Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1985)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Hark's action fantasy 'Xin Shu Shan Jian Ke' is a whole lot of fun. Needless to say one can expect lots of extravagant martial arts action sequences which are well choreographed (but some of them are so long that they tend to drag a little). The movie is loaded with special effects and even though they don't look as refined as movies of today, they're still fun to watch. The sets don't look particularly authentic but they hold a certain appeal and I like the way they appeared. The story isn't told in the traditional fashion and at some points question marks will appear in the mind but there's always something happening to keep the viewer engaged. Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung are simply great as they infuse humour and energy into their roles. Energetic, funny, bizarre, wacky, magical...these are just a few words that describe Tsui Hark's 'Xin Shu Shan Jian Ke'. Forget the abysmal 2003 remake. This is where the real fun is.

What you'll take away from this film very much depends on your own experiences and preferences towards cinema. It is heavy on special effects, the plot is somewhat confusing (no more so than most kung-fu fantasy movies) and due to CGI in 2006 being so good, it does look rather dated. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me reminisce on those Saturday / Sunday morning films I used to watch as a kid (like Sinbad)which were great fun without being particularly thought provoking or cinematic masterpieces. The actors do their bit and the film has a genuine comedic edge to the dialogue, and some excellent visual comedy too. The music is suitably dramatic, stirring and heightens the feeling of awe caused by the special effects and snappy camera-work. Groundbreaking in terms of special effects (1983!!)and a real comeback for fantasy kung fu, but a little light in characterisation and looks a bit dated. I also prefer martial arts films with conventional fight scenes so would have liked a few more of those. Worth seeing.

Because this movie was made in the 1980s, I did not expect the special FX to be the equivalent of anything made in the states, or even up to the level of The Stormriders. However, I found this film a lot more enjoyable than the latter. This film is almost a non-stop ride full of swordfights, optical FX battles, flying people, and it still leaves room for some interesting themes also.The plot deals with a soldier being disillusioned by the endless civil wars that have been fought. He goes to a mountain where he joins a swordsman, a monk and his apprentice, Sammo Hung, and some lovely ladies in a quest to defeat the Blood Demon, a being of pure evil. On the way, the soldier (Yuen Biao) and the monk's apprentice (Mang Hoi) must find some swords to use in the battle.The action is nearly non-stop. It first starts out with some basic swordplay. Once Yuen reaches the mountain, than everything shifts into overdrive. Optical FX fly across the screen at dizzying speeds. Humans and demons fly across the screen at dizzying speeds. People get frozen alive. Women fly around with swirling cloth in their wake. Men fly around chained to boulders. Eyebrows are used to contain evil. All I can say is...wow. Only Ching Siu Tung could come up w/ some as imaginative as this.As I mentioned earlier, there are some interesting themes involved. Tsui Hark seemed to make a statement against world leaders who start senseless wars and kill innocent people. Also, he talks about how battles become futile when people won't set aside their differences for a common cause. If we want to save the world or even ourselves, we all have to work together.Of interesting note is the International dubbed version. That version makes the film into a dream sequence and turns the war parable into a love story spanning many generations. A lot of scenes are cut and shortened, giving the Zu mountain segment a very rushed feel. Overall, the subtitled version is a lot more preferable.

This is the best kung-fu-comedy-action-horror film I've seen since "Big Trouble in Little China". I know that Asian films a bit...off centre but this takes the biscuit. The story revolves around a Scout during an Ancient Civil War who, via the most colourful battle scene EVER, ends up a mystical mountain range. There he meets heroes who battle the vile demons who roam the mountains. Who attack with flags. Then the Blood Monstaer appears and things get a little surreal...