Change Your Image
AH-Sama
Reviews
El sol (2009)
El Sol - a failure
El Sol was screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival and funded by the Hubert Bals fund. What a waste of money. The animation is very crude and looks childish and is very uneven. The story starts off okay, but then becomes vague and relies on violence and shock. And even if you do like the story, seriously, the animation is so dire that you won't even care. 72 minutes feels like more than 3 hours with this one. It's a shame, because this guy made Mercano the Martian which was actually good... I voted a 2, and was ready to walk out after 15 minutes but actually stayed and watched the whole thing. Possible spoiler: I did like the first potato scene about 60% into the movie...
Qi jian (2005)
Another Tsui Hark MESS
Avoid at all cost. This is the first Wuxia I have ever walked out of. After 1 hour and 15 minutes I realized I had still the same amount of time to go, and that was just too much to handle on a Monday night. Sleep is more important than this mess!
So, Seven Swords:
'Like others have said before, the story is a rip-off of other better works of cinema: MUSA, SEVEN SAMURAI and you name it. For a summary, see elsewhere.
Biggest problem imo was the bad direction, bad sound dubbing and most of all the horrible editing. The fight scenes were awful, and a wuxia without good fight scenes is always a waste. If this was intended as a drama/ period piece then this would not have been crucial. But it isn't... It's a Wuxia...If you want good drama and not wuxia, go see Emperor and the Assassin instead. Better yet, see Seven Samurai (again).
Maybe Mr Hark needs to see good wuzia again, from back in the day. These movies had none of the sfx options they have now, but are better written and have better fight scenes and cinematography: Touch of Zen, Come Drink With Me, Dragon Gate Inn, to name but a few. I liked all the modern Wuxia better, from CTHD to HOFD. The biggest complaint from some fans is the wire work in these films. But I personally like the superhuman Martial Arts Masters in these films. The wire work is present here, too, but the action direction is just a mess so it never provides the same excitement as in the other modern wuxia.
Or the Chinese Ghost Story movies, or even Bride with the White Hair. If you like your wuxia with GOOD, CLEAR and EXCITING fight sequences avoid this movie. If you like actual character development avoid this, too. You know what, just avoid.