Dark Jedi This movie is probably quite unknown by most people. I certainly had never heard of it when I stumbled on it. It is a quite entertaining little fantasy / supernatural / crime movie though. I am actually not sure what to classify at as. It starts of as a fantasy movie but is it really? The cinematics of this movie is very good. For me it was the main part contributing to the enjoyment. The small world of these villagers is cinematically beautiful, dirty and gritty at the same time. The characters themselves with their enormous moustaches and weirdly cut hair are great. The special effects will perhaps not win any awards but they were good nonetheless. I especially liked the transformation scene during the meal somewhere in the middle of the movie.The story is a bit of a roller coaster ride and sometimes it felt a bit disjointed. It was not really obvious why one scene or event was followed by another at all times. But then, taking into account the later events in the movie it was perhaps meant to be a bit disjointed and "dreamy" and I have to confess that I was extremely tired when watching this movie.The ending was a bit of a surprise. This is where the movie kind of went from a fantasy movie to more of a crime story. I have to say that I did not really see that coming until it was about to fall in my lap.There are definitely worse ways of spending two hours in the evening, especially if you like movies that are not the typical mainstream Hollywood fare.

s3276169 Forbidden Kingdom is surreal and pragmatic at the same time. Its a disorienting mix that mostly works, even though it probably should not. There's a lot of fantastical, hellish fantasy elements in this film, that have a rather medieval feel to them. Horned demons, winged sprites and variety of other bizarre creations. This sits alongside a rather pragmatic tale of rationalism with an inexplicable, religious twist. The acting seems reasonable but I feel a lot has been lost in translation. Its pretty clear the Russian component of this film has been dubbed. As a result I suspect is a lot of the meaning conveyed in Russian that would help to fully explain the story has been lost. As a result, for English speakers like myself, this film may have a disjointed feel to it. There is no clear segue between the scenes that make up the story and as a consequence no sense of cohesion and unity in the overall story itself.Its worth briefly mentioning the cinematography used in this film. Its truly exceptional and really gives this film great visual depth and beauty. All in all, for a non Russian audience this film may be a little too difficult to grasp and fully appreciate. As I said, the English translation does this film no favours. As a result its hard for me to offer an unequivocal thumbs up. That said, this is still a highly original and very creative film, reminiscent of works by Tim Burton. As such, I would suggest its still worth your time. Seven out of ten from me.

topblock If you're a Gogol follower - skip it. The original story ends as the movie proceeds. Yet you would definitely like to step into the new fantasy world, glamorously picturized by the talented scenarist+director. Russia/Ukraine has an awful lot to offer - the whole abyss of an amazing mythology, with stunningly scary monsters rooted in a fascinating history. While the native language speaker will certainly find the movie rather colorful and surprising, the "foreigner" will be stunned by the visualizations and enjoy the unexpected appearance of a Englishman scientist whose stepping in turns this originally "horror" scenario into a detective, "The Hound of the Baskervilles" style. Strongly recommended to those who liked "Hellboy", "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles"...8 out of 10

Aleksey Voskresenskiy I did not like this film. The plot is week. 3D effects are fine, but they can not improve the overall impression. The plot of original Russian film "Viy" (1967) was is fully distorted. The original film was really scarring. The new film has nothing common with Gogol's great book. It should have another title, not "Viy". Ukrainian men are shown as stupid and permanently drunk people. Ukrainian women are also shown as silly witches. But the hero of the film is an English scientist. The general idea is that Ukainian (and Russian) people can do nothing without help of Europe. The is no truth in the film. Even more, it is harmful and anti-patriotic. Do not recommend it.