Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1985)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good concept, poorly executed.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

This is my favourite movie of all time. This film has it all, magic, adventure and heroes. This film is full of visually stunning special effects, lovable characters, a world full of imagination, a truly classic story to go with it and a larger than life cast. Yes, films do not get any better than this. The story is about a soldier called Ti Ming-chi, who wants to end all war, so he seeks to become the apprentice of a mysterious swordsman called Ting Ying. We also meet more heroes and other strange characters on the road. All of a sudden, demons from the nether realm see their chance to take over the mortal world. However, the most notorious of all demons, the blood demon is about to be resurrected and can be destroyed, but only by two swords when united. The heroes of the film seek these swords, but many obstacles wait. In the on-going battle between good and evil, there are epic battles with magic and warriors that fly though the air. This film influenced classics such as Big Trouble in Little China and other films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but this remains the definitive fantasy film, that everyone must own.

Well, I must say, I first watched "Zu Warriors" from 2001 over and over again (about 12 times) with my brother, and we both totally love it. After that movie i got interested in the Chinese legend about zu mountain. Therefore I rented this movie, also because it is recommended in many a review. First to say, the story has many details about the Zu legend, which are important. But only that doesn't make it a good movie. I'm afraid, if I hadn't watched "Zu Warriors" first, I wouldn't have understood one inch of this movie and would be totally confused and bored after 3 minutes. Many a scene in this movie simply is so boring and unimportant, it could have been cut out or replaced (also to say, the never "Zu Warriors" from 2001 nearly tells the same story only backwards compared to this). The so-called special-effects in this high-budget Honk-Kong wuxia are honestly said the worst I've seen for a long time in a high-rated a-movie. Also It's still the early '80s, they could have done a lot better with the given budget.Summary: Only if you are hardcore wuxia fan AND are interested in the legend about ancient china zu mountains!

What you'll take away from this film very much depends on your own experiences and preferences towards cinema. It is heavy on special effects, the plot is somewhat confusing (no more so than most kung-fu fantasy movies) and due to CGI in 2006 being so good, it does look rather dated. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me reminisce on those Saturday / Sunday morning films I used to watch as a kid (like Sinbad)which were great fun without being particularly thought provoking or cinematic masterpieces. The actors do their bit and the film has a genuine comedic edge to the dialogue, and some excellent visual comedy too. The music is suitably dramatic, stirring and heightens the feeling of awe caused by the special effects and snappy camera-work. Groundbreaking in terms of special effects (1983!!)and a real comeback for fantasy kung fu, but a little light in characterisation and looks a bit dated. I also prefer martial arts films with conventional fight scenes so would have liked a few more of those. Worth seeing.

This is a film that was the border of the old era in Hong Kong and the beginning of the new, effectively heralding Tsui Hark as the force of the future. The plot of a bunch of warriors taking on a great evil had been done before there was something about the way it was done here that made everyone sit up and take notice.Personally I'm underwhelmed by this film. It is a good film but taken out of its historical context it plays rather routine. Worse it suffers from Tsui Hark's habit of stressing form of content and the plot gets lost in the second half. Truthfully, by the time I actually saw this I was so hyped up that there was no way it could ever live up to what I was expecting.If you like martial arts film, or even action fantasies, try this, its not bad, its just not the be all and end all I know some people claim it is.