Yin-Yang Master I

While the opening scene visually suggests the film will play out as a cross between Doctor Strange & Mortal Kombat, the film delivers a story that’s more reminiscent of LeGuin's works. With both an excessive & entertaining amount of CGI, the film is fun in a B-movie way, though does suffer from some stilted acting. I liked the character building done through mystery-solving, even if some scenes are given gravitas with no payoff and seemingly important details are clumsily slotted in later.

A fantasy movie with a neat little whodunnit at the core. I really liked the sense of scale it brought to the setting. Imperial City is huge. Snake is ginormous. A bit rushed, but manages to be both amusing and touching. Whole movie is just gorgeous and I'm going to add five points because dudes take of their shirts in the last part.

A floaty Chinese tale of Empress and the guardians protecting her from evil spirits. There is a clean style to it. Doesn't always translate excitement, but it's accomplished vision.

With two independent adaptations in the span of two years and a muddied difference between and confusingly, multiple titles for each, this is strangely reminiscent of how Hong Kong's film making practices a strange wild west, anything goes mentality that is both frustrating and extremely amusing. Each of the two Yin Yang master films have distinct strengths, the other one has better fantasy and effects, this one has a better, easier to understand story, pick your poison.