10-13-2011, 02:39 PM
I jumped on this grenade for you. There's actually a lot of grenades blowing up in this film, so I say that in earnest. It's the 1911 Revolution, trench warfare - single-action carbines, Gatling guns, and lots of grenades, all tied together and blown up in suicide runs. This year was the 100th anniversary of the revolution, which is commemorated on 10/10, and this film tells you why. It's also Jackie's 100th flick, although different sources will give you different numbers for his filmography because Hong Kong film history is just sketchy that way.
It's a huge film, clocking in at 2 hr 5 mn, sumptuous sets and costumes, big battle scenes with hundreds of extras and lots of explosions. It also has dozens of characters, most based on history, so there's a little special sidetitles that shows up when they first appear on screen. This is confusing because there's also usually a subtitled dialogue line at the same time. Plus there's special subtitles to mark certain historic points in the film. I don't think there were ever 3 sub/sidetitles at the same time, but there were several times there were two and no possible way to read them both because they would be in different areas of the screen. What's more, most of the historic characters would be lost on you. I've read up on this time in China's history, and I was lost. Sure, you probably know Sun Yat-Sen, maybe even Puyi and the Empress Dowager, but do you know Yuan Shikai? How about Jackie's character Huang Xing? This film is a big history lesson, and even with the extensive battle scenes, it's not that engaging a history lesson because too much is stuffed into the film. It would have been a far better film if it was cut down to just Jackie's scenes.
One more thing on the subtitles, there are several scenes in English as Sun tries to drum up international support. Those are all subtitled too and you need that, because Winston Chao's accent is so thick (and it's clear he doesn't know what he's saying). The foreign powers are pathetically stereotypical.
That being said, it was a delight for me personally to see a new Jackie flick w/subs on the big screen. I just wouldn't recommend it to anyone but serious Jackie fans or sinophiles. You really got to know your history to make sense of the plot. I'm sure it plays better in Asia, where this episode in history is commonly known.
Joan Chen was too hot and too weepy for the Empress Dowager. Jackie was good and displays decent dramatic chops - he's covered in blood and mud most of the time. He has one short kung fu fight, which is a bit jarring because it really doesn't fit with the rest of the film, but does give a much needed bump in a rather laborious history lesson.
Not a DOOM flick. No sword fights, but some bayonet work, some cane beatings, lots of shooting and plenty of grenades.
It's a huge film, clocking in at 2 hr 5 mn, sumptuous sets and costumes, big battle scenes with hundreds of extras and lots of explosions. It also has dozens of characters, most based on history, so there's a little special sidetitles that shows up when they first appear on screen. This is confusing because there's also usually a subtitled dialogue line at the same time. Plus there's special subtitles to mark certain historic points in the film. I don't think there were ever 3 sub/sidetitles at the same time, but there were several times there were two and no possible way to read them both because they would be in different areas of the screen. What's more, most of the historic characters would be lost on you. I've read up on this time in China's history, and I was lost. Sure, you probably know Sun Yat-Sen, maybe even Puyi and the Empress Dowager, but do you know Yuan Shikai? How about Jackie's character Huang Xing? This film is a big history lesson, and even with the extensive battle scenes, it's not that engaging a history lesson because too much is stuffed into the film. It would have been a far better film if it was cut down to just Jackie's scenes.
One more thing on the subtitles, there are several scenes in English as Sun tries to drum up international support. Those are all subtitled too and you need that, because Winston Chao's accent is so thick (and it's clear he doesn't know what he's saying). The foreign powers are pathetically stereotypical.
That being said, it was a delight for me personally to see a new Jackie flick w/subs on the big screen. I just wouldn't recommend it to anyone but serious Jackie fans or sinophiles. You really got to know your history to make sense of the plot. I'm sure it plays better in Asia, where this episode in history is commonly known.
Joan Chen was too hot and too weepy for the Empress Dowager. Jackie was good and displays decent dramatic chops - he's covered in blood and mud most of the time. He has one short kung fu fight, which is a bit jarring because it really doesn't fit with the rest of the film, but does give a much needed bump in a rather laborious history lesson.
Not a DOOM flick. No sword fights, but some bayonet work, some cane beatings, lots of shooting and plenty of grenades.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
