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The Promise / Wu Ji (China 2005)
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Director / Writer : Chen Kaige
Producer : Chen Kaige, Chen Hong
Cinematography : Peter Pau
Art Direction : Tim Yip
Action Director : Tung Wai, Dion Lam
Costume : Masago Kimiya
Cast : Jang Dong-Kun, Cecilia Cheung, Hiroyuki
Sanada, Liu
Ye, Nicholas Tse, Chen Hong, Cheng QianSynopsis :
An epic fantasy about a love triangle between a general, a princess
and a slave in ancient China. Empowered by the love of a slave, a
royal concubine is given the chance to make an extraordinary
decision. Its an epic story
about "promise, betrayal, nations and love".
Can Love Change
Destiny?
Release Date : December 2005
Running Time : 2 hours 8 minutes
Trailers :
Jap. Trailer /
HK Trailer
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TV Trailer
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I'tnl Trailer |
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Reviews
by Gary Cheah (23/12/2005)
WARNING : Might contain Spoilers
Despite all the "negative" reviews on the net, it
does not stop me from watching The Promise on the big silver screen.
I went into the cinema with minimal expectation on the film, but in the
end -it's quite satisfactory i would say...
The Promise is Chen Kaige's (Farewell My Concubine,
The Emperor and the Assassin)
mega-production of an epic fantasy with an astonishing budget of USD40 million, making it
the most
expensive Asian film ever made. With an international casts drawn
from the Pan-Asian countries, its star-studded with Jang
Dang Gun (Korea), Hiroyuki Sanada (Japan), Cecilia Cheung (Hong
Kong), Nicholas Tse (Hong Kong), Liu Ye (China) and Chen Hong
(China, the director's wife).
Set in 3,000 years ago in the future, somewhere in Asia,
the movie starts off with a beautiful introduction on what is
pre-destined in the past before we move right into the plot -20
years later. The story is basically a love triangle between the
great General Guangming (Hiroyuki Sanada), the beautiful princess
Qingcheng (Cecilia Cheung), the fastest slave Kunlun (Jang Dong Dun)
and the witty Duke of the North, Wuhuan (Nic Tse). It all happen
after the Goddess of Destiny grants a little girl her wish to be the
most beautiful princess on condition that she would never experience
true love. That makes her an object of affection and intrigue among
the suitors, the Duke, Slave and General.
There are some parts in the story which are not convincing enough
and seems out of point.
For example, the love triangle between among them are unclear and
lack of chemistry. It will be better if there is more character
development and more in-depth, story-telling. It can be one heck of
a fantasy epic, if there were a stronger plot and a wider world of
fantasy (places, clans, races) -just like Middle Earth (Lord Of
The Rings). Overall, the acting bits are fairly good, better
ones came from Hiroyuki Sanada's performances, Jang Dong Gun's
emotional scenes and Nicholas Tse's expression as the wacky villain.
Not to forget, Liu Ye as Snow Wolf, a small character/role in the
movie but an interesting one!
Not withstanding the weak plot, The Promise still triumph as a
beautiful-looking flick - the visuals are stunning, eye-catching and
colorful at times, the cinematography is top notch, thanks to Peter
Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and the promising use of
special
effects which is inevitable in a fantasy movie. Most notables ones
are the beautiful scenery, landscapes, backdrops, crystal clear
lakes, cherry blossoms and the large-scale Imperial
City, all thanks to present day computer wizardry. Action scenes are
well choreographed but somewhat short. Costume designs are fabulous
and detailed and so are the eye-catching sets. All these, blended
with the beautiful musical score, The Promise seems to be a
"timeless" epic fantasy.
The Promise may not live up the expectations to many but is
still fairly good. I'll suggest you to watch the film and judge it
yourself.
"Once you have accepted your destiny, nothing can alter it unless
rivers flow uphill, time runs backwards, and the dead come back to
life"
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| Notable Scenes: |
- the bull chasing / running scenes
- the war scenes
- Kunlun back into time, discover his origin
- Qingcheng fly as a kite
- the cinematography, visual and costumes
- the final judgment day |
Features
For more in-depth details on The Promise, go here :
The Promise Feature
Stills
(click on thumbnails for actual size)
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