The Legend of the Black Scorpion
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Movie Reviews of The Legend of the Black Scorpion
Movie Review: Marcel Marceau: The Chinese Connection
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie will be highly satisfactory if you appreciate ornate court costumes. Not my cup of tea. The film demands attention, but it is just too slow and stilted. The narrow range of emotions displayed doesn't involve us. The thousands of waiting minions thing was interesting, the first time. The fight scenes seem added on to try to inject some life into this sloth. A fight scene must be filmed and especially edited correctly or it will present as a bunch of unrelated blurs of action, uninvolving to us folks that crave this action. This film is maybe 50% guilty of this. Near the beginning there is a savage attack on what looks like a mime school. The mimes just strike those goofy "mime poses" and allow themselves to be slaughtered without resistance, it just appears dumb. There seems to be a genre in China nowadays that specializes in intimate examination of historical supremely decadent emperor's and their courts. There is always treachery and disloyalty. Always a tragic ending. Overall though, the film is well made. It is sumptuous in it's high court details. I would like the emoting/drama turned up a few notches. And the fight scenes a bit more coherent. Worth watching, but not to be treasured. Movie Review: Great visuals and dry story.
Summary: 3 Stars
The cinematic art is a visual one, but its ultimate goal is to tell a good story. The makers of this film were way too preoccupied with their pompous ambitions to care, however, so we end up with a lofty structure inspired by Hamlet and sumptuous visuals matching/exceeding CTHD, but also poor character building and a totally implausible story. The emotions run so empty that it is quite a chore to sit through the movie. If this is the genre you like, try The Emperor And The Assassin instead. That movie is by no means as good as CTHD, but at least I do not regret renting it.Movie Review: GREAT VISUALS
Summary: 2 Stars
THE STORY IS REALLY LAME, THE FIGHT SCENES ARE NOT THAT GREAT, BUT THE COLORS, THE PICTURE AND VISUALS ARE REALLY GREAT, SO IT ONLY GETS 2 STARS!!!Movie Review: A visual feast
Summary: 4 Stars
Feng Xiaogang's The Banquet aka The Legend of the Black Scorpion certainly lives up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful looking films ever made. A spectacular Chinese adaptation of Hamlet filmed on an epic scale with no expense spared and with all the action scenes that Shakespeare forgot to write, it's clearly aiming to be another Hero, with nods to Akira Kurosawa's Japanese samurai Shakespeare films along the way. Although it never quite hits the same highs, it works surprisingly well, with Daniel Wu's Crown Prince brooding over his father's murder by his uncle while his former beloved Ziyi Zhang is consumed by revenge in her desire to kill the new emperor as courtiers plot and intrigue around them. With superb art direction by Tim Yip, excellent cinematography by Li Zhang, striking fight sequences courtesy of Yuen Wo-Ping at his best and a fine score by Tan Dun (Andrew Lloyd Webberish end title song notwithstanding) and filled with colour, light and movement, it's always a treat for the eyes and ears, especially in this 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.Movie Review: Add this to the list of good Asian "art house" cinema!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, I seem to have developed a taste for Asian "art house" type movies, especially martial arts epics with great choreographed fight sequences, vivid colors, interesting storylines.
I've previously seen and enjoyed such fare as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Curse of the Golden Flower, The Forbidden Kingdom, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Iron Monkey. Each of them has its strengths and weaknesses.
Getting back to Legend of the Black Scorpion, from my understanding, it's a Chinese martial arts retelling of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. While I don't think I've seen or read Hamlet, I don't think it's essential to have previously read it or seen it to understand what's going on here.
Similar in theme to Curse of the Golden Flower, Legend of the Black Scorpion is a martial arts / drama piece about Chinese dynastic royalty and empire. Though it mainly focuses on the family / political dynamics of the royal court, with various plots to seize power, etc.
A number of the fight scenes have an almost ballet-like quality about them. They're often more like a well-choreographed dance than a battle per se. It makes sense, insofar as there is also a sub-plot about the crown prince taking up the arts of Chinese song and dance.
Now, one thing that I noted was the overemphasis on blood in this film. it spurts, it gushes, it drips everywhere. There seems to be a special focus on showing the blood itself, sometimes in slow motion. I thought it was excessive, and I'm not sure why so much attention was paid to emphasizing blood and bloodiness in this film.
The blood issue was minor to me, as I'm more-or-less desensitized to it at this point. Overall, I really liked this movie though (outside of the blood and brutality of some scenes). I thought the sets and costuming were colorful and first rate. The choreography was great. Etc. I think it makes a good addition to the other "art house" type movies listed above.
I'd certainly take this movie over Butterfly Sword or Warriors of Heaven and Earth (neither of which I particularly cared for, despite decent reviews on Amazon and/or DVD Empire).
Addendum (8-12-08): Apparently this film was originally titled "The Banquet." So, if you've seen that one, this is the same movie from what I understand.
Again, rather bloody at times, but otherwise pretty gorgeous cinematography. Right up there with some of the other good "art house" cinema.