May

5

2008

Andy Lau, Maggie Q & Sammo Hung. A trio I would have never thought to see on the big screen together, join forces for director Daniel Lee’s (Black Mask) epic tale.

AP Photo: Kin Cheung

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I saw the lineup...especially with Maggie Q (Mission Impossible III, Live Free, Die Hard) thrown into the mix. I was quite anxious however to see Andy Lau’s (House of Flying Daggers) performance as well as Sammo Hung’s, mostly cause I hadn’t seen Sammo on screen in quite awhile.

What I got was a great interpretive story that was a cross between 300 (the graphic novel inspired Zack Snyder film) & Glory (the brilliant 1989 film directed by Edward Zwick). Funny enough, the tag line for Glory was “Their innocence. Their heritage. Their lives. Nothing would be spared in the fight for their freedom.” That’s basically what was delivered by Lee...a artistically painted picture partially depicting the novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” written by Luo Guanzhong.

This wasn’t Crouching Tiger or House of Flying Daggers. This was grander story with a much more aggressive graphic styling (a la 300).

Now, my complaints..

Ummm, firstly...way not enough Maggie Q at all! I recently stumbled upon an article on NYTimes.com (”Stuck in Asia, Dreaming of Hollywood”) discussing about how this film was to be “her most challenging role”. Yea, it could have been if she’d been given more to work with. As it stands, we get only a 20min glimpse into what could have been a truly breathtaking villainess being born. Sammo as Luo Ping-An was charismatic in small bits and pieces. Not sure if his stint as Action Director had anything to do with the choice of roles. The sequences were sometimes brilliant and sometimes hard to figure out, with many of the shots being very close shot. However, I have to give him props for the fight scene involving the young Zhao Zilong and Cao. That scene reminded me a lot of old the spaghetti westerns such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly or Once Upon a Time in the West. My last “grr”...I wish I’d seen it in the native Mandarin Language, with English Subtitles...cause watching it in English was not great, but that’s like most translated films.

If you live for action, love Andy Lau and have even a inkling of what the novel is about, I’d recommend checking it out, especially on the big screen with all the great cinematic effects.


Categories: Entertainment

15 Comments »

Comments merged with the forum topic: Three Stars come together for Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon

Daron, did you watch this at the Tribeca Film Festival? When I saw it, it was in Mandarin with English subs. I don’t think you can fault the director for not showing enough Maggie Q. She wasn’t central to the story until the second half. I never really watch Andy Lau as an actor, but I was impressed by his performance.


Andy Lau is a great actor and has won many acting awards in HK and Taiwan. He’s probably the most hardworking entertainer in Asia and I won’t be a least bit surprised if he decides to campaign himself for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong post next. LOL.


Oh speaking of Maggie Q, here’s a clip of her praising Faye Wong. Talk about one style icon admiring another smile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3-k-Sw-Zo4


This movie isn’t out yet right? It’s still in the festival stage, so when is it going to come out. I <3 Andy Lau no matter how old he is raspberry


Lol. He’s one of the hot old guys. The movie was really good and supposedly historically accurate. Definitely better than the Forbidden Kingdom, I felt that I wasted my money watching it!


Oh...the complaint about the language was my own complaint to me...lol...I certainly know the director had nothing to do with that..

And yep..I saw it at this years Tribeca Fest…


i was surprised to see maggie q in this movie. the role is more serious than her other movies.


So was I! Especially after the Edison photos...:X


Maggie wasn’t in the Edison photos right? Anyway, the reviews for this movie were so-so. Yet Forbidden Kingdom fared better. I don’t know why that is.


i read the review from imdb...they said it wasn’t good! and rottentomatoes gave forbidden kingdom 64%? which is pretty high. i still want to see i though. andy lau is hot! haha

and she was in the photos. i think it was just one photo though


Am I the only one not a big fan of Maggie Q? She has a lot of stupid roles just like Lucy Liu.


Azn..

Yea..well..I think you have a legit beef...but I think she’s only beginning to see her true capability as an actress. That’s what I was hoping to see here in Three Kingdoms…

I don’t know...All I know is she was great in Mission Impossible and Live Free, Die Hard...then those weren’t exactly dialogue heavy roles so..we have some more waiting to see I guess…


When is this movie coming out? I’m looking forward to it now. I’m reading that Andy Lau has the same status as the dreamy Chow Yun-Fat.


At least a year I would say. If we’re lucky, by the end of the year just in time for Oscar submission deadline.


Hoc, is there anyway you can find out a definitely deadline. Based on what you guys have said, I’m really interested in seeing this movie.



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