WAR OF THE WIZARDS is a fantasy epic from Taiwan, made after the world-wide success of STAR WARS saw many local producers scrambling to produce their own versions of that tale. Thus this one is set in period China but features giant beasts and laser-style rays and magical beams which directly reference those seen in the George Lucas classic. Sadly, WAR OF THE WIZARDS is so cheap as to be completely laughable when it tries to be serious, although it does try very hard.
The first half of the film is quite slow and routine, and boring with it. A scholar finds a magical artefact in the depths of the ocean, and it grants him his wish to become a nobleman. However, various evil characters soon get wind of this magical item and try to gain it for themselves. Betty Pei Ti, the Shaw actress from Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan, co-stars. Things become a lot more fun in the cheesy and slapdash second half in which a giant phoenix enters the story (it looks more like the creature in THE GIANT CLAW), characters fly around the screen, and BOND villain Richard Kiel turns up to battle our erstwhile hero.
The first half of the film is quite slow and routine, and boring with it. A scholar finds a magical artefact in the depths of the ocean, and it grants him his wish to become a nobleman. However, various evil characters soon get wind of this magical item and try to gain it for themselves. Betty Pei Ti, the Shaw actress from Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan, co-stars. Things become a lot more fun in the cheesy and slapdash second half in which a giant phoenix enters the story (it looks more like the creature in THE GIANT CLAW), characters fly around the screen, and BOND villain Richard Kiel turns up to battle our erstwhile hero.