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DRAGONBLADE
AKA:
Dragon Blade ||
DragonBlade: The Legend of Lang
Year:
2004 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
The
CG animated feature film has become something of a phenomenon
since Pixar first appeared on the scene with huge success stories
such as 'Toy Story' and 'The Incredibles'.
Unsurprisingly, this trend didn't take long to catch the eye
of Hong Kong filmmakers who are never ones to pass up the
chance to cash in on a
successful cinematic vogue. The resulting picture was 'DragonBlade',
a proposed combination of the Chinese kung fu movie with animated
techniques perfected in the west. However, without the Hollywood
budget and wealth of resources
at their disposal, the question remained as to whether such a
venture could even come close to their American counterparts.
Lang
is a teenage martial artist who one day dreams of uncovering
the lost DragonBlade which will allow him to become the most
powerful fighter in all the land. However, his dream
becomes a reality when his hometown is attacked by a monster
who threatens his family and friends and looks to be almost
undefeatable. The only answer comes in the form of a
small fairy who claims to know the location of the DragonBlade
and will help Lang if he sets him free. The only way for
him to do this though is to compete in a tournament and when
he emerges victorious the fairy will put him on the right
path. And so, Lang sets out on a wild adventure, filled
with lavish locations and mysterious enemies, that should
hopefully lead him to the sword and provide him with the means
to rescue the people he holds dearest.
As
the opening credits began to roll on 'DragonBlade', I found myself
wondering whether I had made a wise decision in purchasing this
DVD. From first impressions, the animation looked decidedly
average (certainly more akin to television standards than Pixar) and the tone of the film
wreaked of a poorly cloned and heavily clichéd traditional
kung fu flick. Thankfully though, as I saw beyond the
limited animation techniques and the movie found it's feet, my fears were waylaid and what emerged was a
refreshing blend of the classic old school kung fu movie with
a very charming and exciting adventure film.
The plot,
although somewhat patchy in places, maintains a consistently
easy to follow and entertaining pace despite throwing a lot of
characters and ideas into the mix. This approach is
perhaps what slows down the film in the early segments but
once established, it quickly finds a rhythm and holds your
attention throughout. The characters chosen to take the
leading roles are well presented with very distinctive
personality traits that certainly owe more than a passing
glance to the recognisable personas seen in many of the landmark
films of yesteryear. In the action department, the film
also manages to excel with a lot of effort put into making the
moves as realistic as possible. There's a distinct air
of the Wuxia genre thrown in, allowing our heroes to move
beyond the realms of realism and giving each confrontation a
somewhat magical atmosphere. My only complaint is
that these sequences are perhaps too few and far between but I
suppose we shouldn't grumble considering moments such as the
tournament actually provide more entertaining bouts than a lot
of the live action martial arts movies from recent years.
The
vocal talent chosen to participate in 'DragonBlade' is also
extremely impressive and helps to elevate the overall quality of the
production. Stephen Fung is an actor who I am yet to
really warm to but there is no disputing that he pulls off the
leading role for this film admirably. Alongside him, Karen Mok and Daniel Wu
are also worthy of a mention and deserve definite plaudits for their distinctive oral talents .
There is however one weak link in this
department and it comes in the form of Sandra Ng, who plays perhaps the cutest character in the
whole movie. Her brash and often irritating tones
don't seem very befitting of such a sweet looking animation and the
majority of what she says often makes you want to swat her bug
like character. That aside
though, this is certainly another area in which the film accumulates
additional plus points.
Overall
then, it was always evident that 'DragonBlade' could never compete
animation-wise with Western endeavours but it does come very
close to matching them for entertainment value. The distinctly
Chinese take on the genre mixed with an entertaining story and
some well presented action makes this an easy recommendation
and it walks away with a very healthy four stars.
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