This one almost gave a run for the title.
Tsui Hark used to be someone who delivers, be it action, drama or thriller. I wouldn't fault him entirely for wanting to keep up with the times, but this one was not up to par. In fact, it was the attempt at CGI and 3D that caused the eye-sore for this movie.
The ambitious CGI was half-baked at best. It's as if because of limited budget that the intention for a particular scene using CGI became confusing for the audience. And a lot of times certain shots were created just for 3D effects but unfortunately the quality and direction for the kung fu choreography were lost in translation.
There was a competent storyline in there. But again, and keeping to tradition, Hong Kong action movies seldom find that balance for action and storyline.
Editing was also an issue. One shot Jet Li was in the air spinning, and the next shot he was standing on the ground. Another scene had a bullet meeting an arrow in mid air, cut to the CGI scene, these two items came flying from the opposite direction. Cut back to reality, the direction of travel once again exchanged. Horrible, horrible mistake.
One thing I liked about the movie were the characters. They remind me of the old Chinese comic book characters a la Dragon Tiger Gate. But then again, many of the less important characters were forgotten towards the end and just disappeared - to be assumed dead - and no mention from anyone else too.
Jet Li didn't have much of an impact here, strangely enough. Chen Kun also was extremely under used. I'm not even certain if he really needed to be in this movie.
I miss the good old kung fu movies where the only special effects were cables flying actors around in the air. And back then the choreography were the highlights for the action sequences.
At least there's still Donnie Yen keeping true to the art.
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