Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008)

Based on "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guangzhong, the movie follows the military life of Zhao Yun from front line infantry to celebrated general .

Produced in China it took me a few minutes to adjust to familiar actors being dubbed. Having watched so many Cdramas I was able to fall into it pretty quickly.

I have only the most cursory of knowledge about this time period and will leave it to others to judge it on it's historical accuracy. As with all movies based on historical characters, I take them with a grain of salt knowing the makers have their own agendas. Fact, myth, and legend are often intertwined to tell a good story. The same goes true with costumes and armor, whether they are accurate or made to be pleasing to the eyes is not for me to decide.

Three Kingdoms was beautifully shot and scored. Costumes, sets, and locales were all well done and chosen. Mountains above the plains made for desolate places of battles.

All of the actors did a good job of portraying their characters, though most had very little time on screen. The great Ti Lung barely had any lines as one of the Five Tigers. Vanness Wu was in and out almost before I recognized him. Yueh Hua as the warlord and later emperor Liu Bei showed up long enough to make a small impact. The focus of the movie was on Andy Lau's Zhao Yun and Sammo Hung's Luo Pingan. The two were war buddies with Zhao's story told through Sammo's eyes and jealousy. Maggie Q also had a significant role as Cao Ying, the leader of the of the opposing forces in the final battle. Resourceful and ruthless, she made an excellent adversary for Zhao.

Three Kingdoms downfall for me was that there was no development of characters, no reason why they were continually at war, nothing much to hang onto. It was a series of violent battles over three decades bound by a thread of characterization between the two friends. The movie ended with me knowing little more than Zhao Yun was a tiger in battle and his friend envied his success. Andy and Sammo managed to imbue their characters with more than what they were given to play, a testament to their acting abilities and chemistry.

The short, creative battles are worth watching the movie for, as well as the pairing of Andy Lau and Sammo Hung. As long as you aren't expecting much more it's entertaining.

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