La Légende des héros du condor

Meaningful, fast-paced movie, with breathtaking sceneries.

Story's ultimate focus on Guo Jing's inner struggle, and how he coped with the conflicts between Song (his ancestral homeland) and Mongolia (where he was raised by a loving royal family).

Ending has a beautiful meaning for present times --- when there's so much war and hate.

(Real heroes are not about muscles and power, but about the heart for the greater good of the people.)

*** Tips for NON-Mandarin speakers: To appreciate the story details, you need some prior-background knowledge of Guo Jing, or you may find yourself too focused on the captions and miss a lot in this fast-paced (with various flashbacks) movie.

A decent theater is a MUST for the stunning sceneries and effect.

*** ***

Love the details, the acting, the high quality of the film. What is pity is the beginning when introducing the background it is too rush and not very attractive. The beginning part is the worst part of the film, after it gets better and better and i feel it is a great film at the end, which even make me almost forget the weakness part of the beginning.

People who likes high quality film will love it. The acting is very good (all actors and actress, they even speak Mongolian!), the details are amazing (there is a long list of carpenters and horse trainer at the end). The story is good and clear. I love the theme as well, very beautiful and matching well with the story.

It is film that I enjoyed very much and gave me a lovely night (thought the ticket price is quite high compare to some others i think it is worthy).

A new work directed by Tsui Hark, based on Jin Yong's famous novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. I have watched it 4 times in these 3 days, and I have new feelings every time. Although I have read the novel countless times and watched the two Hong Kong versions of the TV series, perhaps because I was still young when I watched them, I really didn't focus on the chivalrous aspect. This time, Tsui Hark put a lot of emphasis on expressing the chivalrous spirit of the original novel through each of the main characters, and with the addition of outstanding special effects, he was able to present the martial arts described in the book in a more three-dimensional manner on the big screen. I was really moved after watching it. There are fewer and fewer directors who are so serious nowadays.

It was released in the UK as well, I saw it and it was really good. I'm already planning to go for a second shoot. Some of the scenes were very touching. The cinematography, the pacing and the bgm are all so beautiful. The film is so romantic with the hero and heroine. The martial arts are very combustible, the fights are very cool. But the core of the film is love & peace, it's an anti-war film. Powerful strength will be used to eliminate war and protect the weak. Moreover, the film emphasises that people who are powerful should have a heart of compassion. Such people are the real heroes. Regardless of countries and nations, mankind is a community of destiny.

The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants is a great film for any fan of the wuxia genre or martial arts movies in general!

Some aspects about the movie that are especially noteworthy in my eyes:

• The great performance by everyone, but especially by Xiao Zhan as Guo Jing, Zhuang Dafei as Huang Rong, Zhang Wenxin as Hua Zheng, and Baya'ertu as Genghis Khan. They all portrayed their characters convincingly and made them easily likable for the audience.

• The high amount of Mongolian spoken in the movie gave the movie a more authentic feeling.

• The fight scenes a felt so smooth and flawless, easily moving from filmed material to CGI without barely an indication where one ends and other begins. It's truly amazing. The fight scenes themselves look masterfully, and the dedication of the cast and crew shines through.

• The movie includes unexpected subtle or ironic humour at times, which I really liked.

• The cinematography of the movie is stunning, and the music is simple amazing.

The movie doesn't aim to re-invent the wheel but tells a visually beautiful story with a lot of heart, great performances and a timeless theme, wonderfully captured by the master of the wuxia genre Tsui Hark.

If the movie has one flaw that helps it to reach a 10/10, then it's the nature of it being only a snapshot in Guo Jing's life that requires the movie to establish a lot of context in a very short amount of time. The movie could have been even bolder in leaving more elements of its literal model out in orders to focus on the core of the story it wants to tell.

All in all, the movie deservedly has become the highest box office wuxia movie ever in chinese movie history!