The Sorcerer and the White Snake

It's not just Hollywood that's looking at fabled legends to adapt from, or to remake/reboot films from the past. Cinema in the Chinese territories are doing so as well, revisiting material that will probably benefit in having CG effects to spruce up storytelling. Tony Ching Siu-Tung directs this update of a film that chronicles the romance of a White Snake spirit and a mortal man, which of course is forbidden by lore, and a monk who goes between them. Tony is no stranger to martial arts fantasy films with a few already under his belt, such as notable flicks like Swordsman III and the Chinese Ghost Story series, which coincidentally also got remade by Wilson Yip recently, so we're in good hands for what would be a broad based special effects extravaganza that unfortunately had its hokey moments.

Those familiar with the White Snake fable will find some broad elements that resemble that tale being told here, such as Madam White Snake Su Su (Eva Huang) who with her sister Qing Qing the Green Snake (Charlene Choi) chanced upon the poor though honest herb collector and aspiring healer/physician wannabe Xu Xian (Raymond Lam). In summary here, she rescues him, and they fall in love and got married after what would be a whirlwind romance, with the man none the wiser that his wife is a snake demon, though a benevolent one whose only objective is to be with the man of her dreams. And as proof, she sacrifices her centuries old inner strength to help him make medicine on the sly to save a plague stricken town.

Cue Jet Li who plays the demon buster Reverend Fa Hai, who together with his assistant Neng Ren (Wen Zhang) form a team to rid the earth of any wandering spirits and demons, banishing them to what would be the equivalent of a phantom zone through a mirror stored in a pagoda. The opening scene of the film sets the expectation of what this duo is capable of, with Fa Hai naturally being the more experienced and highly skilled catcher, versus his more bumbling protégé in here for tragic comedy, in a big bang special effects extravaganza as they go up against Vivian Hsu's cameo appearance as a demon decked in flowing red robes. Soon enough Neng Ren will form yet a smaller romantic subplot with Qing Qing, while Fa Hai could be looked on as the true nemesis in the film for his adamant stubbornness in wanting to break up Xu Xian and Su Su, and destroy the latter for yet another feather in the cap for a job well done.

Curiously, this version of the Madam White Snake story seemed to want to adapt the Disney formula, where you'd have smaller animal sidekicks that talk pop up now and then to try and lighten the mood, or play pivotal roles for the protagonists. Voiced by Miriam Yeung, Lam Suet and Chapman To, their characters do seem to have lines lost in translation, and may have been dubbed over in Mandarin, which if true is very much a pity, and a case against dubbing. And true to Disney's formula as well is the general lack of blood in its action, which reportedly had Jet Li do more kung fu poses than he would have imagined necessary, but the romantic core of the film definitely took a backseat when the filmmakers decided to focus on martial arts and special effects to wow an audience.

Which isn't a bad thing when you extrapolate its message to talk about how an older generation dead set and stubborn in their ways sometimes fail to allow what they're prejudiced about to continue with their knowledge. It isn't enough to not meddle in other's affairs, but it's necessary to eradicate something from even existing, which is exactly what Fa Hai did during his initial big fight with Su Su that ended with a warning that if he should see her again the gloves would be off, and the next thing you know he's assembled his disciples to go snake hunting in an ambush of her home.

On the effects front, it's time to sit up and take notice what the Asian effects company are finally able to pull off since the days of terrible rendering seen in True Legend. Entire landscapes get designed on computer, though at times still not as refined, but definitely a step up from years back. While certain shots were unfortunate rip-offs from films such as 2012 with its massive floodwaters overwhelming huge mountains, there were others that more than made up for its lack of originality, and the bamboo forest, which all self respecting martial arts film must feature, had an interesting spin thanks to effects bringing to life something I've yet to see involving fox spirits and bamboo shoot hideouts and seduction.

