Viewer Comments:The Duel
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I expected a "Storm Riders"-related film, but instead this film barely has action but more plot and comedy. The plot is bad since it becomes obvious where things lead, and the comedy is your typical Hong Kong comedy. The fight scenes are limited, and the finale is okay--Ekin Cheng and Andy Lau freezing in mid-air was obviously a "Matrix" rip-off. I would've lowered the rating, but it's suprisingly entertaining. Worth a peek.
I really enjoyed it.
Although not among the ranks of Hong Kong classics, "The Duel" is actually one of the better Ekin Cheng movies. It's very poorly put together even for a Hong Kong movie. Most notable are the female talents attracted to or at odds with Cheng's character. The scenes are poorly set up, often without clarity, and the storyline is hard to follow. Perhaps the only redeeming value of this movie is the fantasy swordplay, which in itself is rather sad. It is said to be an innovative use of CG in Chinese cinema for the time, yet other movies made around the same time were more tactfully placed and more tastefully done. If you are looking for something to just buy to collect, go ahead let it gather dust on your shelf because at most it might be watched once, if not less.
4 1/2 stars says it all!!!
I thought it was butt. I was sorta feeling your man Nick Cheung as the Chinese Rasta dreadlock mon wit de kung fu grip, tho.
This movie was praised...as having awesome special effects and awesome action sequences, instead it's a typical Hong Kong quasi-action/comedy. Nothing spectacular at all. The only reason I even somewhat enjoyed it (and kept it) was because it was good for a laugh.
HA HA!!!!!!! This is the WORST movie I have ever seen. I usually give credit to bad movies, like "Oh, it is bad but..." Yet I have got nothing good to say about this movie. Andy Lau is cute and Nick Cheung is funny but it was soooooo bad that these points do not make up for the stupid and messy and TERRIBLE plot of the film.
Ugh. I wanted a thick plot with incredibly talented action. What I got was a typical plot with cheesy special effects action.
A looming duel between two great swords men propels the plot. One swords man uses the duel to betray the king but he is unsuccessful. No big surprise.
The fighting brings no talent to the table. Unless you count computer generated blurs of light (and a snow ball) as talent.
I will say the opening scene was very entertaining and the chicks are hot.
| I have 3 versions of this film--the Taiwanese, the USA and the HK version--trying to find one that would color correct for the magenta overcast in the opening scene with the sheep and mountains. Another reason I bought them is for Cheng Ekin. He's hardly in there, which is why I give it a 3 instead of a 5. He plays a quiet introverted non-reacting character whose personality is fleshed out when the princess and the Kristy Yang character is talking about him. The movie is based on Ku Lung's swordplay novel "Lu Xiao Fung" (go to spcnet.com and they will have the book partly in translation) and Cheng Ekin plays the swordsman HsimenChiuHsueh (his first name means "snow blower" but the sound of it when spoken, says "blood [on blade] blower". Reading the translation is absolutely fun - and I can see why the movie did so well in all the countries that read Ku Lung novels. Ekin plays the quirky master swordsman who is a close friend of Lu Xiao Fung - played by the comedian - Nick something. Lu Xiao Fung's character is one who is a very good friend to his friends, and the book deals with his adventures of helping, and being helped by his friends, and the movie shows one part of the book's friendship - that of his loyal friendship to Hsimen Chuihseuh. The soundtracks are different too, the Hong Kong/Cantonese soundtrack/translation/kanji is pretty ribald and loud and fun, but the Mandarin (the Taiwanese version seems more sedate and family rated) - check out Dragon 9/Lu Xiao Fung's bath scene and you will know what I mean. I prefer the Hong Kong DVD best, but the Taiwanese version is great for those studying Mandarin as it has current Mandarin usage and also the english translation right along with it on top (non-removable though)!! All in all, great fun New Years movie full of drama and (you can tell the actors are having a lot of fun in this movie) and the traditional music is so nice! |
I gave this movie 5 stars [out of 5] because I thought it was just spectacular throughout... The movie is a visual treat with a story which is based on a classic comic book heroes (Swordsman). The soundtrack and the sound of this movie along with the characters with the main leads of Hong Kong Superstars Ekin Chang, Andy Lau, and comedian guy (don't know his name).
