A Chinese Ghost Story

I have seen the original three movies as a child and I have kept very positive memories about it. These movies were atmospheric, artistic, mysterious, mythological and romantic. From the imaginative fighting scenes over the profound emotional parts up to one of the best movie soundtracks ever done in the history of cinema, these movies introduced me to Chinese culture and until today I have remained fascinated by this diversified and colourful country.

I am aware of the fact that remakes often fail to be on pair with the originals and I think that a remake of one of these untouchable movies shouldn't have been made. They had already done a comic adaption of the story in 1997 and now they have released some sort of remake of the original film even though both films have a slightly different story line. This movie may be dedicated to the brilliant late Leslie Cheung but in reality it's a question of business to revamp these series in times of Twilight and similar movies that are popular around the world. This movie is definitely for younger audiences and not for those who have grown up or liked the first three films. If this movie had a different title, it would maybe be worth seven points but as it's directly related to the original by its title, it wouldn't be worth more than five points. In the end, I think that my six points are a quite fair rating for both points of view.

This revamp of the series focuses a whole lot on special effects. There are too many of them, they look very artificial and they are miles away from the innovating techniques of the original movies. These CGI effects don't fit at all to the beautiful landscapes, the traditional clothes, the old fashioned countryside villages and the mythological elements of the movie. It's as if you put aliens in a western and I always thought only Hollywood would do this kind of things.

The actors in this movie do a good job but they really can't mess with the original cast. Yu Shaoqun isn't on the same level as Leslie Chung because he fails to add his own note. Louis Koo comes quite close to the original performer Wu Ma and has some strong charisma that pleases me very well. Liu Yifei gives her very best to portray a charming and innocent ghost but I really liked the supernatural grace of Joey Wong better. The supporting actors could have been more developed in this film but at least the guide and villages fool was quite addicting. I thought he was rather funny because he reminded me of a person I had met in real life.

The story is close but on the same level as the original feature. I would even say that the last third of the movie and the final battle scenes were maybe even better than the original. The problem for me was the ending that I didn't like at all. It felt a little bit random and rushed. I was expecting an epic ending or a happy end but any development got suddenly aborted. I think that this ending wasted a lot of potential.

In the end, modern movie fans will like the special effects and fighting scenes of this movie and the popular love story. Personally, I think that the new version lacks depth, development, magic and uniqueness and doesn't come close to the original feature that had been a true milestone for Hongkong cinema. Fans of the original shouldn't waste their time with this movie even though it's rather entertaining. They will be disappointed comparing this to the original. Those who liked this film should immediately try out the three original movies and get a lesson in truly well crafted cinema. Fans of popular movies that mix monsters and romance in the key of Twilight might though really enjoy this film.

This was a film that I obtained when I was trying to get the original one. I decided since I already had it to go ahead and check it out anyways. I did end up digging the original and I believe at the time of writing this it's been roughly a year since that viewing. The synopsis for this one is tax collector Ning (Shaoqun Yu), a clumsy and easily frightened man, decides to help a village by going up the nearby mountain. When he and his crew decide to stay in what they think is an abandoned temple, they discover a supernatural evil.

First off, if I credit the wrong character to the incorrect actor/actress, I apologize. The Internet Movie Database names are slightly different from the subtitles on what I watched. We do start this off with a demon hunter, Yan Chixia (Louis Koo). He falls in love with a demon he is supposed to kill, Nie Xiaoqian (Yifei Liu). It turns out to be a test from the master demon hunter, Ha Suet Fun Lui (Siu-Wong Fan). They are trying to destroy a Tree Demon (Kara Wait). Because of Yan's delay, Ha loses an arm. She is banished, threatening to return.

It then shifts into the future. We have Ning Caichen (Yu) as he makes his way through the wilderness. He tries to use a well and is taken prisoner, dropping an amulet. Ti Nga (Jing Li) finds and grabs it. Ning is being treated as a thief by the village chiefs, Elvis Tsui and Hark-On Fung. Ti arrives just in time and they free him. Ning is confused to be help from the capital as this village is experiencing a drought. He is supposed to go up the mountain to fix the water supply. No one will come with him though, out of fear of something supernatural. They're very quiet about what though. Ning is accompanied by Ti and a group of prisoners that are forced.

