The Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017)

The Thousand Faces of Dunjia: Directed by Woo-Ping Yuen. With Chengpeng Dong, Ni Ni, Aarif Rahman, Dongyu Zhou. A group of warriors protect the world from a monster invasion.

“There are a few stalwarts in the Hong Kong movie industry, and two of them are in this film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTsui Harku0026#39;s hand in creating commercial cinema during the u0026quot;Golden Ageu0026quot; is legendary. Both entertaining and original, his classics such as A Better Tomorrow, A Chinese Ghost Story and Green Snake have all been milestones of any Gen Xu0026#39;s cinema experience.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYuan Wo Ping is the other heavyweight, and is renowned for his martial arts choreography in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Kill Bill, Ip Man and the Matrix trilogy. His innovative sequences rejuvenated the genre, keeping audiences riveted with his fresh treatments.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Thousand Faces of Dunjia sees them as producer and director respectively, so expectations can hardly be faulted. The scale doesnu0026#39;t disappoint because we transcend both galactively and spiritually spheres, but the storyline feels fragmented and occasionally aimless, and I think I know why. The fantasy action flick seems firmly handled with the F word in mind – Iu0026#39;m talking Franchise.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLet me first lay it out there – there is a sequel planned for this movie. That said, the film does provide closure with part one.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDao Yichang (Aarif Lee) is the villageu0026#39;s newest constable. The motivated young man, thick-browed and sharp jawed doesnu0026#39;t always play by the rules, but always does the right thing in the end. While fighting a criminal-turned-demon one day, he gets tangled up with Iron Dragonfly (Ni Ni), who subdues the imp and brings it back to her clan.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTurns out that an unspeakable evil force is gathering, and already demons both trapped in the earth and comets are emerging to prepare for its arrival. While this is happening, Dragonflyu0026#39;s Wuyinmen clan hunts for their new leader, and clansman Zhuge Fengyun (Da Peng) sees hope in the form of Xiao Yuan (Zhou Dong Yu), a child-like waif locked up in a prison for an incurable disease. This flimsy urchin turns out (expectedly) to be their potential salvation.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile the film has lofty goals, featuring stunning sets and a plethora of characters, itu0026#39;s not something that impresses all that much.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFirst of all, the plot feels like its setting up too much for the sequel, with story nuggets dropped but never picked up. Even when it does, such as the painting or the powerful sword, questions are still left unanswered. All this might be considered a purposeful cliffhanger, but itu0026#39;s only a metre drop down. Without background or context, the tidbits answered with more jargon just leaves the audience uninvested in whatu0026#39;s coming. Maybe if Hark and Yuan had spent more time in fleshing out the story than focusing on distractions like piddling jokes or abrupt titles, The Thousand Faces of Dunjia would have had a better chance at being exceptional.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThereu0026#39;s also the matter of – the effects. CGI has come a long way, and even though Asian cinema has always struggled, in The Thousand Faces of Dunjia itu0026#39;s like the whole team gave up. The renderings are so awkward with the scenes they are in, you never obtain the full wonder itu0026#39;s meant to deliver. Blasphemously, they also ruined a lot of great action sequences. Half blocked by water serpents masquerading as blows, or fuzzy discs that spin so fast you can barely see whatu0026#39;s the damage, the impact meant to be delivered landed like an apology from SMRT – unbelievable and detached.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI will say the production design is still as gorgeous as ever, and the colours are trademark Tsui. Lush and romantic, it will no doubt still engage the visual senses. The actors also do a decent job of filling up their personas, though Lee and Da Peng do stand out for their natural performances.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHarku0026#39;s recent repertoire have received more box office success than critical acclaim, and it would seem that The Thousand Faces of Dunjia would continue that streak.”