportunity, only to find dozens of others also playing dead.It is one of the funniest films of all time, and also one of the most passionate.This is how to make a masterpiece.
Chrysanthepop
Hark's action fantasy 'Xin Shu Shan Jian Ke' is a whole lot of fun. Needless to say one can expect lots of extravagant martial arts action sequences which are well choreographed (but some of them are so long that they tend to drag a little). The movie is loaded with special effects and even though they don't look as refined as movies of today, they're still fun to watch. The sets don't look particularly authentic but they hold a certain appeal and I like the way they appeared. The story isn't told in the traditional fashion and at some points question marks will appear in the mind but there's always something happening to keep the viewer engaged. Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung are simply great as they infuse humour and energy into their roles. Energetic, funny, bizarre, wacky, magical...these are just a few words that describe Tsui Hark's 'Xin Shu Shan Jian Ke'. Forget the abysmal 2003 remake. This is where the real fun is.
Jannis Petersen
Well, I must say, I first watched "Zu Warriors" from 2001 over and over again (about 12 times) with my brother, and we both totally love it. After that movie i got interested in the Chinese legend about zu mountain. Therefore I rented this movie, also because it is recommended in many a review. First to say, the story has many details about the Zu legend, which are important. But only that doesn't make it a good movie. I'm afraid, if I hadn't watched "Zu Warriors" first, I wouldn't have understood one inch of this movie and would be totally confused and bored after 3 minutes. Many a scene in this movie simply is so boring and unimportant, it could have been cut out or replaced (also to say, the never "Zu Warriors" from 2001 nearly tells the same story only backwards compared to this). The so-called special-effects in this high-budget Honk-Kong wuxia are honestly said the worst I've seen for a long time in a high-rated a-movie. Also It's still the early '80s, they could have done a lot better with the given budget.Summary: Only if you are hardcore wuxia fan AND are interested in the legend about ancient china zu mountains!
EvilNinjaPhil
This is the best kung-fu-comedy-action-horror film I've seen since "Big Trouble in Little China". I know that Asian films a bit...off centre but this takes the biscuit. The story revolves around a Scout during an Ancient Civil War who, via the most colourful battle scene EVER, ends up a mystical mountain range. There he meets heroes who battle the vile demons who roam the mountains. Who attack with flags. Then the Blood Monstaer appears and things get a little surreal...