DrLenera
When Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon came out,critics fell over themselves praising it as being new and fresh. Whilst it is undoubtedly a good film,the fact is that they had been making films like that in Hong Kong for many years,with warriors jumping around the screen in tales of romance and honour. Moon Warriors is a good example. It has it's flaws,with one element rather laughable,but it still demands quite a bit of respect.The action is really as good,maybe it's a bit more obvious the characters are on wires,but in terms of martial arts skill it's actually better, and just as visually great to watch. Highlights include a display of kites that suddenly somehow turns into a ninja attack,a possibly Macbeth-inspired 'moving trees'sequence,and gorgeous Hong Kong babes Maggie Cheung and Ania Mui battling it out with swords.Despite what you may have heard about films like this,it certainly isn't all fighting. A great deal of time is given to the love element,and there are perhaps too many montages to the sentimental theme song {as usual,the translated words on the subtitles don't really work}. Howvever,the film retains that melancholic romantic feel present in many other Hong Kong fantasy movies of the time {such as The Bride With White Hair and Saviour of the Soul}.Unfortunately there is a subplot of a WHALE which is the hero's best friend,and it's just laughable. Some versions of the film even have outtakes at the end of star Andrew Lau with the thing. Still,there's plenty in the film which is worthwhile. It's really quite extraordinary what Hong Kong filmmakers used to conjure up on what were usually tiny budgets and rushed productions.
min11586
I really enjoyed this movie since I love Chinese history. Andy Lau is also one of my favorite singers, so obviously this movie was great. However, they made a big mistake on choosing Anita Mui as Yue Ar Yee. I thought Maggie Cheung Man Yuk would fit the role better.
Nathan-43
I remember this being quite a good, mature kick flick, but there is one scene I must have watched 20 times now, undeniably the best death in any movie. A servant reports his failure to his Overlord, whereupon the lord cuts his head off with the string of his bow, flicks it up in the air, shoots an arrow through the head whilst it flies through the air, sending the impaled bonce across a line of torches, setting fire to it. The head embeds itself on a wall, spelling out the Overlords name in fire. At this time the overlord runs across the burning torches, somersaults over to a chessboard, slams a piece down and cries - Checkmate! Has to be seen to be believed.
Dr Worm
The only reason I rented this was due to the fact that Maggie Cheung was in it, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a very enjoyable film. All the good guys are like-able and the bad guy is a right b******!! Excellently choreographed fight scenes, great cinematography (especially the scenes with the Fei and the killer whale Hai Wei(sp?)), and an extra bonus surprise about a third of the way into the movie - Anita Mui!!The ending shocked me somewhat, but didn't detract from my enjoyment the movie in any way. Well worth checking out.
AD
