Battle of the Warriors

This film is based on Bokko, one of the finest Japanese manga ever crafted, about one man - Ge Li - sent to defend a besieged city in ancient China. Andy Lau here plays the main character, effectively downplaying his super-stardom with a delicate, subdued and humble performance. Apart from him, we get epic battles with twists, a couple of very nifty strategic ideas, and all the grievances and politics of the besieged city of Liang come to a boiling point. Ge Li has to fight enemies from within and without.

Chinese filmmaking often draws upon that nation's very rich literary heritage, and it's often exciting to see the best it has to offer when that heritage blends with great aesthetics backed up by an important budget. "Hero" comes to mind of course, probably as the pinnacle of the genre. But even that film belies a worrying trend in mainstream Chinese film: ideological bullying. Back to this in a second...

Technically, the film is of course very competently made, the period and city are created to perfection, even if the visual style is never more than generic. Where things begin to go sour is in the characterizations. The source manga has very rich, complex characters, and while it is unfair to condemn a film under 3 hours for failing to capture the wealth of a 400+ page graphic novel, one wonders why the filmmakers did not cut content for the sake of depth rather than the opposite. A lot happens very quickly, and it is very hard to care for anyone but Lau's Ge Li. This problem is further compounded by the apparently chronic irrationality of many characters: they act in frustrating ways, seemingly just because the film requires them to in order to complicate the hero's predicament.

On the previously mentioned ideological front, things become downright risible. The source manga is a tribute to the value of the individual and the vices of the ruling class. On the other hand, the film suggests (word for word in one scene) that only unity will end war in China, and the leader of the invading army is made into a far more compelling human being than any of the inhabitants of the besieged city.

In the end, the film is a case study in how filmmaking by committee leads to bland and idiotic results: nonexistent character, crude ideological content, spectacle for its own sake and a total absence of personality.

But it has two good things going for it: first, it might get you to read the infinitely superior manga. The second reason is a man named Andy Lau.

Having just seen this film, it may be awhile before I can complete my opinion of it. I do not know if it was the poor translations in the subtitles, some confusing storytelling with the subplots, or a combination of both that made many of the finer points difficult to understand. I suspect the third option. As another reviewer said, this movie does have a message, and a potentially very interesting one, but I found that many of the events in the film meant to illustrate it were not well defined enough to be completely comprehensible. It is easy to confuse side characters whose names are not made clear and who look very similar in their armor. Other details, like why certain people are now outside a besieged city when they were in it earlier, also seem confusing -- I expect it all does make sense, but the movie could have done a better job of explaining the finer points of what was happening, what with the many double-crossings and irrational violence that happens. And some other things, like a romantic subplot, weren't fleshed out enough for me to buy -- it seemed a little too Hollywood-ish in setup.

Nonetheless, it is a very interesting movie, visually and story-wise. The main character Ge Li is intriguing and charismatic, well-played by Andy Lau. He is an idealist with great integrity, and he often is alone in his beliefs, but still he uses his great tactical ingenuity to try to defend the city of Liang. This is the film's setup. How it plays out is also quite interesting, though as I said above I found many of the points confusing which otherwise might have added the extra meaning to gain this movie a higher score.

Visually it is very good. Lots of money was spent well, and it has the feel of a real, legitimate battle, with much of the brutality though thankfully not the gore. It doesn't glamorize war, but regards fighting for the defence of one's nation or innocents as often necessary. Yet while it is a bit more contemplative and intelligent than your average medieval epic, it still does work as entertainment. There are some scenes that are just neatly push the film over from pure serious historical war drama into fun action flick. They stick out a little bit, but not enough to ruin anything.

In short: it is an interesting, fun, and sometimes clever film, a bit confusing at times with its subplots and side characters, but grounded by an interesting and admirable protagonist. Not a necessary film or a great one, but a pretty good one all the same.

Around 500 BC, the four greatest civilisations in the world - Greece, Persia, India and China - had a flowering of philosophy, perhaps due to the spread of urbanisation.

In Europe, Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle lived, and schools like Stoicism, Cynicism, Platonism and Scepticism flourished.

