The Sorcerer and the White Snake

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I simply loved the magical moves and powers displayed in this movie. I thought they were very imaginative and just spectacular! These kind of movies spark the imagination and, I believe, are more than worth watching, just for that. The fight sequences were some of the best I've ever seen. That alone would have been enough to make a very good movie. But the romance was perfect too! As I was watching it, I just kept thinking, "Oh my goodness, this is so awesome! This is the best movie I've ever seen, so far!" The only reason I give it a 9 and not 10/10 is the ending. So as not to spoil anything I will only say that I understand why they ended it the way they did, and in a way that is perfect for the kind of movie they were trying to make, so you might indeed like it, but that part was not perfect for me.

This show has everything: a) Fantasy - a lot of; b) Martial artistry - tons of it; c) Friendship; d) Wizardry; and, e) Talking animals; I do not believe it was intended as a martial arts feature per se; but an overall entertaining feature. As for me and my family, it did achieve it's goals. If it has a bit of "the last air bender"; of any other feature in it, so what? Which movie is not an improvement over another or an older version? If you are 13 or older, pay special attention to the fighting in the bamboo forest; even more special, to the lady on the far left of the screen.

So many people reviewed this as bad and I will be damned if I understand why. The story is that of an old Chinese legend (well, a more modern interpretation), the actresses are very beautiful and the acting, for what it's worth, is not bad either. To bash a movie because the CGI is a little choppy and Jet Li fights magically instead of kicking behinds seems the height of triviality. The Legend of the White Snake starts a long time ago, way before there was a written version. The original is quite different from the modern version as well, being a horror story about a demon tricking a human to fall in love with her and her jealous demon buddies are doing everything in their power to break them up. At least this is what I got from Wikipedia. The film, though, presents it as a total love story where the White Snake and her sister are benevolent demons who visit the human world and eventually fall for two guys. The natural order, represented by the Buddhist monk Fahai, a non compromising demon hunter, doesn't allow this type of union and eventually it all escalates into a bad CGI extravaganza. I thought the morality of the story was a little bit confusing, but complex, worthy of a script. Nothing is completely black and white and in the end the message is tolerance, even if not everything turns out OK. This complexity has kept my eyes glued to the screen until the end. Yes, the CGI could have been better, but who really cares about that? Bottom line: I liked it. Popularizes a Chinese legend that I knew nothing about, shows people that a film can have a complex story that is not just black and white, stars really cute Chinese ladies and in end was quite entertaining for me. No masterpiece, but really better than average.

Since 2001, I have not missed a single Jet Li film in the cinemas. His latest is a spin-off/remake of the HK's 90s classic Green Snake. It is one of those films where you need to suspend your beliefs and just enjoy the cheesiness of the CGI created imaginary world. Although there will never be a better duo of snakes beauty in Joey Wong and Maggie Cheung, the replacement duo in Eva Huang and Charlene Choi does well. Sadly the biggest acting fraud in the 21st Century comes in the form of TVB's favourite Raymond Lam. The lad simply cannot act and his attempts at acting are quite frankly awful to say the least. Despite all the cheesiness and mo-lei-tau playback of the early 90s, the film somehow works out. Along with an assured performance from monk-like Jet Li and some creative directing from Ching Siu-tung. The Sorcerer and the White Snake isn't bad and could have been a lot worse Neo rates it 6.25/10. www.thehkneo.com

Buddhist Monk and Abbot Fahai (Jet Li) and his disciple Neng Ren (Zhang Wen) are demon hunters, among other things; White Snake (Shengyi Huang) and Green Snake (Charlene Choi) are sister demons, one a bit of a romantic and the other rather mischievous. Green Snake causes young herbalist Xu Xian (Raymond Lam) to fall into a lake in the mountains, but White Snake saves him with a kiss, imparting some of her vital essence to him. Is it any wonder, after such a kiss, that White Snake and Xu Xian fall in love? But nothing good can come of the relationship between a human and a demon, and Abbot Fahai is determined to separate the couple, even at the cost of wreaking havoc in the temple and the world.... Jet Li is as likable and harmonious as ever in this role, one where he is able to employ his considerable martial arts skills while maintaining the quietude and serenity of a monk; Zhang Wen's disciple provides some excellent comic relief as he "grows" from hapless monk to, well, demon; and the two sister snakes are suitably sinuous and lovely. Raymond Lam is also quite good as the ambitious herbalist who dreams of becoming a doctor and saving the lives of others; indeed, his humble nobility creates a desire in White Snake to do good herself, an emotion not necessarily common for demons. We also are treated to a number of other demons, including a pack of gorgeous white foxes, a beautiful snow goblin all dressed in red, and a rabbit devil, and there are a number of set pieces involving Abbot Fahai's fights with some of these creatures. All in all, a very entertaining spectacle and a fitting way for us to close FantAsia 2012!