Saga of the Phoenix (1990)

A huge downshift

In its attempt to one-up The Peacock King, Saga of the Phoenix unfortunately feels like a massive downturn often coming across as a huge internal battle between two directors whose styles do not fit together, cutting the darker and more adult fantasy elements to make it more kid-friendly was a poor move. Poor Yuen Biao spends most of the film encased in ice and nobody seems to care, granted the sequences helmed by Lam Nai-Choi are a sight to behold with plenty of great special effects work and dazzling production design, however, the action is sorely lacking even if it is rather well shot. Nobody ever sets out to make a bad film but sometimes even the best intentions go badly awry, there's a wealth of oddness and general daftness to keep you entertained but it lacks what made its predecessor special. Granted the film does earn an extra brownie point with me for having Zatōichi himself, Shintarō Katsu, in the film even if it is a relatively small role. By the time Biao returns to the film to set things straight, the damage has been done. Truth be told, the film is passable in spurts but sadly, it's also 25 minutes too long. The scope of Saga of the Phoenix may be smaller but there's still a lot of charming creativity which means I can't hate the effort, although catering the film for a younger demographic did not help matters and hurt its overall impact.

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