Double World

An oft trod tale of gallantry and heroism - this time given an Oriental scenario as "Dong YiLong" (Henry Lau) and his gang of compatriots compete against nine other warriors in the ultimate, deadly, contest of skill and strategy organised by a neighbouring warlord with an agenda of his own. Actually, as fantasy adventure films go, it is pretty complete: handsome hero, mythical beasties; sword fights; martial arts before a predictable ending. Don't expect anything at all sophisticated here: the effects are straight out of a video game and the dialogue is minimalist but the action scenes redeem it somewhat, and for 2 hours of mindless fun you could do a heck of a lot worse.

This movie doesn't waste much time with overly complex story, dialogue or character building. It's an action movie with a fair share of Martial Arts and Wuxia and it means business. Don't expect a Zhang Yimou level cinematography, but switch off your brain and expect to be decently entertained.

The sci fic and special effect did impress me. Chinese movie can be up to holloywood level really didn't expect. I get used to bored by this revenge and historical theme, but this one did it differently.

A world of warriors, political intrigue, monsters and gigantic scorpions (no, this is not "Clash of the Titans"), "Double World", based on a video game (some aspects of which can be reflected in the movie), is a very entertaining, even if simplistic, affair, a typical, heroes meet, heroes fight the bad ones, but with surprising depth for this kind of movies. The characters, the strong one, the cheerful one, the 'rising-from-the-bottom' one, etc., etc., are charicatures, but they are very well done charicatures and it is a treat to spend the lenght of the movie with them. And the plot... well, whatever you want to call it, is silly as they come, but it is not boring, a hypermusculated hero quest. It all becomes a little bit bloated, but never overstays its welcome. Worth trying.

NOT FOR EVERYONE

If you are looking for fictional fantasy and adventurous movie going experience, , I encourage you to give Double Word a chance