Directed by He Ping, the multi-layered Warriors of Heaven and Earth combines traditional Chinese cinema with the hallmarks of spaghetti Westerns. Set in the eastern portion of the Silk Road, a popular eighth century Asian trade route, the film chronicles the stories of two heroes: Tang Dynasty imperial emissary Lai Xi (Kiichi Nakai) and soldier-turned-mercenary "Butcher" Li (Jiang Wen). After having served the Chinese emperor for some 20 years, Lai is eager to return home, though he must
complete a final task before doing so; specifically, tracking down Li, as he once led a mutiny against the emperor's orders. Li, meanwhile, is busy recruiting a caravan to help him escort a Buddhist monk to the capital of China. While Lai is successful in finding Li, they agree to postpone their duel-to-the-death until the monk has been safely transported. Of course, after dealing with marauding Turks, the heat of the desert, and local bandits, it becomes unclear whether either man will survive to kill the other. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
Warriors ransacks enough of the dust-swept battle genre (start with Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, and John Ford) to have no rousing or opulent B-movie personality of its own.
For eyes that have overindulged in the stylized razzle-dazzle of Hero, the grit, dust, and occasional cheese of Warriors of Heaven and Earth come as a corrective slap.
A solid entry in the genre of Far Eastern Westerns, with strong acting, a decent-enough script, some fun recognizable conventions, and action that's choreographed not to be poetic, but to reflect the grit of the Chinese West of the 8th century.
Takes all the elements of the classic Westerns, mixes them with Eastern spiritualism, and comes out with a film that is at least noteworthy, if not especially brilliant.
Presiding over it all is an absurdly indestructible baddie who combines Zamfir's mastery of the pan flute with a flawless mimicry of Prince circa Purple Rain.
For most of its two-hour running time, it's a pretty solid action yarn that echoes both the swordsman epics of Akira Kurosawa, as well as some of the Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns.
This is a film you have to give about 15-20 minutes to before you give up on it. If you're willing to invest the time, there is an incredibly rich story waiting for you, replete with honor, duty, respect and love. Wonderful movie, but just give it a minute to grow on you. Well done film.
No quotes approved yet for Warriors of Heaven and Earth (Tian di ying xiong). Logged in users can submit quotes.
Submit a Quote from 'Warriors of Heaven and Earth (Tian di ying xiong)'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
Top Critic
