Cantwr This is my second Chinese film after Mulan and I picked it up to see more of the actress Wei Zhao. But I am warming to this genre - yes simple (but reading subtitles the screenplay could not be too complicated or it would be exhausting!). Again I am struck by the superb sets - breathtaking country. This time the similarities with Westerns are palpable - the characters, lines ("Something doesn't feel right"), behaviour all reek of the 'Wild West' and serve to remind us that we humans are basically the same everywhere - and so are our stories - despite superficial variations. But my biggest impression is how the lead hero played by Jiang Wen is so like our own dear Russell Crowe! Deep voice, flat expression, speaking eyes , unflappable calm and stocky build - it's uncanny. Mind you I'm not sure whether RC can wiggle his ears like Jiang! Recommended.

stormruston I really enjoyed this movie.Do not expect "hero" or "house of Daggers" type quality but do expect a ripper of a Chinese B movie.Amazingly charismatic leads in this movie with special mention going to Xueqi Wang and Kiichi Nakai.The action is very good,the fighting choreographic fairly well done without over the top gore or violence and no wire work.What will keep you to the end of this movie is the acting not the action.The basic story is about a Imperial Agent wishing to return home, but first he must bring back or kill a renegade solider.While hunting him down the two are forced to unite for the greater good of a caravan being attacked by bandits.***mild hint of a spoiler here****This was very good up until the end,it took a bit of a supernatural twist.It was like they project ran out of money or steam and they just needed to finish it.Still very very good in-spite of a weakish ending.

Strider-100 Warriors of Heaven and Earth is an interesting film due to the fact that it had so many great elements that just didn't come together. The cast was fine, the setting and backdrop were fine, the outline of the story was interesting, but the ingredients of this picture did not mix.The problem with the film was timing, budget, and the script.Excellent Cast including Jiang Wen, Kiichi Nakai, and Vicki Zhao. Beautiful Scenery of the Gobi Desert and the far reaches of China.The problem was the script. It was clichéd and most of all boring. There was nothing unique, in fact the dialog seemed taken from other films. You have the two guys that are suppose to be opponents who become buddies (aka 48 Hours)who take on an evil warlord and his thugs and defeat them in Battle. The supporting cast (the other warriors) get picked off one by one like (The Magnificent Seven).Vicki Zhao has a meaningless role in the film. It is pretty much just stand around and look pretty and helpless and do a little narration work while you are at it. If you have Vicki Zhao in a film, you should use her. They made her character as clichéd and one dimensional as possible.This film can't compare to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Musa", or "House of Flying Daggers". It is what you call a big budget B movie. The fight scenes look uncoordinated as well. After watching the "How the Film was made", I was a little more sympathetic towards the director. The Director Ping He had a daunting task of getting the film made due to weather and the timeline. I think he did not have enough time or money to do this film right. It was just too massive of an undertaking given the time constraints. It looked very rushed and disorganized.The scenery and the backdrops are breathtaking, actually the highlight of the movie, the script itself was weak. The most memorable moment in the film is the scenery and Vicki Zhao in the bathtub. Now that was some nice scenery too.

redrum_driew Warriors of Heaven and Earth is a decently made movie with some good plot developments. The fighting scenes. All of the fighting scenes were done relatively well, being more towards the real side of battle, instead of the fighting scenes from the other big names (Hero, House of Flying Daggers). My only complaint with the action scenes, is that nobody is affected by the death of their comrades. I understand you cannot stop fighting unless you want to join your brother in heaven, but they all took their deaths as the grim reality. I suppose in a way, it is more realistic (we're all going to die anyway, maybe he was lucky to get to heaven sooner). The camera work and plot however did do an excellent job of making you feel sorrowful when a character died.The romance. Wait, excuse me, romance? Vicky Zhou? What?This point nearly ruined the movie for me until I got back into the mindset of hey, there are good fight scenes, let's enjoy them. Vicky Zhou's character is completely extraneous and was a waste. Although her voice is nice as the narrator of the story, and she still has a pretty face, she was utterly useless. Not only did she not fight (unless you call the one to two minute scene in the end "fighting"), she had about 10-15 minutes of full, on-camera footage - mostly devoted to questioning Li's criminal activities.Overall. Lai Qi (Kiichi Nakai) and Li Zai (Wen Jiang) carry the entire movie. It's interesting that Jiang is not in the credited cast as he probably had the most screen time in the entire movie.Should you see it? There are a couple things to take into account. 1) If you're not used to HK films, this isn't a good one to start with, unless you abhor the Chinese humor in older less epic films 2) It will probably make you depressed. Maybe it's just me... What else has made me depressed you might ask? Let's see: So Close, Hero, House of Flying Daggers...I give it a 7 out of 10. I had hoped for something slightly better, but then again, it was realistic and the final battle scene reminded me of what the LOTR battle for Helm's Deep would have been if the good guys hadn't all survived -- Classic.