WU XIA DVD (武侠) (2011)

SYNOPSIS:  In the late Qing Dynasty, Liu is a papermaker leading a simple life with his wife Ayu and their two sons. Into their remote village comes Detective Xu who is investigating the deaths of two bandits during a robbery. Xu quickly realizes that the incident in question was no ordinary botched robbery and his dogged inquiry threatens to dredge up the dark secrets of Liu's buried past, threatening not only Liu and his family but the entire village.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The term Wu Xia generally means the pugilist world and in contemporary pop culture, it’s a movie genre made popular by Shaw Brothers in the sixties and seventies.  The general impression of a particular wu xia pian or martial-arts flick involved people armed with all sorts of weaponry and flying on wires across cheesy studio backlots.

Times have definitely changed and the least you expect is director Peter Chan who is famed for dramas to come up with his own version of wu xia pian. 

Indeed, the first part of “Wu Xia” plays liked an episode of CSI: Ancient China. The story begins with two highly skilled bandits being killed by an ordinary unarmed papermaker, Liu Jinxi and a detective Xu is called in to investigate the crime. As Xu digs deeper into the mystery, he discovers that Liu is in fact more than what he presents himself to be.

Chan makes good use of slow-mo camera effects and graphical images to describe the killings; this is where the similarities to CSI come in. The murders are constantly replayed to dissect how everything took place and the action while brutal is not gratuitous. Obviously, Chan isn’t out to shock audience instead it’s a realistic portrayal of the violence involved. There isn’t a single hint of how the element of wu xia comes into the picture until the past events are unravelled and many more characters are introduced in the second act. 

Donnie Yen is a reputable action star but not really one who has the acting chops. Surprisingly, Yen clocks in an amazing performance as Liu Jinxi. He is equally convincing as the slow-witted Liu and later on as his character proceeds, the struggle and pain faced by him is tremendously heartfelt. Under the direction of Peter Chan, Yen finally shows a different side of him as an actor washing away his dozing-performance as the iconic Guan Yu in the lacklustre “The Lost Bladesman”. 

Takeshi Kaneshiro is equally impressive as Detective Xu. Adopting an amusing Sichuan accent, his character who met with a near-death incident caused him to view the world and solve his crime based on facts rather than feelings. The Armani model shines yet again for the third time under his frequent collaborator, Peter Chan. The breakout star of “Lust Caution” Tang Wei is severely underused owing to the nature of her character. Despite the top billing our top male stars, its ex-Shaw veteran Jimmy Wang Yu whom after decades of retirement returned in a small though whelming role as Liu’s father, without much effort, just one swift look and his thundering voice will send shivers down your spine. Another Shaw veteran, Kara Hui appears mainly for a sparring scene opposite Donnie Yen towards the end and she effortlessly milks her few minutes of screentime with ease.

While “Wu Xia” lacks a memorable martial-arts sequence say, the bamboo swordplay in Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger Hidden Tiger” and the bamboo forest battle in Zhang Yimou’s “The House of Flying Daggers”, Yen also the movie’s action choreographer and Chan chose to let the story do the talking and play to the movie needs without throwing in a lavish action scene.

If you for one prefer a true-blue wu xia pian, I suggest you check out Su Chao Pin/John Woo’s “Reign of Assassins”. Peter Chan’s “Wu Xia” on the other hand is an amazing piece of work that pays tribute to the genre yet manages to sincerely squeeze out a refreshing spin to captivate the audience. Easily one of the top ten movies of 2011. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Making Of covers interviews with Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tang Wei, Jimmy Wang and Director Peter Chan. It also showcased interesting behind-the-scenes shots of how they choreographed the action.

The DVD also contains a Trailer, TV Spots and a Music Video of the theme song by Faye Wong’s ex-beau, Dou Wei.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 delivers a heart-pounding experience during the sparring sequences. Ambient sound effects and dialogue are crystal-clear as well. The visual although not the best in terms of pristine sharpness and vibrant colour is natural.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee