| Nam Nai-Choi co-directed with Lau Shut Yue this sequel to the successful Hong Kong/Japanese co-production The Peacock King. Saga Of The Phoenix stumbles in the way it omits Yuen Biao for most of the proceedings and instead takes our spiritual magicians into modern day (Yuen already did that movie, it was called The Iceman Cometh). The introduction of a Jim Henson reject muppet will likely introduce the most groans though. This genie as it's called eventually becomes a full on gremlin and here things even turn unsettling despite it being a cheap puppet! Not sure if I need to condemn or applaud the filmmakers!
When all's said and done, Saga Of The Phoenix is as ludicrous and silly as you would expect a Nam Nai-Choi movie to be. That means that occasionally he delivers the expected b-movie sights and sounds to an entertaining effect (in particular the climactic battle). It may have been part of his most successful streak in terms of box-office but Saga Of The Phoenix is not the reference work of Nam's. Nam Nai-Choi's leading lady of choice Gloria Yip proves again that she's adorable but a horrible actress while Rachel Lee and in one of his last roles, Shintaro Katsu (Zatoichi) appears in support. |
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