Overall, it is a must-see Hong Kong movie. I didn't like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. If you like it, then there is no way you are gonna' hate this movie.
This movie was very disappointing. It promises so much but delivers so little--the duel and the fight scenes occupy about 10 minutes of screen time--the rest is a rather silly comedy/mystery. On the one hand it has much better editing than the ridiculously bad "A Man Called Hero", and I would rank it slightly above "Storm Riders" which was pretty incomprehensible, but the CGI fight scenes are not that great--the choreography is mediocre. I find it funny that HK moviemakers who are fantastic in making regular martial arts flicks have no idea how to use CGI.
Do not waste your time or money on this movie!
The fight scene in the beginning was one of the best I've scene of its kind but then it goes dry for the most of the remaining hour and thirty minutes. It was like giving a hungry chubby kid a Oreo and then when he asks for more they give him crumbs. They had something going and the story was great but, lacked in the action. I gave it a four because the story was really, really good and acting was great! Hey the way I figure it they called it the duel and that's what you get one good duel (maybe two).
This is the best movie I have ever seen.
-KG
| When I saw that "The Duel" was an Andrew Lau film, produced by Wong Jing, I expected a great deal. Nobody is better at deflating and spoofing the absurdness of the movie business than Wong Jing. There are a couple of good spoofs on Lau's own "Stormriders" and "A Man Called Hero," unintentional or not, but they are far and few in between.
Pop stars Ekin Cheng and Andy Lau are the duelists. The two work well because they portray archetypes that allow them to be veneer and wooden. Andy Lau has never been better in a costume piece than in "The Duel." Andy Lau's acting is getting better. He seems to be concentrating on this aspect of his career. When Andy's coup attempt to usurp the emperor fails, the grand tragedy actually works. We empathize with Lau's Yip Cool Sing. Ekin's blandness also works in this film. That is more to do with the fact that we don't see much of his Snowblower character except as a glorified cameo. Nick Cheung tries to provide the comic relief, but I kept on thinking that this would have been a perfect vehicle for Stephen Chow, but he probably cost too much. The more I see Nick, the more I miss the antics of Chow. Nick just seems a little too lackluster. And that cheapo mustache looked terrible. The movie suffers from long periods of tedium and very little action, save for the beginning and the end of this movie. The film could have used some editing to tighten up the pace and to get rid of the extraneous characters. Nick being one of them--he didn't add or subtract from the film, only diverting the attention from Andy and Ekin's duel. Wong Jing shied away from more parody, probably because Andrew Lau was on hand to direct and he wanted to spare him some of the lampooning. "The Duel" was a half-hearted attempt, which could have been better if Wong Jing took the reigns and went for the jugular, to either go all the way to parody the comic book superhero genre or to play it straight. The movie straddled the fence and turned out to be just another bland costume piece. |
Dragon 9(009) is the main character in this movie. He is a friend of Simon The Snow, who is to fight Yeh Cool Son in one of the biggest duels ever. However, Yeh, being part of the royal family at the time, has other plans in store for the emperor. Unfortunately though, his plots were uncovered and he was defeated by Simon at the end.
Well if you ask me, THE DUEL wasn't a bad movie at all. Dragon 9(009) was SOOOOO funny (the part where the gay guy kept coming on to him was hilarious!)!!! He oughta be the #1 comedian in Hong Kong. Anyway, I must admit that this movie sucked as far as action/fighting went; however, it did have a pretty nice storyline and the cast were great (especially Zhao Wei). Movie included romance, lots of humor, suspense, and a WEIRD fighting style.
-PJ
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