Legião de Heróis

"Call of Heroes" is an entertaining wuxia film with cool characters and good enough action scenes that help overcome its shortcomings (they being bad acting, in the overacting category, thin as they come plot, and a too long running time).

The army has left Pucheng undefended to fight in the war, and the local governance is in the hands of the local militia and its leader, Colonel Yeung. Cho, the son of a military governor, who seems to just go around for the sake of killing people, gets to the city, and after doing some of his nasty stuff (so, killing innocents), is put in prison by Colonel Yeung, guilty of murder and condemned to die at the next day's sunrise. Cho's army will try to stop this.

You can see almost every plot development, fight and showdown in "Call of Heroes" from moment one. You know who will fight against whom, and how the plot will develop. However, director Chan and everyone involved do a great job with the rhythm and the pace and the little scenes between fights, to keep things fresh and including one or two little twists that make things feel original enough. The use of locations in the fights, and the cool action direction by Sammo Hung (who gives himself a blind-and-you-will-miss-it cameo) makes for really good showdowns every moment the tension rises and the action unleashes.

It helps that we have here some of the most famous faces in Hong Kong action movies. Ching Wan Lau as Colonel Yeung does a great job in the 'I-am-a-calm-and-stable-leader' mold. But the movie belongs to Eddie Peng and he embodies the hero of the story in a too-cool-to-be-true manner. His acting may look simple (raising eyebrows and little smiles), but it fits the character perfectly, and makes the viewer connect with Ma Fung, elevating the character to one of those you would like to see at least in a couple more movies. The same cannot be said of Louis Koo's Cho Siu-lun, Louis Koo having taking a page of the 'unleashed Jim Carrey' school of acting. Louis Koo munches his dialogue as if he was hyper after having two litters of coffee and half a pound of chocolate. He is probably having too much fun with the character, but it makes the viewer disconnect from the story, as the histrionics go to a level not much seen before.

"Call of Heroes" is a very entertaining movie, that is not trying to reinvent the wheel, but just entertain the viewer. And the fan of the genre will probably enjoy it.

With China's film industry in the throes of a CGI craze (think the most recent 'League of Gods'), it is almost refreshing to see a traditional martial arts blockbuster like 'Call of Heroes' that doesn't substitute the authenticity of real sets or props for computer-generated ones. That means the whip you see Lau Ching Wan crack on screen as the commander of a small group of guardians for the besieged city of Pucheng is every inch real, for which Lau went through a month of rigorous training to prepare for. It also means the city Pucheng where most of the action is set is also filmed against an actual set, which took its director Benny Chan almost five months to build. Even more comforting is the fact that Chan (who takes top screen writing credit here among four other co- writers) understands the importance of a good story and strong characters, and uses both to craft a compelling Western about justice and its enforcement.

Oh yes, lest it doesn't seem apparent from the grave expressions of its lead cast on the poster or its action-packed trailers, Chan has modelled his film firmly on the genre tropes of the classic Western. The opening scene establishes Eddie Peng's Ma Feng as the mysterious wanderer with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humour, awoken from his post-lunch stupor at a secluded diner by a stuttering bandit in the midst of robbing its owners as well as the other patrons. True enough, after the requisite character introduction to Lau's Sheriff Yang Kenan, Ma Feng rides into the town of Pucheng claiming to have no purpose other than follow wherever his horse (which he names 'Taiping' or 'world peace' in Chinese) takes him.

Though sequestered in a deep valley, Pucheng is under threat of invasion by a ruthless warlord Cao Ying, whose equally cold-blooded son General Cao Shaolun (Louis Koo) had mercilessly slaughtered the villagers where Miss Bai and her students had fled from and is preparing to repeat the deed. The army protecting their village has been called into battle with General Cao's men at the frontlines, leaving the security of Pucheng to Sheriff Yang and his band of guardians.

