Seven Swords
May. 16th, 2007 11:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreJust finished(a week after I planned to watch) the Donnie Yen HK movie Seven Swords. Normally, I'd post a picspam, but dangermousiedid back when she watched it, and as almost all the pics I'd use are in her picspam, just click here.
(incidentally, to avoid confusion, I'm only using movie names, as many are different. Most are close enough to be understood, but...)
As for the movie itself...on it's own, it's actually pretty good. Even without having seen the series, you could pretty much tell that it was "part one" as opposed to the entire story(incidentally, poking around, I read that they're making a second movie...there are 3 major storyarcs in the series, and the movie pretty thoroughly covers the first, aside from changes to keep all 7 involved in the Fire-Wind plot, which was almost exclusive to Chu in the series) Most of the changes didn't bother me(oddly, it barely registered that Jinyuan went from a not-overly-bright male sweetheart to a fairly clever and witty female)
Short version of the plot is that it's about a former executioner who becomes entangled in the affairs of the martial village, who oppose an imperial edixt that outlaws all use of martial arts-and is also really mean and oppressive-and along with two youths from the village-Han and Jinyuan-he sets out for Mount Tian to ask a former enemy-who helped him to see the error of his ways-to help them. He's rejected, but the former enemy does send his four disciples to help and then seven become the chief warriors in the rebellion.
All the things I read saying this was the visuals and special effects version and the series the story version weren't kidding, but that's ok. I mean, they had 2 1/2 hours to tell what the series had 13(IIRC-may be off a coupla eps) episodes to tell, and it had to add bits from later. I liked it and only two changes stood out for me...one good, the other not so much.
dangermousiedid back when she watched it, and as almost all the pics I'd use are in her picspam, just click here.(incidentally, to avoid confusion, I'm only using movie names, as many are different. Most are close enough to be understood, but...)
As for the movie itself...on it's own, it's actually pretty good. Even without having seen the series, you could pretty much tell that it was "part one" as opposed to the entire story(incidentally, poking around, I read that they're making a second movie...there are 3 major storyarcs in the series, and the movie pretty thoroughly covers the first, aside from changes to keep all 7 involved in the Fire-Wind plot, which was almost exclusive to Chu in the series) Most of the changes didn't bother me(oddly, it barely registered that Jinyuan went from a not-overly-bright male sweetheart to a fairly clever and witty female)
Short version of the plot is that it's about a former executioner who becomes entangled in the affairs of the martial village, who oppose an imperial edixt that outlaws all use of martial arts-and is also really mean and oppressive-and along with two youths from the village-Han and Jinyuan-he sets out for Mount Tian to ask a former enemy-who helped him to see the error of his ways-to help them. He's rejected, but the former enemy does send his four disciples to help and then seven become the chief warriors in the rebellion.
All the things I read saying this was the visuals and special effects version and the series the story version weren't kidding, but that's ok. I mean, they had 2 1/2 hours to tell what the series had 13(IIRC-may be off a coupla eps) episodes to tell, and it had to add bits from later. I liked it and only two changes stood out for me...one good, the other not so much.
First, the bad:
In the series, Han loved Fang, he had only loved ever Fang and he would only ever love Fang, even if she never loved him in return. That was one of his defining characteristics...the others were his kindness, his earnestness, his humility, and his not being good with words(all the same is true of Mulang, and that's why, in the end, the future was in their hands, but that's another subject) Creating the love triangle where he had been with Jinyuan in the past and still wanted her felt like character assassination to me(I know I know...different version altogether) and it seemed that he only loved Fang because he couldn't have Jinyuan. (Then it also ruined his loving her and staying beside her even when she thought she loved Chu) Also, while he still had the "we're going to get married one day anyway" thing going, he certainly never tried to force her to have sex with him. *my otp was ruined...RUINED I say*
The good:
Chu.
Ok, yes, while I like Vincent Zhao as an actor(quite a bit, actually, now that I'm better able to separate the actor from the character), Donnie Yen >>>>anything else in kung fu/wuxia(except maybe Nicholas Tse...I need more to judge by)
In the series, while Chu's story(a pure hero turned villain by always losing everything and never being trusted) was interesting, his self-importance, arrogance and moral superiority and, frankly, whining made me not really care. Here, however, there's no moral superiority...he knows who and what he is and feels no shame about it and doesn't try to delude himself or others about it. Also, I was bored by Chu/Green Pearl in the series, but really liked it here. Maybe because the relationship was based on actual interaction and a connection, as opposed to his making googly eyes at a dancer while he was supposed to be doing important things, like oh, say, getting medicine for a dying girl who's been poisoned.
Incidentally, if Chu's story follows the same path, it should be interesting with Donnie Yen playing it, esp. since Chu/Green Pearl was a much better story here, and her not trusting him was the first thing that started him down that path.
In the series, Han loved Fang, he had only loved ever Fang and he would only ever love Fang, even if she never loved him in return. That was one of his defining characteristics...the others were his kindness, his earnestness, his humility, and his not being good with words(all the same is true of Mulang, and that's why, in the end, the future was in their hands, but that's another subject) Creating the love triangle where he had been with Jinyuan in the past and still wanted her felt like character assassination to me(I know I know...different version altogether) and it seemed that he only loved Fang because he couldn't have Jinyuan. (Then it also ruined his loving her and staying beside her even when she thought she loved Chu) Also, while he still had the "we're going to get married one day anyway" thing going, he certainly never tried to force her to have sex with him. *my otp was ruined...RUINED I say*
The good:
Chu.
Ok, yes, while I like Vincent Zhao as an actor(quite a bit, actually, now that I'm better able to separate the actor from the character), Donnie Yen >>>>anything else in kung fu/wuxia(except maybe Nicholas Tse...I need more to judge by)
In the series, while Chu's story(a pure hero turned villain by always losing everything and never being trusted) was interesting, his self-importance, arrogance and moral superiority and, frankly, whining made me not really care. Here, however, there's no moral superiority...he knows who and what he is and feels no shame about it and doesn't try to delude himself or others about it. Also, I was bored by Chu/Green Pearl in the series, but really liked it here. Maybe because the relationship was based on actual interaction and a connection, as opposed to his making googly eyes at a dancer while he was supposed to be doing important things, like oh, say, getting medicine for a dying girl who's been poisoned.
Incidentally, if Chu's story follows the same path, it should be interesting with Donnie Yen playing it, esp. since Chu/Green Pearl was a much better story here, and her not trusting him was the first thing that started him down that path.