Ngai sing

This is an interesting Martial arts movie in that it follows a tradition used by many Martial Arts producers to copy old Sergio Leone type movies.

The lone traveller enters a village where evil outsiders set out to destroy the town and kill many ordinary innocent people. A clash of good over evil where the town's folk eventually pull together to defeat their attackers.

It has all been done before and the irony is that Sergio Leone was himself copying from the early samurai movies when he produced his now famous spaghetti westerns. This movie very much copies that mould and even the background music is reminiscent of those old Sergio type westerns.

The story is good and the characters are interesting. However the evil of the Louis Koo character is shockingly evil and there are some unexpected moments. For me the weakness was the two friends (or were they brothers?) I just could not believe that one could go along with the unnecessary evil of the warlords son, but apart from that they were good characters.

The Martial arts was of a high standard, as you would expect with the great Sammo Hung directing the action scenes, and Ching Wan Lau was outstanding as the whip cracking Sheriff. Eddie Peng is very good in his Clint Eastwood role. All the other supporting characters were well acted and the Direction was excellent. There is some CGI but this is not overused as it is in many modern movies of this genre.

So over all not a bad Martial Arts movie.

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...

The story is too straight without any guile. Set in 1914 following the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the film tells the story of a group of villagers standing up to a cruel young warlord. It stands knee deep in hero-talk, melodrama and posturing. The story is not memorable but it hearkens me back to the Shaw classic no-nonsense wuxia films of the yester-years. Those are great years.

Sean Lau, the ever dependable actor, makes all the skull-numbing hero-speeches feel like nuggets of wisdom. Eddie Peng actually has a slight breakthrough with his wandering hobo character, adding delightful charm and comic relief. Wu Jing, who proved in SPL 2 that he can carry a movie on his own, puts in an unstated performance. His and Peng's back story is one of the highlights of the movie. Louis Koo, probably HK's busiest actor, lays on the ham with extra cheese and froth. His portrayal of the warlord nearly crosses into parody. But please take my words with a pinch of salt because I probably don't know anything. When Koo finally gets his comeuppance, the people around me were actually cheering.

The one thing I hate the most in kungfu movies is the CGI-created landscape and all the impossible kungfu moves made possible by CGI. Special effects is the shite in martial arts films. Call of Heroes doesn't do that and it is good old action stunt work and wire-fu. Sammo Hung's action choreography here is excellent. There are two particular set-pieces, a fight on a bamboo-cage bridge and one on a mountain of clay urns, that are stand-outs.

The studios don't make movies like this anymore - a stand-up and be counted old- fashioned wuxia flick.

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.