Review of THREE KINGDOMS: RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON
For THREE KINGDOMS: RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON, director-screenwriter-set designer(!) Daniel Lee decided only to adapt a small portion of Luo Guanzhong's sprawling Ming dynasty-era novel THE THREE KINGDOMS (namely chapter 92 of said book). Luo's epic is a classic of Chinese literature, similarly influential as works by Shakespeare and Goethe are in Europe. In an interview for the home video version of his film, Lee explains that he thought the story of the "tiger general" Zhao Zilong (played here by Andy Lau Tak-Wah) was one of the most interesting of the book, and that no one would ever be able to do justice to the complete epic in a single film anyway, no matter how long such a venture might be. Perhaps this was intended as some kind of jab against John Woo's 5-hour RED CLIFF, which was filmed at about the same time and tackles a much larger part of the story.
Whether Daniel Lee's script does justice even to the story of Zhao Zilong is debatable. The first hour of the 97-minute film (of which about five are opening and closing credits!) covers more than three decades in the life of the central character. Simplifications and gaps in the plot are perhaps unavoidable, but one cannot help to think that had Lee decided to add a half-hour or more to the running time the resulting film would be much smoother and more satisfying. As it is, many subordinate but intriguing characters, like the ones played by HK film legends Yueh Wah and Ti Lung, disappear far too quickly - they all die within minutes, off-screen! A romantic subplot involving Zhao and a pretty shadow puppeteer is covered in a single, rather touching scene - her character never to be seen again! Instead, the plot focuses entirely on Zhao's rising through the ranks while his fatherly friend Luo Ping-An (played by veteran actor Sammo Hung, who is also responsible for the fight choreography in RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON) observes Zhao's success from the background. Because of the gaps in the plot, Lee employs Luo Ping-An as an off-screen narrator through large parts of the film to keep the story from falling apart.
Finally, in the last third of the movie, the plot slows down considerably as Lee focuses on the ultimate, decisive battle between Zhao's army and that of Cao Ying, played by Maggie Q. As a result, RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON improves dramatically - there is time even for a bit of philosophizing between Lau's and Sammo Hung's characters, which adds to the depth of the relationship between the two. The story then draws to a satisfactory conclusion after a longer fight scene between Zhao and Cao Ying. If the first 60 minutes of the movie had the same quality and focus as the final 30, THREE KINGDOMS might have been a minor masterpiece of contemporary HK cinema. I'm saying "HK cinema" although it is actually a HK-PR Chinese-South Korean co-production - BUT, the narrative drive, the loose ends, the slightly haphazard feel of THREE KINGDOMS (despite its massive US$ 25 million budget) are clear indications of the "new" Hongkong style (new as in post-Shaw Brothers).
Viewers are compensated for the lack of depth and unity by the film's undeniably spectacular visual presentation. The cinematography (image aesthetics, camera movement, framing) is superb throughout; the costumes, weaponry and set design are all magnificent and often boldly original. Add to that Henry Lai's varied, colorful music which frequently echoes the spaghetti western scores of Ennio Morricone. This is the kind of film that looks smashing on stills of the production and in the trailer but comes of as less than the sum of its parts. The action sequences, of which there are several, are generally rather short and plagued by slow-motion shots and quick cutting, but not bad. The level of violence and the body count are high throughout, plenty of stage blood was used.
The Blu-ray presentation is highly satisfactory. The image is clear, detailed and sharp, the (Mandarin) soundstage has depth and good low-end for both sound and music. A pity that the dialogue was obviously dubbed after the shooting - no doubt because neither of the lead actors are native or even fluent Mandarin speakers. Extras include interviews with the director (20 minutes) and the principal cast members, the trailer and trailers for other movies - but no making-of or behind-the-scenes featurettes!
THREE KINGDOMS: RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON is a narratively flawed but visually stunning piece of contemporary HK cinema, brilliantly shot, very well acted - by Andy Lau especially - and closer in feel to stuff like ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA or Daniel Lee's 1990s Jet Li vehicle BLACK MASK than to the other post-2000 Chinese epics. But with a little more care, and a little more courage, it could have been much, much more!