Sauvetage au sommet

Yizhou (Yilong Zhu) and his girlfriend Xiaojin (Junyan Jiao) are building contractors and working on a mountain tunnel. Yizhou's Dad, Yungbing (Zhizhong Huang) - a retired rescue worker - comes to visit. Shortly after Xiaojin fetches Yungbing from the bus station, the shifting of a tectonic plate causes a giant sinkhole in town - swallowing the bus he had just been on.

The quake was caused by work on the tunnel - now already 10 years in the making - and the surrounding mountains are now in danger of collapsing. The disaster scenes are incredibly well done, and the chaos and mayhem are reminiscent of 70's disaster movies. The film is in the vein of the recent Mandarin disaster movies 'Skyfire' and 'The Bravest'.

'Cloudy Mountain' is fast-paced and exciting, with suspense around every corner. Apart from the disaster element, the film is also a survival story. I enjoyed the characters. With no annoying or arrogant characters you generally find in these genre movies, I rooted for everyone. (I must confess, almost until the finale I wasn't sure whether Ding (Shu Chen) was a protagonist or antagonist).

I love disasters movies and 'Cloudy Mountain' is a great addition to the genre. The third act did loose some momentum, but it was nevertheless still thrilling, with a satisfying ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm not sure if I dislike the film or the reviews for this film more. Chinas filming industry is trying too hard to catch up with the west in visuals and Oscar worthy films. It comes across shallow and unconventional in its screenplay.

The film doesn't hold itself and it doesn't understand why the film was made in the first place. It was only shot to test viewers where cinema is in China and to destroy America. China is sucking the tit out of democracy and its bleeding for approval with It's nationalism. Nationalism is what makes this film terrible to watch.

I find China cinema terrible and not grounded in though provoking ideas. China is only doing it to catch up!!!!

I was expecting a lot of action and there was; from the very beginning to the very end it never stopped. The special effects were incredible and made you feel as if you were in the middle of the action yourself. I didn't expect to be so moved, though. All characters are very touching. Especialy Zhu Yilong, whose acting was amazing, as usual. Jiao Jun Yan was very touching as well. Zhu Yilong had a wonderful chemistry with her and Huang Zhi Zhong who played his father. The relationship between the two was beautiful. Chen Shu's character was both strong and very humane and made me root for her. I love those stories where ordinary people do extraordinary things, in particular when they risk their lives to save others.

No pun intended - the 70s called and they want their genre back ... well they called on a landline and no one picked up so ... I reckon that is why we get this and other movies. All kidding aside, if you like movies that have the disaster theme ... well you could do worse than this one right here.

It does look really good, CGI works fine, the tone and the pacing is quite good too. I didn't check if this is based on a true story, but even if not, it is likely to have been inspired by a lot of things that actually happened ... of course you do not wish anyone to find him or herself in a situtaion like this ... if this is your cup of tea, you will like it .. if not, you probably should not watch it in the first place.

The movie starts off with natural disasters that put lives of 160,000 people in danger. The thrills kick in within the first few minutes, and keep the audience at the edges of their seats throughout. It is fast paced with great acting, amazing special effects and a touching story line.

The acting is brilliant. The characters are convincing and the cast have developed the story to the fullest. Yilong Zhu, the leading man, plays Hong, an engineer who stands up for his home and country, risking his own life. Mr. Zhu immerses himself into the character, with powerful and touching delivery. He takes on a journey when an ordinary man becomes a hero, faced with life and death, conflicts of sacrificing loved ones or his mission, at the same time overcoming his own weakness. Beside character development, there are loads of jaw dropping action scenes (just to name one, rock climbing at pro level) that you don't want to miss any ... I assure you Mr. Yilong Zhu's acting is the one of finest.

The visual is spectacular. The movie is filmed at famous scenic areas in Guizhou, with beautiful caves, mountains, canyons, streams... Meanwhile earthquake, landslides, mudslides, along side with breath taking landscape and impressive sound effects, will keep your eyes open the whole time.

The story is moving. A father and his son, a leader and her people, a teacher/guardian and her students, and of course a man and the woman he loves. There are places where viewers break into tears, yet plenty of funny moments. Humanity shines amid this natural disaster, which will make you cry and smile at the same time.

All in all, Feng Bao (aka Cloudy Mountain) is entertaining, intense and thrilling. This is a must see and thumbs up!

10/10.