THE PROMISE by jaiskizzy

this epic fantasy is about a slave with superspeed running powers, a beautiful princess/royal concubine worshipped by men, and a kick-ass general with a kick-ass armor whose lives are intertwisted by fate in love triangle story that goes a little something like this: general hires slave. general wants princess. general is wounded. general makes slave wear armor and get princess. princess falls in love with slave thinkin it is general. slave falls in love with princess and keeps it to himself. slave, princess, and general decide to get it over with and have a threesome. last sentence not true.

there's a big part of the filipino in me that envies the chinese film industry. whenever you mention "chinese movie", you'd usually think "kung fu" (and when you mention "pinoy movie" you'd usually think "face-slapping", "excessive crying" and "dancing in the beach"). i have seen numerous chinese flicks, and apart from being mostly kung fu, ive always noticed how each film was different from the rest and very well made. shots you never see anywhere else. actors who do their own martial arts and stunts. costumes that belong to a museum. and most of the time, especially in epics, the story just captures your attention. to name a few: storm riders, a man called hero, hero, and the house of flying daggers. the promise (wu ji) falls right into the same department.

what i really liked most about this movie was the fight scenes. hands down, the best yet ive laid my eyes on so far. i couldnt tell exactly whether it was "wire-fu" or cgi. if you've ever seen a sugo episode, you've definitely seen the horrible way they use the harness to show flight or floating. even if the wires have been magically erase through editing (and believe me, it aint easy), you still would actually swear that the guy has wires and people are pulling him up. if sugo is the "how-not-to-do-it", the promise is the "how-to-do-it-perfectly". the early war scene with the general battling a battalion all by himself was a great way to begin this fantasy fight fest. there was also a fight scene near a tree and any wire would have been entangled in the branches but this dude still flies up with ease and then lands with gravity. also, in the villain's hq, a fight scene between the villain and the slave involves razor-sharp fans that the villain throws in the air, continues fighting with the slave as the fan spins around them, and then catches it as if on cue. like i said, whether they did it with wires or cgi, they did it good. the other aspect of the film that makes it work wonderfully was the cast. a lot of credit oughta go to the dude who plays kunlun the slave. for a koreanovela actor, he pulled it off nicely. same goes to the japanese guy who played a chinese general. but my utmost appreciation belongs to cecilia cheung, couldnt have thought of a better actress to play the much-sought after princess (except maybe layla...). she's so versatile and so gorgeous, a perfect choice for the role of a concubine who's mere glance gives warriors a hard-on. she's thinner than the last time i saw her in a movie, but i cant complain. it is only her that surpasses the effects in giving this movie its magnificence(the "kite" sequence alone, i could watch over and over).

an excellent epic i extremely enjoyed.

the good: the wire-fu and cecilia cheung
the bad: the "prologue" which i didnt understand at first. but i guess it's just me.
the ugly: the general in a steamy sex scene with cecilia cheung. lucky bastard...
the score: 9 white feathers.

the skiz.