Bai she chuan shuo (2011) Reviews

• Beautiful Goddess Falls for Human - What Could Go Wrong?

  alisonc-12012-08-05

  Buddhist Monk and Abbot Fahai (Jet Li) and his disciple Neng Ren (Zhang Wen) are demon hunters, among other things; White Snake (Shengyi Huang) and Green Snake (Charlene Choi) are sister demons, one a bit of a romantic and the other rather mischievous. Green Snake causes young herbalist Xu Xian (Raymond Lam) to fall into a lake in the mountains, but White Snake saves him with a kiss, imparting some of her vital essence to him. Is it any wonder, after such a kiss, that White Snake and Xu Xian fall in love? But nothing good can come of the relationship between a human and a demon, and Abbot Fahai is determined to separate the couple, even at the cost of wreaking havoc in the temple and the world.... Jet Li is as likable and harmonious as ever in this role, one where he is able to employ his considerable martial arts skills while maintaining the quietude and serenity of a monk; Zhang Wen's disciple provides some excellent comic relief as he "grows" from hapless monk to, well, demon; and the two sister snakes are suitably sinuous and lovely. Raymond Lam is also quite good as the ambitious herbalist who dreams of becoming a doctor and saving the lives of others; indeed, his humble nobility creates a desire in White Snake to do good herself, an emotion not necessarily common for demons. We also are treated to a number of other demons, including a pack of gorgeous white foxes, a beautiful snow goblin all dressed in red, and a rabbit devil, and there are a number of set pieces involving Abbot Fahai's fights with some of these creatures. All in all, a very entertaining spectacle and a fitting way for us to close FantAsia 2012!

• Entertaining - Some Good Fights, Fun CGI, and Beautiful Women.

  JustGotToSayIt2011-12-18

  I'm not usually a fan of this kind of of film; the cornucopia of special effects, outlandish storyline, and over melodramatic storytelling. But I was in the mood and gave it a try. Very pleasantly surprised and I enjoyed my time watching it. You have to have a basic familiarity with Chinese folklore to maybe understand the cultural concepts, however, it is pretty simple. Animal spirits (some are malicious, others are passive) cross over from another realm and their interactions with the mortals of this realm usually end up badly for the humans. A thousand year old white snake spirit and a young simple herbalist falls in love. However, a sorcerer monk who devoted his life to banishing these animal spirits will not allow it, believing it will ultimately end in disaster for the mortal. So conflict ensues, destruction and chaos materialize, and hearts are broken. All in all it was entertaining. It had some good fight scenes, fun CGI, and the women were absolutely gorgeous. (I could easily fall in love with the green snake spirit. LOL) So if you are ever in a mood for a lighthearted fantasy story, I recommend this movie.

• Richly entertaining brew of fantasy, romance and CGI reminiscent of the best supernatural action extravanganzas of the '80s and '90s