They come to a large tree and Ning believes there must be water nearby. He finds a small white fox inside of it and gives it a piece of candy. A storm rolls in and the men must seek shelter. They use what they think is an abandoned temple. There's a pool inside of it and Ning starts to test it, to see if this is the answer he is looking for. His men are enticed away by demons that take the form of women. Ning also encounters Nie. She comes on to him pretty aggressive and he rebuffs her. He is smitten though.

All of the men are killed and Yan, who is much older now, arrives and killing many of the demons. Nie and Ning flee from the temple. Ning thinks he is a psychopath. The Tree Demon needs Ning to free herself, but Nie is torn on what to do. Yan tries to prevent her from taking Ning and releasing herself from banishment. The water from the pool in the temple also poisons the town and Ha must come back to destroy the Tree Demon for good.

There's where I want to leave the recap and I should point out there's quite a bit of things that I left out. This movie runs around 100 minutes, but I will say that it never really drug for me. Visually this movie is pretty great if I'm going to be honest. I'm glad that they kept what was done in the original, but just used more of the technology that is available to them.

Since I'm a story guy that is where I want to go first. I'm interested in Chinese history, especially the Three Kingdoms era, but aside from that, I'm pretty green with their lore. Now since I've seen the original and this version, this story is told in very similar ways. It is interesting that their take on demons are just beautiful women that steal men's life-force. We do see that they harbor the more monstrous take that we get in the western world as well. That doesn't come out until provoked or they're killed. It is cool though having the Tree Demon that is powerful and wanting out.

There's also this social commentary here about forbidden love. It starts with Yan whose job it is to kill demons. Nie and him do fall in love in the beginning, but they know they can't be together. That prevents him from killing her though. The Tree Demon toys with this when dealing with Nie when she falls for Ning. With how it plays out in the end, it really does kind of feel like a love story that doesn't have a happy ending. I feel this can be correlated to things like marrying outside of your financial circumstances or race or a multitude of factors. Those are just the more common ones.

Even though I really liked this movie, I still think that it is too long. I'm on board for the set up that we get here. They don't go really that deep into the mythology, but we really don't need it. I do think there are some parts that just run a little bit long without adding a whole lot to the overall product. It does culminate with a pretty epic battle scene, which I'm not going to lie, runs almost 20 minutes. We do get quite a bit of action throughout, but there are just some things that could be tightened up in my eyes.

Shifting this over the acting, I thought it was pretty solid. Koo is great as this demon hunter that has a sense of duty, which I know is important in Asian cultures, and wanting to be with his forbidden lover. He becomes a bitter older man which he does really well. Liu is quite attractive and I liked her in a similar vein as Yan. Yu does great as playing this bumbling guy. It really feels real that he is that guy and there's also an innocence about him that works. Wai is also really good. I love how villainous she is, but I don't hate her completely for whatever reason. She's a demon and she is doing what she is supposed to. She is also utilizing men and their desires which I can't blame her. The rest of the cast is fine in rounding this out for what is needed.

That will take me to the last thing I really wanted to go over which are the effects. Since the original came out 30+ years prior, they decided to use CGI here. I will say there were only a few times that it took me out of things. For the most part, I think they use to enhance aspects and it makes for some beautiful shots. It seems they couple it with the wire work that they were known for. I'm not the biggest fan of it, I will admit that, but I've come to appreciate what they're doing with it. I like the look of the 'demon essence'. The tiny little fox is adorable. Even though there was a few times that I could tell it was CGI. Overall the effects are pretty solid. The cinematography is also beautiful as well.

