The Promise (2005)

Wonderful Film for Fans of Asian Cinema and Anime

The Promise is an exquisite film full of lush colors and unique characters all wrapped up in a great fantasy setting. There is some initial silliness during the time the main character is introduced; however, it is disposed of rather quickly and the remainder of the film is a wonder to behold. If you enjoy Asian films or anime (Japanese Animation) you will enjoy the characters in this film and the unique world they inhabit. If you enjoyed Hero or House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon you'll like this. August 25, 2008

Mandarin Mediocrity

The visuals are neither "breathtaking" nor is the action "heart-stopping," as the cover would have you believe. In fact, most of the props look like they were made with with sheet tin and spray paint, and *I* could have done better martial arts choreography. =/

This is not a bad movie. It's simply not a *good* one. I tolerate it because I have a weakness for Asian fantasy armor, and honestly that and an interestingly done romantic triangle are only reasons to buy this movie.

Unlike previous films coming out of China, showcasing their wealth of raw human talent with spectacular martial artists, acrobats and set designers; The Promise plays like a B-movie by making the mistake of attempting epic scope with a shoestring budget. Very sad. =/

In many respects this movie plays very similarly to a previous Korean film called Musa: The Warrior. Both feature a similar love triangle (slave, general, princess); the armor of the major characters attempts similar grandiosity; in both we are given the weak *suggestion* of a cast of thousands (in Musa by representing the entire Mongol hoard with a dozen or so badguys who change costumes; in The Promise by using bad CG), and in both the viewer gets the distinct impression that there's a great deal left to be desired.

UNLIKE Musa, some of the actors in The Promise can actually act -and Dong-Kun Jang and Cecilia Cheung deliver excelent and emotive performances as the slave and the princess. Previous commentors have noted that while most of the acting in this movie seems wooden or trite, there are indeed several moving scenes, and they're all when these two are put together on screen.

If you have watched The Warrior and enjoyed it -I did, despite its obvious lackings- you will enjoy this. This isn't a deep, resonant morality play like Curse of the Golden Flower, and it isn't a luxurious spectacle like House of Flying Daggers. It CERTAINLY isn't anything like the masterpieces that Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon were.
It's an okay movie. Enjoy it or avoid it for what it is. May 5, 2008

Stunning!

I just purchased and watched this movie for the first time and I have to say, having watched many films from this genre, this ranks up there with the best of them!

The ONLY unfortunate think about this movie is the fact that the filmmakers decided it was BEST to leave most of the deleted scenes out. After watching them, I felt they should've stayed in the film, they were GREAT scenes, and they added A LOT of explanation to the story line.

Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the film! April 27, 2008

The visuals are breathtaking, but

the story, is a fable/fairy tale that has been around for ages, "watch out what you wish for because you may just get it". This was a visually beautiful film, which, I think, with maybe a few "adult scenes" deleted, could be suitable for children. I also thought it was a little too long. Like a lot of Asian movies of late, it's all about overblown set design, and wispy storylines. I liked it but wouldn't buy it. February 1, 2008

One of the Three BEST movies I have ever seen!!!

"The Promise" is one of the 3 best movies that I have ever seen, the other two being "Bichunmoo" and "The Restless." It has an excellent story-line and plot structure one of the best that I have seen. Unlike the other two movies that I just mentioned it has a happy ending, which makes it very good in my opinion. The cinemetography is also very well put together making the move both visually and mentally appealing.

This is also one of the few movies that I have ever seen which seems to portray longevity as a positive feature. Most movies condemn it as evil or something to that effect which always struck me as insane and stupid and turned me off from lots of movies like "Aeon Flux" among others.

More than one of the other reviewers on here has said they disliked it or couldn't follow it, but weren't reading the subtitles. That is entirely understandable. In most movies, in order to understand the plot, you must listen to what the actors are saying. There really is no other way. That being said, the plot is complex, which is one of the reasons that I like it so much. Most movies of the past few years are very simplistic and, therefore, in my opinion boring and unsophisticated. This one is not, which makes it much superior to them. January 9, 2008

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