Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (2022)

I loved this movie

I watched this in Cantonese because if I was gonna enjoy this movie, it was going to be in Canto! Comparisons to the original Jet Li movie is unavoidable, but this movie is - in my opinion - entertaining af. Seeing Louis Koo in ancient chinese outfits was a great throwback to his TVB days, and Donnie Yen as the awesome Zhang San Feng was great as well as we rarely see Donnie as an old and invincible martial artist. I don't know why people are complaining about Raymond Lam being too old for the role, the film makes it very clear his character is in his thirties, and Raymond easily passes for someone in his thirties. Sure it does't follow the books 100%, but this is a movie and not a TV drama, therefore some liberties had to be taken.

Although I had fun watching this film, what annoyed me the most was the canto voice actor for Zhou Zhi Ruo. Hot dang, was she sucking on helium or something, I really hated the voice acting on her. On the opposite end, I was enamored by the actress Janice Man as Zhao Min, she is a fierce looking beauty that had me enjoying the scenes she had as she shared them with Raymond Lam. Her voice actor also did a great job as well, providing authority in her voice.

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A beat for beak remake of Wong Jing’s original film but done much worse

Some of you may remember back in 1993 Wong Jing directed a film called Kung Fu Cult Master starring Jet Li. It was meant to be a 2 parter with a sequel lined up but the 1st film failed critically and commercially. Subsequently the film garnered a cult following but there wasn't much demand for a remake. Wong Jing along with Hong Kong DP Keung Kwok Man brings us an updated version of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber tale, titled New Kung Fu Cult Master 1 as the title suggest this is the first in a 2 parter. The release on streaming platform already tells you about the quality of the film.

The film sees the 6 martial arts schools wanting to eradicate the so called evil faction but each school has their own agenda and wants to be ruler of the martial arts world. We follow Zhang Wuji (Raymond Lam) a child born from the father of the good martial society and the mother of the evil martial society. After years of seclusion Wuji's parents decides to return to the martial arts world but there arrival is met with the 6 martial arts schools who kills Wuji's father in the process. Years pass and the now adult Wuji with his new found friend Xiao Zhao (Yun Qianqian) overhear that all the years of feud between the good and evil factions were orchestrated by the government in secret lead by Zhao Min (Janice Man). During their little escapade Xiao Zhao is injured and Wuiji has to take her to Guang Ming mountain the base of the evil sect but due to a scheme of the 6 martial arts schools those at Guang Ming mountain mistake Wuji as a fraud. During this moment the 6 martial arts school storm the mountain to confront the evil sect and end them once and for all but Wuji manages to prevent this from happening resulting in the 6 schools retreating. Wuji is made the new leader of the evil faction and he goes to warn Wudang members of an impending attack but it's too late and he is confronted by Zhao Min.

The story is actually more complex but it will be difficult for me to cover the large amount of details present in the film. There are just way too many characters even for 2 films to cover. The film is based on the novels by famed Wuxia author Louis Cha whose complex story has been adapted many times before and I fondly remember watching the story unfold on a TV serial, it had so much time to flesh out characters and plot points while this film struggles to effectively juggle so much that's happening often skipping onto events rapidly and introducing characters with no explanation or contribution to the story.

The film is produced by the Shaw Brothers company which owns TVB so we are presented with a host of TVB actors, with Raymond Lam headlining the title character. Sadly Raymond Lam processes little charm and is rather bland in the role. The biggest names are of course Donnie Yen and Louis Koo but both are extended cameos only. Louis Koo looks bored and is killed of near the beginning as for Donnie Yen it felt like he could be played by anyone and appears during the beginning and near the end with little to do. Neither Janice Man nor Yun Qianqian can do justice to what Sharla Cheung and Chingmy Yau did for the roles. Janice Man in particular lacks the authoritive nature that the role demands often coming across as weak.

Budget constraints are apparent throughout with sets looking straight out of TV series and the costumes are just so cartoon. Lighting is not much better again looking like a TV serial just spruced up with some added shadows here and there opposed to the washed out look we get from TVB. It’s troubling when you consider that one half of the directors is a DP of renown for works on One Night in Mongkok and Seven Swords. Then there are scenes with a sparsity of extras and it really makes the scenes look small scale.

Comparisons to the original Kung Fu Cult Master film is inevitable and man does this film pale in comparison. The film almost follows the original film beat for beat. The structure and set pieces are pretty much the same but done much worse.

The fights looks like they are done for TV, they are quick and devoid of any creativity. CGI and wire work is the order of the day. Raymond Lam is no Jet Li but they could have tried doing more with him, instead we get these awkward fight scenes that feels tired and uninteresting. Donnie Yen gets a very mundane fight during the beginning and nothing after that. Then we have set pieces rip straight from the original Kung Fu Cult Master, the original we saw Jet Li versus Cho Wing in an impressive display of kung fu skills, this new version sees Raymond Lam take on martial arts actor Oscar Li where horrible CGI is featured throughout. It then has the audacity to implement the same situation where we see Oscar Li’s eagle claw ripping into the pillar which was something that played out in the original film. The ending is an orgy of CGI, energy beams coming out of the swords and things explode. Even with a host of credible fighters such as Donnie Yen, Xiong Xin Xin, Shi Yanneng, Yu Kang and Louis Fan not an ounce of quality fight choreography comes from this film. There’s also this awkward undercranking that is used occasionally in the film and this also filters into the fights.

One positive is that there’s none of the crass humour that featured in the original version.

I think my biggest enjoyment from this film was spotting celebrities like Elvis Tsui, Mars, Jade Leung, Shi Yanneng, Xiong Xin Xin, Louis Fan but none of this makes the film worth sitting through.

For more reviews:
https://asiancinemabox.wixsite.com/home/blog
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCem8JwdEFUzyDxYuM8sd8UA

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