Yi tin to lung gei

I just finished watching both parts of this remake of the Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre. Well it's technically a remake of the KungFu Cult Master, a 1993 Jet Li movie that never got a proper ending. I first watched a version of this story, thr 1986 TV series, when I was a child. Even as a child, I was impressed by the story, so I was excited when I learned that there's a 2022 remake, which will surely have better special effects. Well, to call this 2022 version a remake would be a blasphemy. This movie is not faithful to its source material. Some plots have been shortened or completely changed, pressumably to maintain a shorter running time (the original series has 40 episodes). The 2 biggest names in the cast, donnie yen and louis koo, have probably 30 minutes of screen time combined. The choreography is terrible, special effect looks cheap, and the characters have been neutered. The deaths of some characters, so powerful in the 1986 series, do not feel impactful at all here. I don't dislike the actor portraying Wuji, but he simply does not have Tony Leung's onscreen charisma. And the decision to alter some important plots to meet the required runtime does not help him at all. I understand they had to cram so many materials into a 4-hour runtime, but I feel it could've been executed more elegantly. The love story between wuji and zhao min feels very rushed, and there's no chemistry at all between the two actors. Overall this is an extremely disappointing attempt of what is one of the most famous chinese fairy tales. I've heard many good things about the 2019 series, so if you want to revisit your childhood, I suggest either watching that, or better yet, watch the 1986 classic.

For wuxia movies' fans, especially the old school Shaw Brothers era, this 2022's Yi Tien To Lung Qi is the romantic reminder of such era. Minimalistic visual effects, clever editings, physical stunt works and dance-like choreograph fight scenes are the strongest features of this film. Because it allows the director and actors to showcase the poetic story of Yi Tien To Lung Qi: the ironic world where chaos rules, the righteous justify sinister cruelty and the unlawful minorities show their heroic deeds by actions. Yi Tien To Lung Qi is Cin Yong's third saga of the Condor Heroes Saga which tells a story that span through 5 generations heroes who defend China from invasion through righteous unification.

If you are looking for extravaganza of special effects fights movie, skip this. For those who enjoys a social commentary story and old school wuxia fans, you need to watch this

By the way, this is 2-hour film is the first installment of Yi Tien To Lung Qi, I can't wait to see the 2nd installment.

New Kung Fu Cult Master 1 didn't really leave a sour taste in my mouth after finishing watching it. But, must admit this one feels slightly underwhelming. Story-wise, the film basically covered the same ground as Jet Li's version in 1993. The thing is, the CGI-laden fight scenes didn't have the same excitement and thrills, while most of its solid cast was practically wasted. Safe to say, Donnie Yen, Xing Yu, Fan Siu-Wong, or Xiong Xin-Xin came only for the easy paycheck.

I am a big fan of the original Kung Fu Cult Master with Jet Li so was excited to hear of this movie.

Plenty of famous movie stars in this movie.

They even have Donnie Yen but unfortunately he didn't do much.

Overall the movie felt kinda rushed. Don't really connect with the leads and the fight scenes were far better in Jet Li's version.

It's definitely a big challenge to squeeze such a long story into one movie, as a result it's made into Part 1 & 2. This movie (Part 1) focuses mainly on introducing the characters and the different sects (e.g. Shaolin, Wu Dang, ErMei...), as well as the complicated conflicts among them; while Part 2... NOT sure yet, as it's NOT yet released (hee...).

The pace is good and it flows well from the beginning to the end! It kept me going on and I could hardly feel bored!

The role selection is a bit off! E.g. Getting 42-year-old Raymond Lam to play the role of an early 20's Zhang WuJi is NOT convincing at times. Besides, Donnie Yen is NOT old or 'there' enough to play the role of Zhang SanFeng. Instead, they shall consider Sammo Hung.

Basically, it's a very RUSHING movie, with the first 30 minutes introducing Zhang Wuji's background info (including his parents, grand-father, step-grand-father...); then it goes straight to the fight among the various sects. Due to time constraint, there is NO CHANCE for character development within each sect. Therefore, having known the storyline of this Jin Yong's novel in advanced is definitely an advantage.

The actions are ok - typical HK + China style - where they fly here and there while fighting, NO more NO less, at acceptable level.

Overall, it's an ok movie. I enjoyed watching it, and it's pretty entertaining! Despite the role selection issue + rushing pace, I am good with it! And I look forward to watching the Part 2 in the coming weeks.