A Battle of Wits

Flawless? Well, no... But all of its shortcomings are so insignificant in comparison with its qualities that they are almost impossible to notice. The background music is not always perfect, everything takes place in one exterior location and in a very few interiors, the visual effects are not the highest quality ever... However, the director, the ideas, the actors led by the perfect Andy Lau, character development and primarily the story itself make up for any flaw. This monumental coproduction enthralls with its fascinating production design and costumes, but none of this splendor is here just for the sake of beauty. Who would have thought that, considering the sheer quantity of sumptuous historical war movies that have been made, someone could come up with something original. Although it begins in a fairly classic way, the further you get into the movie, the more fascinating it is the way the screenplay skillfully avoids any genre clichés and also successfully steers the story onto a different track from what you were expecting. A perfect movie and one of the best I have seen in this genre for years and years. (23/06/2007)

I caught up with this Chinese cult-movie set in ancient times where an unknown man (an excellent Andy Lau) comes to a city to defend it against other nations. The strategy is definitely the most interesting thing the film has to offer. The battles didn't blow me away that much, but still a good film. 75%. (07/03/2018)

Battle of the Warriors is a monumental historical fantasy loosely based on ancient Chinese legends. Its strength lies in its grandeur and well-executed crowd war scenes, as well as the relatively non-theatrical East Asian style of acting, which I found refreshing compared to Kurosawa's samurai epics. Of course, warfare in ancient China was different; this film is more of a showcase of certain war elements from medieval China and especially Mongolia. The film offers heroic music, pathos, self-sacrifice, betrayal, romantic motifs, and intrigues - essentially everything you would expect from such a spectacle. There is a lot of talking, which can be a disadvantage since the dialogue and especially the philosophical aspect didn't resonate with me. The ideas of the warrior Ge Li about love among people and nations, and all the noble speeches that are a mixture of Confucian and Buddhist philosophical views, don't appeal to me - to be honest, I believe that the cynical pragmatists like Metternich, rather than lovers of truth and love and institutions like the UN, are responsible for the local and short-term peaceful episodes from a historical perspective. Overall impression: 80%. (17/05/2010)