We are treated to some wonderfully weird idiosyncrasies when watching martial arts flicks from the 80s or 90s (or earlier!) from Hong Kong. One of these is that when watching a dub, English-speaking actors therein - dubbed into Mandarin or Cantonese upon release - are in the English versions dubbed over again with an entirely different actor. In the case of this film, suffice to say that Cynthia Rothrock's characteristic timbre does not greet our ears. As is not unexpected, this is an instance in which the dubbing doesn't match the lip movement we see, and the voice acting at large does not carry the same emotion or impact. Odder still - something I truly don't understand - is that some dialogue is dubbed (I must emphasize, very poorly - some of the worst I've ever seen), while other instances retain the audio of the original language and use subtitles. If you think this sounds like a movie that's inherently difficult to engage with, you're not wrong. Yet we're not done, because another unmistakable idiosyncrasy is the realization of special effects to which one can only respond with a generous, muted "Well, okay then." And, in no few instances, there are dramatic flourishes added to characters or scene writing that, built for entertainment, nonetheless come across as ham-handed.
These are a few aspects to make an impression in only just the first few minutes, though make no mistake that they continue to be very prominent throughout the length - so prominent as to frankly distract from the content. However, instead of declaring this an unfortunate set of circumstances, the viewing experience is more a matter of, as the saying goes, being caught between a rock and a hard place. The first third of the feature serves up a couple scenes of martial arts that don't last very long, light and marginal plot development - and a wealth of boorish, juvenile supposed comedy that one could be forgiven for thinking that it seems to have been proposed by the pre-teen child actor who stars as the titular figure. Yes, the sour taste of that would-be humor is absolutely amplified by the rotten dubbing. We get a little bit more plot development in the second third - though not much - while the humor remains prevalent (emphasized with overt, playful music), martial arts continue to be substantially played down, another supernatural element is introduced secondary to the core plot... and "star" Rothrock shows up for another few seconds of what has so far been a total of about 2-4 minutes of screen time.
Finally, within the last half hour of so, the narrative - and the value of 'Prince of the sun' - does meaningfully show up again for the first time since the brief prologue that opened the picture. Fight choreography, martial arts, stunts, and action at large are all outstanding. The tired attempts at comedy remain, and the awful dubbing - but for the first time in 80-90 minutes, the film earns its first (and only) actual laugh. Even keeping in mind the definite gaucheness of the special effects, the climax is well done. One is distinctly reminded of any other Hong Kong flicks they're seen of any similar tenor; in my case, 'Mr. Vampire' comes to mind, particularly in regards to the antagonist, and aided by the inclusion in the cast of recognizable actor Lam Ching-ying. Quite honestly, based on the strength of the third act alone, I want to like this movie more than I do.
The restriction of the picture's worth to the last stretch of its length does it no favors, though. We get swell filming locations, and good set design, and I think there are some really great ideas in the screenplay. Unfortunately, those good ideas are weighed down by an overabundance of wholly extraneous pablum and loose, careless writing that waters down what 'Prince of the sun' could have been. The utmost magnanimity, patience, and open-mindedness may allow one to see this as a kid's movie misrepresented as a typical Hong Kong action-comedy, or to otherwise look past the weakest facets to focus on what it does well. I think I tend to be very accepting when it comes to cinema, enjoying features of a wide variety of styles and range of quality; this, I have difficulties with. Dialogue and scene writing is wildly inconsistent, and is sometimes outright annoying. Characters are broadly undeveloped, not least of all Rothrock's - a major supporting figure in the last third of the movie, all the same it's unclear who she actually is - and the title figure, the "Living Little Buddha," is also written inconsistently. The narrative was in critical need of significant tightening; some beats don't connect, and too many of those that do are so inadequately tethered to the core plot that it feels like this could have dropped at least 30 minutes from its runtime without actually losing anything.
There are parts of 'Prince of the sun' that I like, especially the martial arts. Those parts are far outweighed by construction that is simply dubious. It's certainly not the worst film I've ever watched, but even for as much fun as the last third may be, it's hard overall to specifically recommend this. If you happen to come across it, there is deserving content within that may warrant a view. I just surely wish more thoughtful consideration were put into anything more in addition to the action.
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