recommended

An Exercise In Nonsense

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Having really enjoyed Michelle Yeoh in her breakthrough film POLICE ASSASSINS, I was eager to watch this adventure film which by all accounts starred the actress in an Indiana Jones-type role. There were no real surprises in this film, which is a somewhat shallow action-adventure with a lot of laughs and a lot of explosions. The film is much-lauded for an early battle in which Yeoh uses her whip to take on various thugs, thus inspiring Jackie Chan in SHANGHAI NOON, and it's highly amusing stuff.The film is technically proficient, and there's no faulting the slick choreography of the many battles. The budget is a bit less than you'd imagine, and events often seem closed in, as you'd expect in a low budget cheapie. Director David Chung also did the excellent POLICE ASSASSINS but he seems to be slightly lacking in inspiration here; one of the low lights is an early dog fight which seems to go on for an age without anything happening, and when they kept repeating the same bit of supposedly-stirring music over and over AND OVER again, I was ready to tear my hair out. Characterisation is nil; Yeoh is the tough heroine, yes, but we never find out any of her motivations and she seems like a computer game character.There are some mildly annoying supporting characters in the film, including those played by Cindy Lau and Lo Lowell; they grate from the instant they appear. The only person who comes out of it with any kudos is Richard Ng, in a bumped-up role as the second lead; while he delivers the same type of slapstick buffoonery that we have come to expect from his acting roles, he's given plenty of screen time, including heroics in the battles, and he's as great as ever. It's left to the supporting likes of Hwang Jang Lee, Lo Meng, and Fung Hark-On to really get into their characters of devious Japanese bad guys; these guys – who I consider to be among the "unsung heroes" of '80s Hong Kong cinema - are as great as ever.The film takes a turn for the great about an hour in, turning into a running fight between the heroes and villagers against the might of the Japanese army. The martial arts bouts are crisply done and with plenty of great stunts, usually involving people getting thrown through scenery. There are some nice battles in burning buildings and things really go crazy for ten minutes or so as director Chung lets his hair down and has some fun. Things close with a nice extended battle scene as the walled village faces the Japanese army. Although it looks fairly cheap – reminding me of similar scenes in the no-budget Filipino film, DUNE WARRIORS – there are lots of shoot-outs, explosions, and various cool stunts/moments of slow motion as the bad guys get their just desserts and the heroes triumph. Hardly a surprise, but a nice rousing climax to finish off the film, ending it on a strong note.

Magnificent Warriors is an enjoyable and entertaining movie with a lot to recommend it, especially the excellent, athletic prescence of the fantastic Michelle Yeoh. Still, it drags and feels a little limp in places. For instance, the two opening fights during the plot setup are explosive, impactful and a lot of fun, but after that nothing really happens action-wise until 20 minutes later.The film stop-starts all the way through, making it a bit frustrating for an experienced viewer. It's no more stop-starty or inconsistent than US or European action fare like Transporter or Red Siren, but it seems patchy and messy in comparison to other Hong-Kong adrenaline-rides like Full Contact or Yeoh's later Wing Chun. Both movies keep a consistent level of action without sacrificing their story lines.They also have strong, non-wacky story lines. Magnificent Warriors is a horrific mess in the plot department. Take Indiana Jones, substitute the Japanese for the Nazis and substitute Michelle Yeoh for Harrison Ford and you'd think it'd rock. You'd almost be right, but the director and his writers decided to try and make some political points with it and turn it into a patriotic pro-China movie...as such it gets kind of messy and biased.Still, it's a Michelle Yeoh film. If you're a fan, which I most certainly am, you won't be disappointed with this. Yeah, OK MW blows its two best fights in the first 20 minutes, but there's a lot of good solid action going on here, and though Yeoh isn't as central as I would have liked to preceedings (given she's the only one here who can act her way out of a paper bag) she has some fantastic set pieces and humorous lines to fight/charm her way through.If you like Michelle Yeoh, watch this, it's a good film and above all it's fun and she showcases both her fighting talent and her charm in equal measure. If you're indifferent to her and just want an OTT blast, there are much better HK actioners out there, you'd probably fare better with say Eastern Condors or Full Contact, both of which are off their rocker and full of chop-socky and gun-play.

The appearance of Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies and then Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon piqued my interest in the lady's earlier films and when this one came up cheap on DVD, I jumped at the chance to acquire it. I am glad I did. It is not the greatest film I have ever seen, but it is good fun and includes some good fight stuff. Michelle Yeoh looks terrific and does some great fight scenes, and all with a great sense of fun. This is one film not to be taken seriously and the result is a great way of spending 90 minutes. If you like mindless action with a touch of humour, then you could do a lot worse than this film. Check it out.

I found the blend of action and humor in this film to be very entertaining. Michelle Yeoh does some incredible stunts, including imaginative use of rope in one sequence. Richard Ng does some pretty slick moves too. Also the actress who plays Chin-Chin does some impressive fighting. If you like Michelle Yeoh films, or even Jackie Chan films, this really should be right up your alley. Incredible stunts, and very funny dialog, this was a real treat to watch.