After last years' shallow, garbage extravaganza "Curse of the golden flower" that left you with only one thing to remember (the unceremoniously stuffed pseudo generously-endowed bosoms), a war epic that has real substance such as "Warlords" is a sheer delight.
With the last few years' proliferation of war epics, both on Eastern and Western screens, battle scenes that fall nothing short of stunning the audience has come to be expected or, to put it even more bluntly, taken for granted. "Warlords" certainly delivers in that department. But it's the substance that really counts.
Throughout the movies, one point has been repeatedly driven home: the gallant (or savage, whichever you prefer) fighting cannot be sustained without army provisions (or food, to be more specific). Strategies, negotiations, treacheries, betrayals in this movie all surround this one vital agenda. And more than that, starvation and poverty extend beyond the military context, to the general populace. The suffering of the helpless, powerless peasants is universal, be it in "The tale of two cities" or "Seven samurais". The three men in "Warlords", blood brothers sworn on an oath of death, all have noble goals of helping to relieve the poor of this fate. But their mentalities are different.
General Ma (Jet Li), the only survivor from the massacre of his entire army by the revolutionists seeks refuge with bandit chief Cao (Andy Lau), whom he subsequently convinces to bring the bandit camp to enlist with the government army. Ma is an almost enigmatic character that has a lofty goal but also a dark side. He is ruthless to the point of making you wonder if the price is worth paying. One may even be skeptical about his integrity but the movie seems to tend towards depicting him as more fanatic than evil. And in the end, compared with the evil cunning of those in high places, he is even naïve, as his tragic end clearly shows.
Cao is a rough-diamond type of hero who does not have Ma's lofty aspirations but has a dogged loyalty and integrity that you'll be compelled to root for. And yet he is not lily white. As a bandit chief, ravishing the conquered is a most natural part of his life, and he cannot understand why General Ma insists on public execution of his people who molested two girls. "We do that all the time," he protests. Zhang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), Cao's second-in-command seems to be the one best guided by common sense, remaining loyal to Cao and yet supporting Ma's ruthless acts for the good of the big picture. But in the end, he is the most naïve.
Director Peter Chan, who has demonstrated his artistry in a variety of genre from tender romance to dazzling musical, has done it again with a stunning war epic. The potential dramatic conflict between the three blood brothers has been crafted into scene after scene of intense emotions that carry conviction. This is Jet Li's most impressive performance in his career to-date. As if to demonstrate once more that an actor is only as good as the director, Andy Lau, who verges on looking like a clown in Zhang Yimou's pretentious "House of flying daggers", is a completely reborn actor in "Warlords". By comparison Takeshi Kaneshiro's role is less multi-dimensional, and he delivers.
This movie can do without a female lead but movie makers have to cater to commercial considerations, I imagine. The result is somewhat of a waste of lovely and talented Xu Jinglei, screen idol of China's university campus population, as well as a director and a screenwriter in her own right. In my view, the unconvincing and underdeveloped romance triangle not only does nothing to help the movie, but even takes away some of the intensity of focus.
With the last few years' proliferation of war epics, both on Eastern and Western screens, battle scenes that fall nothing short of stunning the audience has come to be expected or, to put it even more bluntly, taken for granted. "Warlords" certainly delivers in that department. But it's the substance that really counts.
Throughout the movies, one point has been repeatedly driven home: the gallant (or savage, whichever you prefer) fighting cannot be sustained without army provisions (or food, to be more specific). Strategies, negotiations, treacheries, betrayals in this movie all surround this one vital agenda. And more than that, starvation and poverty extend beyond the military context, to the general populace. The suffering of the helpless, powerless peasants is universal, be it in "The tale of two cities" or "Seven samurais". The three men in "Warlords", blood brothers sworn on an oath of death, all have noble goals of helping to relieve the poor of this fate. But their mentalities are different.
General Ma (Jet Li), the only survivor from the massacre of his entire army by the revolutionists seeks refuge with bandit chief Cao (Andy Lau), whom he subsequently convinces to bring the bandit camp to enlist with the government army. Ma is an almost enigmatic character that has a lofty goal but also a dark side. He is ruthless to the point of making you wonder if the price is worth paying. One may even be skeptical about his integrity but the movie seems to tend towards depicting him as more fanatic than evil. And in the end, compared with the evil cunning of those in high places, he is even naïve, as his tragic end clearly shows.
Cao is a rough-diamond type of hero who does not have Ma's lofty aspirations but has a dogged loyalty and integrity that you'll be compelled to root for. And yet he is not lily white. As a bandit chief, ravishing the conquered is a most natural part of his life, and he cannot understand why General Ma insists on public execution of his people who molested two girls. "We do that all the time," he protests. Zhang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), Cao's second-in-command seems to be the one best guided by common sense, remaining loyal to Cao and yet supporting Ma's ruthless acts for the good of the big picture. But in the end, he is the most naïve.
Director Peter Chan, who has demonstrated his artistry in a variety of genre from tender romance to dazzling musical, has done it again with a stunning war epic. The potential dramatic conflict between the three blood brothers has been crafted into scene after scene of intense emotions that carry conviction. This is Jet Li's most impressive performance in his career to-date. As if to demonstrate once more that an actor is only as good as the director, Andy Lau, who verges on looking like a clown in Zhang Yimou's pretentious "House of flying daggers", is a completely reborn actor in "Warlords". By comparison Takeshi Kaneshiro's role is less multi-dimensional, and he delivers.
This movie can do without a female lead but movie makers have to cater to commercial considerations, I imagine. The result is somewhat of a waste of lovely and talented Xu Jinglei, screen idol of China's university campus population, as well as a director and a screenwriter in her own right. In my view, the unconvincing and underdeveloped romance triangle not only does nothing to help the movie, but even takes away some of the intensity of focus.