The Promise (2005)
32 %
Reviews Counted: 76 Fresh: 24 Rotten:52 Average Rating: 5.2/10
Consensus:
An incoherent plot and ridiculously obvious CGI effects doom this effort from the usually outstanding Chinese director Chen Kaige.
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Theatrical Release: Dec 30, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $632,879
Synopsis: A sweeping martial arts epic in the mode of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, THE PROMISE is a crowd-pleasing stew of action, fairy tale conventions, wire-fu, and romance with undeniable international appeal for young and old alike. The most expensive film ever produced in China, director... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Cecilia Cheung, Nicholas Tse, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jang Dong-Kun, Liu Ye
Director: Chen Kaige
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
The Promise is an over-wrought and laughably goofy film, an empty and pale imitation of the far better films that have gone on before it.
Comment
02/28/08
Faustian bargain with a goddess. Huge armies march. Men out-race the wind. Assassins make devious plots. Spectacular scenes generated largely in computers.
05/13/07
A fairy tale for adults that allows the viewer to inhabit an entirely different world, and in doing so, becomes an exercise of the imagination.
09/27/06
Has been criticized by some reviewers for its low-tech special effects. Curiously, I found this technical transparency part of the film's enormous charm.
05/25/06
Top Critic
An epic fantasy that tries to outdo Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but doesn't touch us emotionally.
05/25/06
Chen Kaige may seriously think he's creating film art in his empty Promise, but he's best at slinging bull, lots of them.
05/11/06
if you can plant your tongue in your cheek and accept the exuberant goofiness of the special effects, "The Promise" actually turns out to be a decently entertaining slash-and-kick flick.
05/11/06
The finale [is] literally a deus ex machina, which will thrill classic-lit majors but leave everyone else feel cheated.
05/05/06
Flimsy, fake-looking weaponry, bad wigs, grandiose scoring, overacting, simplistic dialogue, illogically elaborate staging, and a plot that goes out of its way to be predictable...
05/05/06
Chen Kaige clearly intended this Chinese fantasy-action spectacle to top Zhang Yimou's Hero, and I must admit that I prefer it to the earlier movie.
05/05/06
Top Critic
The Promise is too full of frenetic disconnection and arbitrary comings and goings to connect meaningfully with the hearts and minds of its audience.
05/05/06
Top Critic
Chen's tale of mythic chivalry is filled with beautifully designed sets, lovingly detailed costumes and elaborate martial-arts sequences. Unfortunately, it also sports amateurish digital effects that often mar the beauty of this world.
05/05/06
With The Promise Chen Kaige has proven enough of a professional that he can make the product. But he remains too much of an artist not to scribble on his signature.
05/05/06
Top CriticRelated Forums
THE PROMISE gets the nod from China for Oscar's Best Foreign Film category ...
by: REEL_REVIEWER 12/22/06
by: REEL_REVIEWER 12/22/06
THE PROMISE gets the nod from China for Oscar's Best Foreign Film category ...
by: REEL_REVIEWER 12/22/06
by: REEL_REVIEWER 12/22/06
THE PROMISE gets the nod from China for Oscar's Best Foreign Film category ...
by: REEL_REVIEWER 12/22/06
by: REEL_REVIEWER 12/22/06
THE PROMISE gets the nod from China for Oscar's Best Foreign Film category ...
by: REEL_REVIEWER 12/22/06
by: REEL_REVIEWER 12/22/06
Not bat at all! Beautiful with a depth
by: cliffr2k 5/12/06
by: cliffr2k 5/12/06
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