And if copying is a form of flattery, then whatever Zack Snyder did in 300 with its stylistic fights, have been done to death in other films and this one as well, with its slow motion, spin around being prominently over used, that I would have given up an arm for a straight fight between the exponents, which couldn't be possible since Jet Li's the only bona fide martial artist, with the rest being posers with heavy reliance on wire work. Even the climatic battle between Fa Hai and two snakes looked very much like D-War's and Endhiran's, with effects making the sparring session look very much epic.

I would have liked a stronger story that provided more focus between Madam White Snake and Xu Xian, but that is something to be found in predecessor films. This one clearly is focused on Fa Hai the monk himself (with the Chinese subtitle obviously meaning so), and is about his enlightenment on love, an emotion he's oblivious to given his career path. And not to forget as a calling card for the numerous effects companies.

a fairy tale. few seductive fight scenes. a forbidden love story. short, a beautiful movie. far to be a masterpiece, it is a useful introduction in Chinese mythology and an occasion to discover Jet Li in a not bad role. the film uses many clichés and pink productions solutions but, if you are, in few moments, a romantic, dreamer or fan of classic fairy tales, its message and the solutions for create the story are not bad at whole. sure, it is not one of great films from Extreme East but it can be decent support for a form of entertainment in which romanticism, heroic virtues, sacrifice and magic are parts of same products. and the few doses of humor are not bad at whole. short, a beautiful film. maybe, the package is more important than the content but nothing is perfect.

I could not help myself liking the love story between human and spirit... similar to the unforgettable Chinese ghost love story but they have improve since then 20 so years after this is the new generation of CGI effects ...

I love the part the snake pointed out some spirits are not all bad and human can be worse... I'm a love sick person when it comes to true love ...whew... the last part before they part ways.. no one can deny that this may have been one of the best scene ever made... its filled with emotions .. when the leading man recalls... just so breath takings emotional ...

I go back to watch this movie whenever i chance by it again and again and again ...

Fresh actors portrayed the four leading roles as human and spirit interact.. the music scoring and the main theme love song has given more impact to the dramatic impact in this movie...

Watch it and i know you will agree... Jet li played the major part as the sorcerer but the 4 actors( the lady snakes+ doctor+ monk) stood from the rest ...

So many people reviewed this as bad and I will be damned if I understand why. The story is that of an old Chinese legend (well, a more modern interpretation), the actresses are very beautiful and the acting, for what it's worth, is not bad either. To bash a movie because the CGI is a little choppy and Jet Li fights magically instead of kicking behinds seems the height of triviality.

The Legend of the White Snake starts a long time ago, way before there was a written version. The original is quite different from the modern version as well, being a horror story about a demon tricking a human to fall in love with her and her jealous demon buddies are doing everything in their power to break them up. At least this is what I got from Wikipedia. The film, though, presents it as a total love story where the White Snake and her sister are benevolent demons who visit the human world and eventually fall for two guys. The natural order, represented by the Buddhist monk Fahai, a non compromising demon hunter, doesn't allow this type of union and eventually it all escalates into a bad CGI extravaganza.

I thought the morality of the story was a little bit confusing, but complex, worthy of a script. Nothing is completely black and white and in the end the message is tolerance, even if not everything turns out OK. This complexity has kept my eyes glued to the screen until the end. Yes, the CGI could have been better, but who really cares about that?

Bottom line: I liked it. Popularizes a Chinese legend that I knew nothing about, shows people that a film can have a complex story that is not just black and white, stars really cute Chinese ladies and in end was quite entertaining for me. No masterpiece, but really better than average.

I simply loved the magical moves and powers displayed in this movie. I thought they were very imaginative and just spectacular! These kind of movies spark the imagination and, I believe, are more than worth watching, just for that. The fight sequences were some of the best I've ever seen. That alone would have been enough to make a very good movie. But the romance was perfect too! As I was watching it, I just kept thinking, "Oh my goodness, this is so awesome! This is the best movie I've ever seen, so far!" The only reason I give it a 9 and not 10/10 is the ending. So as not to spoil anything I will only say that I understand why they ended it the way they did, and in a way that is perfect for the kind of movie they were trying to make, so you might indeed like it, but that part was not perfect for me.