Now with that said, I'm glad that I decided to actually watch this movie, because I'll be honest, I ended up really enjoying it. It has an interesting story with some commentary behind it. The visuals are pretty amazing even if all of the effects don't necessarily work for me. I'd say the performances from all of the stars were pretty solid and the supporting cast helped to build what they needed. It does run a bit long in my eyes and there's some stuff that could have been trimmed to tighten it up. Aside from that, the soundtrack fit for what they needed as well. I would say that this is above average and a lot of fun. Be warned, this is from China and Hong Kong so I watched it with subtitles on. If that is an issue, avoid this as I don't think you'll enjoy it. If not, it is a fun little film for sure.

A line at the closing credits of this film reads 'In Memory Forever of Leslie Cheung' - acknowledging Cheung's role in the similarly-titled 1987 film as well as its 1990 sequel. Indeed, the 1987 "A Chinese Ghost Story", directed by Ching Siu-Tung in collaboration with producer Tsui Hark, was a landmark movie because its 'crazy' kungfu (and wirefu) effects gimmicks turned it into a cult hit with western (read: international) audiences. Its two sequels (1990 and 1991) were not as popular.

Here, director Wilson Yip claims that it is not a remake but a 'new' love story - and yet many elements of the 1987 film remain.

THE PLOT: Government official Ling Choi Sin (Yu Shao Qun, taking over Leslie Cheung's role) journeys to the parched Black Mountain Village to help its inhabitants find water. As he leads a group of 'volunteers' up the haunted mountain, he encounters a bevy of sexy demons and well as a lovely 'girl' named Siu Sin (Liu Yi-Fei). After wooing her with some candy, he falls for her - and then realizes that he is caught in a deadly triangle: another guy, a demon-hunter named Yan Chek Ha (Louis Koo) is also in love with Siu Sin.

However, before the two men can settle their differences, they have to contend with the evil Tree Demon (Wai Ying-Hung) as well as a one-armed demon hunter (Louis Fan) who is determined to kill all the supernatural beings.

MY REVIEW: The 1987 film has a confusing storyline and even more befuddled action sequences that have become the trademarks of Tsui Hark. Wilson Yip, who gave us the two "Ip Man" films, does not attempt to make the love story (especially the one between Chek Ha and Siu Sin) more plausible - or try to 'rationalise' the action sequences. Indeed, some of the fighting scenes are more comical than magical and the acting appear over-the-top. Liu Yi-Fei (left) fits the bill as the Enchantress of the forest but I wish she can evoke more emotions besides pouting and winking her eyes.

It is a good thing that Pu Song Ling's story has been adapted on the screen many times before, since "The Enchanting Shadow" (directed by Li Han Hsiang) in the early 1960s. That way, the plot is familiar to many in the audience and they need not rely on the flimsy narrative.

It is a remake, of sort. What I mean is that the main framework of the plot remains the same but there are surprises and new love relationships invented (which I won't spoil) for this version. Sounds good, right? Well, it could have been, if the Ip Man's director had actually spent some effort to search for charismatic leads to replace the iconic Leslie Cheung & Joey Wong. But their replacements are god awful, absolutely bland, wooden, and commonplace; in another word, ZERO star quality. The new plot inventions are interesting and could have made this version stand a tiny little bit apart from the original so audience won't negatively compare it with the excellent original; however, the 2 bad leads chosen sink any slim hope it has to achieve that. There are some inventive fight choreography but it is balanced out by the insensible and confusing editing. It's edited like the worst kind of music video, lots of quick cross cutting that results in a big hot mess. It is pretty much a waste of time, money, and effort.

This movie is a piece of art and people should not compare it to the original movie. Today's generation will enjoy this movie in a whole new way just as my generation did when we saw the original back in the 80's. As we get older we tend to change our taste in what kind of movies we like. Unless you adept to the ever-changing cultural and social changes in art you'll not be able to enjoy its treasures. This movie is an classic already just like the original was but like I said before - don't compare it to the original. Look at this movie as a whole new love story that will create a great memory for all the people who see it for the first time. Sometimes we judge things based on how they made us feel without realizing that emotions are personal and art is unique. I saw this movie last night and was inspired by its beauty. I'll cherish this memory just like I did with the original one for years to come..