  moviexclusive2011-09-27

  We're pretty sure many of you will agree that seeing Jet Li's name on the poster of this action fantasy epic is enough to convince you to catch this movie- after all, besides Donnie Yen, we can't think of a bigger martial arts actor in Asia today. What's more, ever since announcing that 'Fearless' would be his last 'wushu' movie back in 2006, Jet Li hasn't been as prolific as before- his previous leading role was in the tearjerker 'Ocean Heaven'- so this latest represents a return of sorts to the kind of movie that we love to see him in. The tale here is a familiar Chinese fable about the forbidden romance between a simple kind-hearted man and a snake demon who takes the form of a beautiful woman (previous screen incarnations include the Shaw Bros' 'Madam White Snake' and Tsui Hark's 'Green Snake'). And like action maestro and sometimes-director Tony Ching Siu-Tong's directorial debut 'A Chinese Ghost Story', it is set amidst a fantasy world where both humans and demons roam, with the latter taking on human form to deceive the former. An action-packed opening sequence where Jet Li's sorcerer-monk Fahai- together with his protégé Neng Ren (Wen Zhang)- defeats the dangerously alluring Ice Witch (Vivian Hsu) establishes the malevolent nature of the demons, as well as Fahai's mission to vanquish those who threaten the lives of humans. It also serves as fair warning that this latest adaptation of the 'White Snake' legend is not simply an '80s-throwback (a la Wilson Yip's remake of 'A Chinese Ghost Story' earlier this year), but rather a 21st- century treatment using the latest advances in CGI to create some lavish backdrops for the multiple elaborate action sequences. And warning indeed it is, for you'd best be advised to temper your expectations about the visual effects on display. Yes, while the booming China film industry can now easily rival its Hollywood counterpart on scale and spectacle, it still has a long way to go when it comes to CG imagery- and the amateurish special effects within the very first sequence will tell you as much. Thankfully, it gets better- and we mean much better- as the movie progresses, even managing to impress by the time it reaches the climactic showdown between Fahai and the White Snake. Still, the strength in Tony Ching's film lies not in its showcase of modern-day CG techniques, but rather in its old-fashioned love story between 'White Snake' Bai Suzhen (Eva Huang) and young herbalist Xu Xian (Raymond Lam). This is the equivalent of 'Romeo and Juliet' for the Chinese audience, and Tony knows how to push the right buttons to engender a sweet affecting romance between the two leads. Much of the credit also goes to William Chang's vivid costume design and Zhai Tao's rich production design, which successfully create a fantastically beautiful landscape to evoke the passion behind the human-snake coupling. There is also a surprisingly potent dose of humour in the screenplay by Zhang Tan, Tsan Kan-cheong and Szeto Cheuk-hon. Rather than let the film drown in its own seriousness, the trio inject some playfulness into their treatment of the fantasy. Neng Ren's transformation into a bat demon after being poisoned by one brings much levity to the proceedings, and Xu Xian's encounter with Suzhen's animal-turned-human 'parents' (Chapman To, Miriam Yeung and Lam Suet gleefully hamming it for broad laughs) is particularly campy but hilarious. Despite the slapstick, Tony maintains a firm grasp of the film's tone, and alternates between comedy, romance and drama with ease and confidence. The same dexterity can also be said of his work as action director on the film, especially in his ability at integrating rather seamlessly the movements of his cast and the special effects added post-production. A battle between Fahai and Neng Ren against the bat-demon on Mid-Autumn night is an excellent case-in-point- ditto for the extended climax between Fahai and the White Snake set in the middle of the ocean. Admittedly however, none of the action sequences are particularly memorable- mostly because Jet Li only gets to spar against either a green screen or against 'green' martial arts actors like Eva Huang and Charlene Choi. Still, Jet Li's stately presence shines through despite the CG distractions, and his undimmed screen charisma overcomes the shortcomings of the slightly underwritten role. The surprise here is however Eva's spirited (pardon the pun) performance, lively, vivacious and genuinely affecting in her demonstration of the White Snake's deep love for Xu Xian. Her Hong Kong counterparts Charlene and Raymond however pale far in comparison- their ho-hum performances of their essentially one-note characters easily forgettable. But in spite of these shortcomings, this remains a richly entertaining brew of fantasy, romance and CGI- the supernatural world is vividly realised, the romance is surprisingly affecting and the CGI is also commendable by the standards of Chinese cinema. Much better than this year's 'Chinese Ghost Story' attempt at resurrecting the once- flourishing supernatural action genre, Tony Ching's latest is a sumptuous treat for the imagination. And of course, given the rarity of watching Jet Li in action on the big screen these days, 'The Sorcerer and the White Snake' deserves to be seen by his fans- even if it may not be his best work.

• Beautiful, one of Jet Li's best

  csadler3022012-03-11

  After reading some lukewarm and scalding reviews, I was going to pass on this movie. I'm so glad I didn't. While I see the flaws that some reviewers point out, the CGI and fantasy settings were so beautiful and Jet Li's fight sequences so breathtakingly spectacular, that I loved this movie!! Jet Li played the powerful sorcerer-monk to perfection with that inner-calm thing he does so well. The magical and majestic action sequences had me cheering and rewinding several times. They were fresh, unusual and epic. This is now one of my favorite Jet Li movies and I'm already a huge fan. I loved the fabled-love story thing as well. The characters were likable, including the green and white snakes and I found myself rooting for them. As a chick who loves romantic, fantasy martial arts, this was a beautiful blend of what I love most in a movie. Just beautiful!

• Love and art visually expressed through film.

  My_Opinion-245-9208012011-12-21

  The Sorcerer and The White Snake is visually stunning as well as breathtakingly inspiring. This movie is more than CGI, computer rendering, or even cinematic location. It's about love. The power that love wields between two people who are in love and the control, twist, and even anguish that love sometimes will exert over us. Yes, the fight scenes were well filmed. Additionally the colors exploded violently from frame to frame, it was exceptional. I would be inconsistent if I however did not point out that if this film had a major Hollywood studio budget. Some of the CGI scenes would have looked slightly less choppy, and perhaps more money, would have helped to further polish an already outstanding movie. The Sorcerer and The White Snake is a rare gem, it is a love story told through art. I found the water sections in the opening of the movie simply stunning. Art and love translated through film, simply exceptional. I hope you will take my advice and grab a copy of this as soon as you are done reading my review. I promise you, this movie will not disappoint in any way shape or form.