Jin Gang Wang: Si wang jiu shu (2013) Reviews

• The yin and yang of a good movie

  blackmamba999712013-12-30

  Vajra, simply a title to one who has no defeat. This was a good film of action, despair, and the truth. In the life of one man who stood against all odds of Hades Shi,(Yu Xing) must fight against an opponent who is his equal. In the shrine of Hades children are taken away, and then sold as would be warriors to the shrine in order for them to spread the word of evil. Shi however does not see it that way after he killed his own brother with his own hand to prove to the shrine that he is a ready acolyte. Yet in his turmoil, left the shrine with a heavy conscience and became a disciple in a Shaolin temple. Years later he comes back to the shrine to stop his rival, and free the new batch of children taken away from their homes. In the middle is Eko (Yamei Zhang) who is a photo journalist in order for her to spread the truth about the shrine of it being a non-malignant entity. But to her seeing all of the killing within the ranks causes her to stop believing in lies, and become someone who must speak the real truth. It is a great action film set only in a shrine. Yet the different locations within this estate were always different, so it kept you wondering what's behind door number one or number two. The music was top notch, plus the actors themselves are always just as passionate when they deliver their lines. I particularly like Hiroyuki Ikeuchi who plays a bit part of a Hades acolyte. Even as small a part as his, he delivered brilliantly. Always a big fan of him since Ipman when he played the deranged Japanese general. For those who like martial arts at their best, this is it. Although not a fully hammered story, which simply means that this was an example of the classic Ying/Yang theory. Good versus evil, and the like. What it really amounts to is choice. To choose your own path to follow rather than blindly following a tyrant, and sink into despair soon after. Ultimately The Wrath Of Vajra is a great hero worship film, where the real heroes come out on top in victory. Recommended for those over fourteen.

  More

• A great Martial Arts movie!

  italiandragon3282014-03-27

  I will keep this short, this film was great!A unique concept and simple story carry this movie from point A to point B, while setting up plenty of fights and action! If you like martial arts movies, i'm sure you'll enjoy this.The movie has a darker tone to it, and characters are introduced appropriately. The choreography was very good for the most part, feeling gritty and with impact. I would've liked to see slightly longer shots in some of fight editing, but still, its a lot better than most of the stuff out there. The movie itself was shot beautifully. Certain scenes and setting (Shaolin / Hades) just look deep, and vivid. My verdict, if your into martial arts films, check it out!

  More

• Kung Fu meets MMA

  mjelcajonster2014-03-10

  This movie is bad ass! This is a classic Kung Fu style cinema with a modern day MMA influence. The subject matter is religious based (dogma,indoctrination) and coincides with the persecution of the Buddhist monks in China. It also incorporates the invasion of the Japanese in China. It may be a touchy subject for some but I took it for what it is...a fighting movie. There were your usual cheesy scenes that you would find in any Kung Fu movie but it wasn't too bothersome. The movie had a great musical score and the over dubs were not bad at all, except for the annoying kids. I highly recommend this movie if you're a fight fan or enthusiast. 7/10

  More

• Awful. Even for a fighting movie

  nitarsh2014-03-10

  I am an avid lover of martial arts movies, specially Chinese/Japanese movies. The good ones usually either have very good fight scenes, and/or motivating morals and/or good comedy scenes. This movie has none of them. Apart from the last couple of fight scenes, which too was uneventful, there is no real action here. Story was really lame and most lines contain the words "Hades" or "Vajra", neither of which is properly explained. Above all, it takes the whole china-japan war to a whole new (and stupid) level which only aims to create more discord and has no historical background. In all, a waste of time, will not recommend it to anybody.

  More

• B Movie With Decent Fighting

  bchang_22015-02-04

  Light on story, boring dialog, but that's okay because this is an action film. Acting is cringingly bad, even for an action film. This is basically a martial arts film made with a bunch of stunt men doing acting duty. The ones that do look the part/have decent acting, unfortunately can't fight. When the scene is stunt man vs stunt man, the fighting looks good, even when it's just an unimportant background fight. When the scene calls for stunt man vs non stunt man... the fight is boring even when it's the "featured" fight. Spoilers coming, although really there's not much to spoil. The hero has to fight three "bosses". The first boss fight is against a guy suffering from gigantism, like Andre the Giant, except without the athleticism. The guy basically poses in an uncoordinated way while the hero beats on him. This is a "look" actor, for his imposing size, no acting skills, no stunt work skills, boring fight. The second boss fight "Crazy Monkey" is actually crazy good. After you've managed to survive his acting, you will be rewarded with a very well choreographed and creative fight. This is a "stunt" actor, just like the hero. No looks, no acting skills, but excellent stunt work. The third and final fight is against the boss a.k.a. steroid boy. I had high hopes for steroid boy. He managed to pull off a menacing and driven persona, and looks quite impressively intimidating. Unfortunately this guy is no stunt man. He's slow, and not used to martial arts movements. Studio magic was used to fix this such as speeding up the frames, to varying amounts of success. But overall the fight ended up being pretty boring. This film gets a 6 from the strength of the Crazy Monkey fight alone, it is very well done. I would say fast forward and just watch the Crazy Monkey fight.

  More