The White Dragon (2004)

A young noblewoman falls in love with a prince of the imperial house. By accident she acquires the martial arts skills of the white dragon. New in her power she learns there are advantages in performing good deeds. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 07/24/2007 Starring: Ceilia Chung Shiu Hung Hui Run time: 93 minutes Rating: Pg13 Product Description

Not at all what I was expecting. No House of Flying Daggers here...

Okay, from about the second I turned this movie on I said "what the hell?"

The English dub starts out with basically a valley girl accent that doesn't appear to fit the movie whatsoever. The movie then goes from bad to worse, with something approximating the Chinese equivalent of a US high school, but set who-knows-when...

The problem with the movie isn't so much the movie itself (though it's pretty bad, if you're not prepared for what it actually is)... The problem is that it's marketed all wrong. By comparing the movie to House of Flying Daggers, a certain expectation is set up that the movie in no way shape or form lives up to.

The bottom line on this movie is that it's largely a satire on the martial arts genre. That's fine and all, but attempting to mask that and make the promotional text on the package make it seem like it's in the realm of other high class, artistic, well-written, and moreover SERIOUS martial arts dramas is disingenuous at the minimum.

If the packaging had made clear that this is a SPOOF of the martial arts genre, I would be less upset about purchasing it. In fact, I WOULD HAVE PURCHASED IT just for that (as I happened to be looking for decent spoofs at the time).

So, I guess what I'm upset about is that the movie isn't what the box says it is.

Now, getting past that, the movie actually has a few rather funny moments (a "power transfer bar," the whole scene rewinding when the heroine asks someone to repeat herself, etc.)... But it's also mixed up with a romantic storyline that tries to be slightly serious. Unfortunately, that puts it at odds with the comedy, and I don't really think it works. If it's going to be funny, and a bit slapstick, it should be funny throughout and not try to redeem itself with romantic drama, etc.

I'd class this closer to send-ups like Kung Pow - Enter The Fist, Where Is Mama's Boy, Kung Phooey! and Shaolin Soccer than films with serious artistic / dramatic intent like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, Iron Monkey, Jet Li's Fearless, House of Flying Daggers, The Legend of the Black Scorpion or Curse of the Golden Flower.

If you're looking for comedy, try this or the former movies. If you're looking for drama and good martial arts, go for the latter ones. August 18, 2008

kung fu plus romantic comedy and a little Space Balls--in a good way

Many reviewers seemed to have missed the point of this movie. I'm not an expert on the genre but I've seen enough to recognize a send up when I see it. I assume a good bit of the nuance may be lost in cultural translation. I got the same feeling I often have watching Japanese movies: that some basic background ideas that are culture-based are just not available to me.

Other reviews have gone into great details on the plot and such but not given a clear idea of why this movie is such a strange mix. It's really full of quotations and references to other movies. Space Balls probably (actually does) seem pretty stupid if you're not a fan of Star Wars and I'm sure this movie seems pretty stupid (especially if your sense of humor is out to lunch) if you're not a fan of those super serious kung fu movies (that do, for that matter seem a bit silly from the outside with all that flying around on wires and stuff.)

I enjoyed this one beginning to end precisely because once I latched on to the fact that the whole thing was being made as a (somewhat lost in translation) joke I "got it." I think the scene at an ancient Chinese (name of major international coffee chain with a round green logo here) cafe was pretty much a tip off. My take is that the blind fighter isn't a COPY of some other movie's character. Rather it's poking affectionate fun at the conventions of the genre. The same with the over-the-top wire work. This is not a cheap knock-off of the crouching dragon crowd, it's an homage. And, please!, any movie in which our powerful heroine's primary concern is getting rid of zits is OBVIOUSLY not to be taken completely seriously.

Beyond that, the acting, particularly for the two main characters was quite charming and conveyed some very real and moving emotions. I am lazy and watch the English dubbing usually but the subtlety and expression on these actors' faces shines through powerfully. Their work gave an element of reality and believability to the "romantic" part of romantic comedy. It's also quite nice to look at. The actors are either beautiful or interesting, the settings are both and the clothing is nothing to sneeze at either. Nice colors.

All in all, if you are familiar with other froth-at-the-mouth serious movies in this category, if you're equipped with some sense of humor, if you can tolerate or even enjoy a quite nice romance between the traditional mismatched couple created by two excellent actors and yes, if you like fights in bamboo forests this is a good movie to see. Plus, as other reviewers pointed out, it's nice that for once everyone isn't dead or broken-hearted at the end. November 3, 2007

good humor

great movie for action fans as well as some good comedy it would be nice to have a part 2 the movie is that great.I would recommend to all ages. August 31, 2007

Fantastic Romance, Martial Arts, Touch of Comedy

Some Idiot compared this film to Seven Swords and The Emporer and the Assassin ...he is simple minded when it comes to Asian Arts and Films...This isn't to be put in the Category of those films....This is a Martial Arts / Romance about a Stuck up girl and a Humble man who was a mercenary for hire who saved his money to receive his sight....Two who wound up falling in love...It is Great!..A Worth See...But don't watch it in it's Original Language First IF you plan on watching it in English Dubbed..Cause the Original Language is BEST! and the English Dubbed is rather Stupid and don't fit the characters AT ALL! ....Enjoy This Film... July 19, 2007

A different type of Martial Arts film from a Huge Romantic

I loved this movie. Wow no more sad or depressing ending!!!! Finally love prevails. I am huge fan of Martial Art movies but someone always dies or misses an opportunity for love. This movie was great. June 11, 2007

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