Jet Li: Die Schrift des Todes

This movie is a fascinating film. First of all, the plot is very original. I liked the story-within-a-story approach to the plot. It deals with an adventurer going up against the Japanese for a mythical scripture. The events of the story parallel the life of the author of the story. What I liked about this film were the fight scenes. Most of them were short, unfortunately. However, they were fairly original. The viewer gets a chance to see Jet Li use tai chi, a chain, flaming swords, and his lethal feet. My only complaints were the fights scenes weren't that long. Otherwise, it's an entertaining film.

Jet Li stars as a writer of a series based on the character King of Adventures. When an accident puts him in the hospital, friends try to continue his current storyline for him. Great fun ensues as new twists and turns spring from the different characters adding to the story; including a pair of flying sumo wrestlers (!) and some well done CGI. A change of pace for the usually intense Li that's one of the most enjoyable HK movies of '96.

I have to disagree with one of the previous reviewers who said that this movie would be ideal for Hong Kong cinema neophytes. I believe that only HK fanatics should even attempt to watch it - the less experienced viewers will probably turn it off after about 30 minutes (it's no wonder that no American distributor picked it up for re-release; it certainly doesn't have the wide appeal of a movie like "Meltdown" / "High Risk"). The idea is ambitious, the production is lavish, but the story is confusing and unengaging, and the result is a film too bizarre and self-indulgent for most audiences. Jet Li once again proves that he can act (in a dual role, no less), but the vast majority of the fighting is over-the-top and (intentionally) unrealistic. There are some memorable moments, however, like his brief encounter with two huge sumo wrestlers! (**)

Thomas Weissman, who wrote a supposedly major text on Asian cinema (which unfortunately probably blocked publication of better texts for some time) pee-ed off a lot of fans of Hong Kong cinema. One of the reasons is that he knows dam' well the difference between a good movie and a good "genre" film, but, instead of developing this difference critically, he prefers to smudge it, and thus frequently leaves readers with misconceptions.

Weissman's review of this film promised a real avant-garde transgression of time and space, of pulp and serious narrative. I'm afraid that's not what's happening here.

For one thing, we get no closer to any of this characters than we do in any other Hong Kong genre film. That's important; to make real transgressions of time, space, genre, etc., we need to see what's going on from a particular point of view. (If one doesn't care for "The Singing Detective" - and I don't - then refer to "Slaughterhouse Five".) Since this is really an "action-comedy". it can't do that. Instead, it scrambles its plot around from several different points of view; but the heart of the narrative remains action, not 'perspective'.

Well, is it a good action comedy? yeah, I enjoyed it, I'll probably watch it again. IS it the super-duper-transgressive New-wave make or break film that Weissman and a few others have touted it as? Nope. For that see Wong Kar Wai's "Ashes of Time".

But not every film has to be really really serious or 'great'. This is a fun film, with some weird displacements of time and space, just to make it interesting. Enjoy it as such.

Jet Li is a writer of pulpy Adventure novels with his alter ego acting as the main hero, while in real life he's trying to solve some serious relationship-issues with his girlfriend. Naturally the Adventure part taking place in a fictional scenario (and thankfully using up most of the movie's screen time) is the more entertaining one of those two story lines. Unfortunately plot-twists gradually become more random and ridiculous, so atmospheric visuals and fight-scenes remain as the only redeeming factor. Action focuses on effect and not so much on realism, Jet Li battling a Ninja-Squad is a blast, though. The "Indiana Jones"-feel is there, but without the suspense or energy. SFX are looking good and carry a certain trashy charm to them, while events in the real world stick to being a rather dull affair. Some good jokes here and there, but in the end there's nothing really to remember. Subtitles on the HK-DVD are of worst kind imaginably, they make no sense at all.