The Moon Warriors

very well done period swordplay fantasy film.The fisherman in his simplicity is a true hero.The unrequited love that dominates throughout is well executed.Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui can duel all day long..Awesome.The villain is well played his skill is evident.musically the score is great..definitely worth seeing love,honour,pace..and great wire work must definitely put this film up there with the better made one of the genre..All hail King Sammo....

When Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon came out,critics fell over themselves praising it as being new and fresh. Whilst it is undoubtedly a good film,the fact is that they had been making films like that in Hong Kong for many years,with warriors jumping around the screen in tales of romance and honour. Moon Warriors is a good example. It has it's flaws,with one element rather laughable,but it still demands quite a bit of respect.

The action is really as good,maybe it's a bit more obvious the characters are on wires,but in terms of martial arts skill it's actually better, and just as visually great to watch. Highlights include a display of kites that suddenly somehow turns into a ninja attack,a possibly Macbeth-inspired 'moving trees'sequence,and gorgeous Hong Kong babes Maggie Cheung and Ania Mui battling it out with swords.

Despite what you may have heard about films like this,it certainly isn't all fighting. A great deal of time is given to the love element,and there are perhaps too many montages to the sentimental theme song {as usual,the translated words on the subtitles don't really work}. Howvever,the film retains that melancholic romantic feel present in many other Hong Kong fantasy movies of the time {such as The Bride With White Hair and Saviour of the Soul}.

Unfortunately there is a subplot of a WHALE which is the hero's best friend,and it's just laughable. Some versions of the film even have outtakes at the end of star Andrew Lau with the thing. Still,there's plenty in the film which is worthwhile. It's really quite extraordinary what Hong Kong filmmakers used to conjure up on what were usually tiny budgets and rushed productions.

Sammo Hung is one of the VERY few actors who is a joy to watch in front of the camera AND he's a pretty damn good director as well. This well done period/fantasy piece is no exception. Andy Lau (another favorite foreign actor of mine) is Fei, a common fisher-man who falls in love with the Emperor's daughter, who is bethrothed to the King. The king is secretly loved by his adviser who was sent to kill him. It's a tad convoluted, yes. And the part with the whale is rather silly. But all in all, it's pretty good. Not among the best of these type of movies though.

My Grade: B-

DVD Extras: Commentary by Hong Kong film expert, Ric Meyers; 'Alternate Ending' (which really is just the same ending, but instead of fading to black for the credits, it goes to whale outtakes); Cast Filmographies; Trailers for "Dragon Inn", " Duel to the Death", "the Master Swordsman", "the Duel", and "My Schoolmate, the Barbarian"

There were some nice fighting scenes.

The filmmakers made some inexplicable choices.

There was some fun dialogue, but for some reason the sub-titles I had changed the main character's name to Philip.

What was up with Sea-Wayne?

Moon Warriors is a beautifully filmed period kung fu drama starring handsome Andy Lau as the rural and naive yet impeccably good and incorruptible (not to mention invincible) hero, who befriends the rightful crown prince who's trying to regain the throne from his evil younger brother. Of course, both brothers and everyone they associate with are over-the-top kung fu masters... :-)

The story is not very nuanced, nor very original, nor particularly good - but it is saved by the excellent actors, the excellent action scenes, the cool kung fu, and, yes, the whale! Andy Lau's character, Fei, is friends with a small orca that he plays with in the water and who saves his bacon in some crucial scene towards the end. The whale scenes are beautiful and totally feel-good! It's made even better by the extra scenes on the DVD, where the whale's good nature is highlighted in scenes where it, for instance, waves to Andy with one flipper as it swims by. Clearly, all involved had a great deal of fun!

My rating: 7 out of 10.