Tian di ying xiong (2003)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Ping He

Writers:

Ping He (written by)
Rui Zhang (written by)

Release Date:

23 September 2003 (China)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Plot:

A Chinese emissary is sent to the Gobi desert to execute a renegade soldier. When a caravan transporting a Buddhist monk and a valuable treasure is threatened by thieves, however, the two warriors might unite to protect the travelers. |

Awards:

7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Wen Jiang	...	Lieutenant Li
Kiichi Nakai	...	Lai Qi
Xueqi Wang	...	Master An
Wei Zhao	...	Wen Zhu
Bagen Hasi	...	Cao Jin
Tao Ho	...	Ma Gun
Linian Lu	...	Wu Lao'Er
Deshun Wang	...	Old Diehard
Haibin Li	...	Zao Zimo
Yeerjiang Mahepushen	...	Master An's Servant
Chuangao Hou	...	Guard
Yun Zhou	...	Jue Hui (The Monk)
Wei Li	...	Di Hu
Yuming Du	...	Rider A
Handong Wang	...	Rider B

Also Known As:

Warriors of Heaven and Earth (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

114 min | Argentina:115 min

Country:

China | Hong Kong | USA

Language:

Mandarin | Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Germany:12 | Finland:K-15 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Shanghai, China

Company:

Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Rockets are used in the final battle at the fort. They did not exist in Tang times: gunpowder weapons were developed by the later Sung Dynasty.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Warriors of Heaven and Earth' (2003) (TV)

Worth a watch, still fun...

Warriors of Heaven and Earth is a decently made movie with some good plot developments.

The fighting scenes. All of the fighting scenes were done relatively well, being more towards the real side of battle, instead of the fighting scenes from the other big names (Hero, House of Flying Daggers). My only complaint with the action scenes, is that nobody is affected by the death of their comrades. I understand you cannot stop fighting unless you want to join your brother in heaven, but they all took their deaths as the grim reality. I suppose in a way, it is more realistic (we're all going to die anyway, maybe he was lucky to get to heaven sooner). The camera work and plot however did do an excellent job of making you feel sorrowful when a character died.

The romance. Wait, excuse me, romance? Vicky Zhou? What?

This point nearly ruined the movie for me until I got back into the mindset of hey, there are good fight scenes, let's enjoy them. Vicky Zhou's character is completely extraneous and was a waste. Although her voice is nice as the narrator of the story, and she still has a pretty face, she was utterly useless. Not only did she not fight (unless you call the one to two minute scene in the end "fighting"), she had about 10-15 minutes of full, on-camera footage - mostly devoted to questioning Li's criminal activities.

Overall. Lai Qi (Kiichi Nakai) and Li Zai (Wen Jiang) carry the entire movie. It's interesting that Jiang is not in the credited cast as he probably had the most screen time in the entire movie.

Should you see it? There are a couple things to take into account. 1) If you're not used to HK films, this isn't a good one to start with, unless you abhor the Chinese humor in older less epic films 2) It will probably make you depressed. Maybe it's just me... What else has made me depressed you might ask? Let's see: So Close, Hero, House of Flying Daggers...

I give it a 7 out of 10. I had hoped for something slightly better, but then again, it was realistic and the final battle scene reminded me of what the LOTR battle for Helm's Deep would have been if the good guys hadn't all survived -- Classic.