In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Sunday, 16 June 2013

The Dragon Chronicles: The Maidens of Heavenly Mountains (1994)

aka: Semi-Gods and Semi-Devils

A Chinese martial arts fantasy from the halcyon years with an almost incomprehensible story. Who’s that guy? Wasn't she… but… WTF is going on? Despite the head-scratching there’s a lot of fun to be had because the production is bursting at the seams with ambition. All the usual genre staples are in place: flying maidens, supernatural occurrences, daggers of light projecting from fingertips, exploding rocks, etc.
The real draw is seeing Brigitte Lin, Gong Li and Sharla Cheung (aka Man Cheung) together. They eat up the screen with grace and beauty. Brigitte fills two roles, but she’s done this kind of film before so she feels at home. I was surprised by how well Gong Li adapted.

3 heroic losers out of 5

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