Sakra

[Drunk Monk]

Sakra 
Another trailer - the North American version - slated for Apr 14 US release

Donnie Yen’s latest - directed by him as well. Based on a popular Wuxia novel by Jin Yong, this is somewhat of an ode to classic Kung Fu flicks of the 80s, a period piece with lots of wire work. Set in the Song Dynasty, Yen plays Qiao Feng, and the film seems to follow the novel closely (I haven’t read it - that’s based on synopsis I found on the web). 

The main buy in is that wuxia is a lot like superhero movies - lots of flying, super powers and qi blasts. If you can accept that as such, we can move on. This is classic wuxia - complex relationships, both blood and fraternal - confound vengeance plots, romances, and following wude - the warrior ethical code. There’s a lot of mission impossible style masks (another required buy in) adding complexity. And there’s a lot of back stabbing. The relationship reveals come furiously at the end, a hallmark of Jin Hong’s style, and a lot of people die.

The fights are fun - lots of flying about and throwing people through walls and such. It’s sped up, with insane flying bodies everywhere - people get tossed 50 feet through the air like it’s commonplace. It’s almost too frantic to follow sometimes, but there’s some excellent cold weapon fights, lots of swords, and plenty of qi blasts. Most looks like it was in camera wire work over cgi, which is impressive when you consider how big some of the wire jumps and falls are. If you like superhero fights, you’ll enjoy these.

All in all, I enjoyed it because I love wuxia, but I can see why others might not because it charges through the trappings of the genre without explanation of apology, and those unfamiliar with the context could easily get lost and befuddled. 

The soundtrack is a tad overdone. It over emphasizes the melodrama of it all, as it wucia doesn’t hit you over the head with that constantly. Don’t get too caught up in those complexities or you might lose sight of the action. 

Nevertheless D00M recommended because you’ve seen enough KF flicks to get it. Plus it’s Donnie and he always seems to deliver on some level.

Seen on Hoopla.