It is all but clear to Sheriff Yang that Shaolun – who rides into town alone at the crack of dawn and proceeds to kill three people in cold blood – intends to be caught, and is only playing on the minds of Pucheng's ordinary citizens as well as its law enforcement to see how far they would go to save their own skins. His general Zhang Yi (Wu Jing) interrupts his trial in open court to demand as much, with the ultimatum that he will lead their junior commandant Shaolun's army to invade the village and rescue him if he is not released by daybreak the very next morning.

To Sheriff Yang, the choice is clear – there can be no justice if it is not enforced – so threat or no threat, Shaolun will hang for his crimes. Yet after an attempted prison break led by two of General Zhang Yi's subordinates leaves two of Sheriff Yang's guardians dead, the villagers are left even more cowed by the threat of complete annihilation, turning up en masse to petition Sheriff Yang to release the prisoner in the hope of avoiding war. Therein lies Sheriff Yang's moral and professional dilemma as well as the movie's central theme – justice at what costs and to what extents – which is fleshed out poignantly thanks to Chan's compelling storytelling and his actor Lau's commanding multi-layered performance.

In the same vein, Ma Feng's choice will also be ethical – stay and defend Pucheng alongside Sheriff Yang or simply leave and let them fend by their own defences? Bearing in mind the titular call, it isn't hard to guess which Ma Feng eventually chooses, especially after we learn of his past with General Zhang Yi. That history also adds texture and depth to their one-on-one showdown at the end – more than just a battle of Eddie's twin swords and Wu Jing's spear, it is their 'brotherhood' which is also put to the test. That the clash between the two martial-arts trained actors bristles with ferocity and nail-biting tension is testament to Sammo Hung's action direction, which complements the robust character drama with four thrilling set- pieces.

As its title suggests, 'Call of Heroes' is a team effort where the whole is much bigger and better than the sum of its individual parts. Neither its story or the central theme is new, but Chan has fashioned a gripping period drama that reinforces the virtue of staying true to one's morals. As with his previous 'The White Storm', Chan's ensemble cast also deserves credit for the strength of their acting – and even Koo turns out a surprisingly inspired choice sneering and smarming as the heartless villain at the heart of the story. Like we said at the start, this is a refreshingly solid old-fashioned action-packed blockbuster that is also likely to be one of the best Chinese movies you'll see this year.

Call of Heroes has been on my radar for a long time. Lau Ching Wan is one of my favorite Hong Kong actors, probably only behind the legendary Chow Yun Fat. Then I started reading some reviews that made some comparisons to Rio Bravo and Kurosawa. I got even more excited! But could it now live up to my ever-heightened expectations?!? I am proud to report that I thoroughly enjoyed the film, somehow meeting my expectations and in some ways surpassing them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Call of Heroes is a perfect film. I am saying that when it was over, I told my wife that I had enjoyed the film immensely and she wholeheartedly agreed. This is what I call a crowd pleasing entertainment! It was funny at times, quite unexpectedly shocking at other times; it had some really good action scenes, and I always like some good tough guy posturing, and it had that in spades. For the positives, I would start with Eddie Peng's somewhat scruffy and amusing performance as the Monkey King hero. The performance is broad to be sure, but very likable, and I now count myself a fan of Eddie. I've already professed my biased fanboy status for Lau Ching Wan, but he brings the necessary gravitas and strength to his role as the sheriff / guardian of the city. He could probably play this role in his sleep, but I do think he brought some good stuff to the table. The primary negative to me was Louis Koo's over the top performance. I like Louis but his performance seemed a little overboard, even in a movie like this. That being said, his initial arrival in town is one of the more surprising scenes in my recent cinematic universe. I won't say anymore about that!

A fun movie filled with broad performances, some unexpectedly surprising events, and over the top action sequences, Call of Heroes is one of the more entertaining movies I've seen this year!

The leading actors are splendid...but they don't want to fight like this...

Well director of this film has a lot of good action movie in his resume and the best of them is "Shaolin". but do not expect high about this movie. everything is mediocre. mediocre drama with action above mediocre. filming and moving of camera is excellent. Music is good and remind you a bit of old good westerns. Do i suggest this movie ? there are lots of good action movie out there if you had watch them all then this one do not let you down. It is a mediocre fun not less not more.