ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (1983) Chinese with English subtitles. Also called SHU SHAN or SUK SAAN (Translated: 'Suk Mountain')
Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4.0) ******************************** Key to rating system: 2.0 stars - Debatable 2.5 stars - Some people may like it 3.0 stars - I liked it 3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie 4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out ********************************* A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: Tsui Hark Written by: Shui Chung Yuet
Starring: Damian Lau Chung-Yun, Adam Cheng Siu-Chow, Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia, Samo Hung Kam-Bo, Randy Man, Judy Ong, Tsui Hark
Ingredients: Flying kung fu swordsmen and swordswomen, supernatural monsters, magic weapons
Synopsis: In this Chinese mythological fantasy, I-chen - - a young army private in 16th century China - - gets tired of war, especially a battle which pits uniformed reds, blues, greens, oranges, and yellows all against each other in a pointless conflict. So I-chen sneaks off and becomes the apprentice of superhero kung fu master Sifu Ting.
Unfortunately the superhero world of flying swordsmen and magical weapons turns out to be just as petty and divisive as the normal-powered world. The world's big heroes - - Ice Countess and her handmaiden, Master Ting and Private I-chen, and a superhero Buddhist monk along with the monk's apprentice - - don't want anything to do with each other. This is bad news because, due to a lack of cooperation, Sifu Ting, Ice Countess, and the monk get knocked out of commission by the supernatural forces of evil. This leaves the three apprentices (I-chen, the handmaiden, and the monk's assistant) on their own to save the world.
The plot revolves around a big monster that will soon hatch into the ultimate evil, spelling doomsday for the world in only 49 days. Only two magic swords located in a far off borderland can combine into a weapon powerful enough to defeat the coming monster. The three young wannabes must go on a quest, find the magical swords, enlist allies, and save the world from the emergence of evil.
Opinion: While THE PRINCESS BRIDE is one of the few mainstream American sword fighting fairy tales involving comedy, fighting, and some magic, Chinese sword fighting fairy tales are common in Hong Kong film. The difference is, Hong Kong swashbuckling is often more 'over-the-top,' on the order of SPAWN or other comic book fantasies. In ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN people fly around like Superman. In addition, heroes can levitate objects, control the forces of nature, and transfer their powers to others. And they carry swords and shields and have big long sashes and other enchanted weapons that can magically fly, spin, duplicate, and take on a life of their own before returning to the hero's side.
ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN is one of director Tsui Hark's earlier works, before martial arts films had much of a budget - - so you'll easily notice when the camera shot switches to a scale model - - in contrast to the deft visual flair of the rest of the movie. This gives the cinematography a stop-and-go feel.
The wushu fight choreography is good, and the very beginning of ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN features an outstanding and funny war sequence along with some sharp quips on human nature made by the characters. After the great beginning, the plot starts to get a little murky. The characters also become less witty and more cardboard. Soon it becomes confusing keeping track of who is who, as side characters such as Long Brows, Heaven's Blade, and Lady Li-ichi are thrown in. The finale of ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN features lots of flying, but less martial arts.
The bottom line? ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN has a great beginning. The characters aren't too deep, and the plot gets a little murky, but the wushu action content is high, providing entertaining action with little or no bloodshed or body count.
Copyright © 1998 by David Sunga THE CRITIC ZOO: http://www.criticzoo.com email: zookeeper@criticzoo.com
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