Moon Warriors (1992)

Pour yourself a nice glass of wine and grab some crackers, because you'll need it to go with all of the cheese in this melodramatic movie. It's hard to take any movie seriously when it doubles as an advertisement for Sea World/Shamu or 'Free Willy Goes to Hong Kong'.

Kenny Bee stars as the 13th Prince who is deposed by his evil brother, the 14th Prince played by Kelvin Wong. I was happy to see Maggie Cheung as one of 13th Prince's bodyguards. 13th Prince and his small entourage are saved from a plethora of assassins in a bamboo forest by Andy Lau's fisherman, Ah Fei, who happens to be wandering about. They make friends and Ah Fei takes them to a secret underground royal tomb to hide out in. Ah Fei is tasked with bringing 13th Prince's fiancé to him. A gorgeous Anita Mui plays the willful Princess and on the long dangerous road back to the 13th Prince, feisty banter turns to love. Duty above all, everyone ignores the obvious feelings because 14th Prince is hot on their trail.

Moon Warriors has one of the most preposterous endings I've ever seen which takes away any tragic feelings and replaces them with laughter and WTF? This is not one of Andy's strongest performances, but I can't blame him, he's required to say some pretty cheesy lines. Maggie and Anita both do a good job with what they are given and their fight is the highlight of the movie. Kenny is properly stoic and noble. Kelvin has the evil laugh down which is half of what he needs for his performance as the villain. The actors could only do so much with the script they were given so I tried to cut them some slack.

The pinnacle of ludicrousness is Ah Fei's friendship with a killer whale. I do have to applaud Andy Lau for his commitment to the role and learning to ride and do tricks with Hong Kong's version of Shamu.

My evaluation of martial arts movies always comes down to the fights. Moon Warriors used so much wire-fu it looked like the actors were on the moon bouncing around half the time. I have no problem with light body skills in a wuxia, but this movie overdid the super human leaping never missing the chance to have someone flying through windows or simply defying gravity as they ran. While many of the fights were creative and fast, they often looked incredibly awkward as well. I do have to say I saw the most creative decapitation ever, at least through my fingers.

Moon Warriors has some beautiful cinematography and fight scenes every few minutes to keep things interesting. The actors gave it their best. Ultimately, it ended up being a slightly below average wuxia for me. It was filmed in the 90's so it didn't receive my grading on a curve that I give much older movies. It's not a bad way to spend 90 minutes but if you are lactose intolerant you might want to skip this one.

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The legends are true, even the sad ones.

Like a folktale passed down through memory, Moon Warriors is lush, lyrical and ever so slightly untethered from reality. Steeped in the traditions of its genre, it's tragic, yearning and tinged with inevitability, all the while drenched in natural beauty: misty coastlines, windswept forests and moonlit waters that give the film an almost ethereal quality. The craftsmanship is New Wave at its finest, and director Sammo Hung delivers a wonderfully subdued swordswinging adventure, gifting us two of the greatest choreographers ever combining their talents in a film that blends wuxia fantasy, budding romance and aggressively high-flying acrobatics, not to mention an Andy Lau / orca bromance. Sammo beat Warner Brothers to the punch on that fad. The undercranked camerawork really adds an element of dynamism and furious pace to the incredibly choreographed action, mixing wire-fu swordplay and traditional kung fu with a flawless ability; the final duel on the beach is the standout for me. The cast only adds to the film's mesmerising allure; Lau is always a joy to watch, bringing with him a quiet sincerity to his role as our humble, lovestruck hero, and the chemistry he shares with Anita Mui's princess is an absolute treat to watch onscreen all the while Maggie Cheung, in one of her most offbeat roles, gets to stretch her villainous chops as a betrayer who has a thing for the emperor. It might be one of the few times I've ever seen her not smile. Coupled with an utterly joyous musical score and lightning pacing, despite a few bizarre moments that verge on daft, Moon Warriors is an absolute delight. Filled with atmosphere, beauty and a poetic resonance that lingers long after the credits roll while expertly immersing you in feelings of longing, fleeting connections, and lives shaped by forces beyond control. And like the tide it so often frames, it's the sadness that never quite recedes.

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