In the Middle East, mainly within Persia, but also conquered territories like Egypt and Judea, monotheism like Zoroastrianism and Judaism flourished.

In India, some of the most sophisticated and rational systems of spirituality and psychology developed in Buddhism, Jainism, Ajivika and Vedic philosophy.

In China, the 100 Schools of philosophy flourished, which included Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism - and Mohism - the latter being the subject of the film.

While many cultural supremacists like to exaggerate the differences between countries, all of these philosophies fundamentally dealt with the same human condition, and shared a lot in common - for example, Stoicism and Buddhism were both intended as rational systems for coping with life and enhancing the mind - much of their wisdom revolves around acceptance that humans have limited power over the external world, so it is more rational to change oneself.

Mohism, one of China's great contributions to human understanding, was suppressed by the first emperor of China when he burnt all the books of non-sanctioned ideologies (the Qin state followed Legalism) - and was further forgotten during the subsequent Han dynasty which promoted Confucianism - the ideology which remained the most influential in China, Korea and Vietnam.

Surviving works were absorbed into the Taoist canon, and attempts to study Mohism are difficult thanks to it no longer being a 'living' tradition with an experienced lineage going back to it's founder. But what we do know, is that Mohism was similar to Buddhism and Christianity - a universalistic philosophy that believed in compassion toward all other humans. Mozi, it's founder, is said to have negotiated peace between kingdoms on the verge of war, and enhanced the fortifications of the kingdoms facing attack to dissuade violence.

In this film, the protagonist is a Mohist tasked with defending a settlement during the Warring States period around 450 BC. Elements of Mohist philosophy are demonstrated in his actions, making it interesting film for anyone with inclinations toward learning. It is also a pretty good action film or drama, as other reviewers will point out.

An epic Chinese, Warring States period war film staring Andy Lau as warrior/philosopher Ge Li who encourages the state of Liang to defend itself against a more powerful neighboring state. Ge Li as a third party interloper represents the Mozi sect and their non-violent philosophy and defends the state of Liang to prevent greater carnage from the aggressive nation of Zhao. Helping to defend Liang, Ge Li must reconcile his philosophical beliefs with the messy realpolitik ambitions of Kingdom's leadership and also deal with the petty jealousy of less courageous rivals. Although this film is well made and Ge Li's dilemma is compelling, an entire ludicrous segment involving a female love interest detracts from the central theme and, in fact, seems like a gratuitous concession to commercial interests.

**NO SPOILERS** In all aspects of film making, and by any standard, this is an epic production that works at transporting us back to 4th Century feudal China. I'm a late comer to Asian films having seen few more than the Bruce Lee, Sonny Chiba films of the seventies, and the few odd Jet Li and Jackie Chan movies of the eighties and nineties. That is until picking up on Quentin Tarantino's passion around twenty years ago. The more I explore the more I find to my liking. I now own a fair number of Asian DVD's ranging from some Bollywood Classics, Shaw Brothers standards and a variety of Japanese movies, new and old, including every Kurosawa film. Lately, I find myself looking at the Asian market films before Hollywood's latest comic book hero offerings. And, if you have read this far you are probably saying, who cares, and I have to admit you would be justified in thinking that way. But give an old movie lover a break because at my age it takes a minute to get the brain to focus- speaking wishfully, of course. "Battle of the Warriors" has already been expertly described by a few of the other critics here so I'll just tell you what I liked, or didn't like about it. What I didn't like first. One glaring goof-up is all I can come up with- they put a terrible wig on one of the minor/co-stars- that's it! Everything else falls on the positive side. Story, script, plot, pacing, acting, casting, directing, cinematography, production design, costumes, music/soundtrack, action, special effects are all two thumbs up and quite exceptional. Andy Lau plays the philosophical voice of reason quite well. All supporting actors are equally believable in their parts. The fighting and battle scenes are impressive, intriguing and innervating. I can't wait to watch it again with the commentary track provided by Bey Logan, HK film expert/critic. I rated the movie an 8, but if fractions or tenths were available a rating of 8.5 would be more accurate. I enjoyed this movie so much, I personally guarantee you will find watching it an enjoyable experience, or your money back...