投名狀 Warlords
a quickr pickr post
What is your stereotype of Jet Li? The King of Martial Art? The Asian Romeo who kicks some bad ass but never gets the girl? Mr. Friendly who always acts with that same old smile? Well, some of them might be true, while some not. However, many audiences might change their viewpoints after watching Jet Li’s performance in Warlords. In this Chinese epic movie, Jet Li interpreted Pang, a man who was caught in complicated nets of brotherhood, lust, and betrayal. Along with his sidekicks-turn-into-enemies Zhao (Andy Lau) and Jiang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), who competed against Pang (Jet Li) as characters and as actors, Jet Li’s performance was even sharpened and bettered. Getting to speak his mother tongue Mandarin also gave him extra credits. This distinguished him from his present participation in Hollywood films, in which he had to speak a foreign language and became stereotyped (and probably marginalized). I dare to say it’s Jet Li’s best performance ever. His babyface could no longer cover those keen eyes of an actor. In the scene where he treated Zhao the last meal, which turned out to be a soliloquy, his conflicts were shown in his tone. When he covered his face with a handkerchief and wept, those hysterical cries were disturbingly heartbreaking. It’s the sort of scream that comes from a desperate old man, who’s been through a great deal of ups and downs in his life. Warlords definitely ensures Li’s stardom as an actor.
Unlike other martial art movie directors, most of whom getting busy on how to make the scenes spectacular and the actors against gravity, Peter Chan believes in the significance of a good story. He is famous for his romance productions, such as Perhaps Love(如果˙愛), Three(三更之回家), etc, and that might be the reason why he successfully added a soft yet moving touch to the masculine story. Even though Warlords is based on one of the four great legends in Chin Dynasty, The Assassination of Ma, which is sensational and suspenseful, the director insisted that the screenplay should also deliver the raw cruelty of wartime and in the mean while be compelling and persuasive. Apparently, according to the movie itself, Peter Chan has proved that he can direct romances and masculine movies as well.
However, I don’t personally like the English title Warlords. Tou-Ming-Juang, the Chinese title of the film, means the vow people take when friends want to become brothers. Usually a typical oath of this sort is written this way: Even though we’re not born at the same time, we’d rather die together. Thus, whoever breaks the vow will have to face extreme punishment and revenge. This vow brought out the dramatic effect of the climax scene where the murder of brothers took place. But since Warlords makes more sense to foreigners than Tou-Ming-Juang, I’d say it’s a safe choice for it sounds proficient for an epic movie.
I think it’s a must-watch in 2007 not only for the great performance but also the lessons behind it. The war is cruel, and the men in wartime inevitably become cruel, too.
1 則留言:
But to be honest, I really do not appreciate Takeshi's performance. He should stick to the TV commercials as VAIO notebook or some high-end beverages. Whenever I saw his clips in any of his movies, I could always perceive the awkwardness. As for Jet Li, he acts with the same facial expression still. It's hard to tell apart his emotions in "HERO" or "Warlords" People need more ups and downs in life, not to mention a movie.
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