Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

MBunge I haven't watched a lot of Chinese cinema, but Warriors of Heaven and Earth seems to be part of a uniquely Chinese genre - the martial arts movie that preaches the importance of loyalty to the state.Lai Xi (Nakai Kilchi) is a Japanese warrior who has spent most of his life in China, serving the Emperor with his prodigious skill and strength. Xi has been given two oddly disparate missions. He is to both safeguard an important young woman on her way from the Western regions of China to the capitol, and he's also to hunt down and bring to justice the renowned outlaw "Butcher" Li (Jiang Wen). Li was once a solider in the Emperor's army, but he rebelled at being ordered to slaughter unarmed women and children. Li and his loyal men became mercenaries, until Li's men settled down in an isolated village while the "Butcher" pursued his destiny alone. Wandering through the desert, Li is saved by a convoy that's taking valuable Buddist artifacts to the imperial capitol. Xi and Li finally meet, and after a brief sword fight, Xi agrees to allow Li to escort the convoy to the Emperor and only kill him after that mission is complete. But, both Xi and Li have to save the convoy from Master An (Wang Yuengi), who seeks the convoy's artifacts to help his Turkish allies control China's Western regions. Through combat, deprivation and hopelessness, Xi and Li fight on…until the story ends with a rather strange, "Look! It's magic" conclusion.The first thing to know about this film is that it is not a wildly exaggerated, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", people-flying-through-the-air-with-super-powers martial arts movie. There are a couple of moments of so-called "wire-fu", but this is a much more realistic adventure and I think it's the better for it. Some people really get off on the intricately complex, ballet-like conventions of modern martial arts films, but I prefer action scenes that bear some resemblance to what can happen in actual life.There are certain aspects of the story that don't make sense or don't seem to hang together that well, but this is a foreign film so it's hard to tell if anything is actually missing or if I am just missing certain cultural or social themes that a Chinese audience would easily recognize.Even with all that, there's some good acting here. Jian Wen and Nakai Kilchi create very different characters without big scenes to show off in. Lai Xi has a decidedly aristocratic air to him, while "Butcher" Li is a solider much more used to the muddy trench. Several of the other characters are also allowed some depth.The theme of loyalty to the state running through Warriors of Heaven and Earth isn't something you see much in cinema from other countries. Loyalty is usually something between individuals, not between a person and a ruling government. Yet, I've seen a few Chinese films that strongly stress the nobility, honor and necessity of sacrificing oneself for the betterment of the nation. It's a very communitarian, as opposed to individualistic, concept of heroism.Warriors of Heaven and Earth is a pretty straight-forward adventure tale that's enjoyable on its own, but it also might teach you a little bit about modern Chinese culture…or at least the culture that's being propagated at this particular time.

sillybuddha Very similar in theme to a Western, including absolutely stunning scenery of Chinese desert mountain ranges and lush pine forests like those often seen in cowboy movies. A bunch of retired war buddies loyally follow their ex-commander on one last mission to protect a mysterious caravan journeying to the capital. The positive points about the film include the charming performances from Wen Jiang as the leader, Kiichi Nakai as the Imperial agent and Deshun Wang as 'Old Die-hard' who really lend the picture some gravitas and show total commitment to their performances. Xueqi Wang is especially good as an arrogant villain, his dead blue-eyed stare evoking cold menace. As others have mentioned, the scenery is stunning, with lovely shots of camels crossing the desert and horses along rocky plateaus. The film really is a chance to see landscapes ignored by Hollywood. The religious element to the cargo so disdained by other reviewers was a nice little touch, something I did not expect - it had to be an artifact of this nature to raise the stakes and commit the soldiers to protecting it. For those with an interest in Buddhism it is a nice little element. Sadly the Buddhist precept of doing no harm is not followed by the plot when the relics kill the evildoers - perhaps not what Lord Buddha would do. I was also unsure if the monk was supposed to be Shakyamuni Buddha himself? Xueqi Wang's character seemed to recognise him at the end - was he a reincarnation? I had to watch the movie twice to fully understand what was going on - sudden cuts leave out portions of action, explained away by such narration as 'they gave up the chase and we arrived at the fortress' - there's a fair bit of telling rather than showing. The ending is particularly sudden, once the relics dispose of the baddies we aren't even sure which of our heroes are alive - we just suddenly jump to the capital. The fight scenes are frenetic but are deliberately filmed in close shots and in a rapid-fire confusing manner, meaning we are never sure who is fighting whom and who is winning. Most of these problems, I suspect are down to lack of budget or time. The film has beautiful scenery, some very nice locations at desert forts and towns, an interesting visual combination of Chinese and Arab cultures, and an undemanding Western style plot with some nice tense battles and good performances. You don't really care about the characters as individuals, but you want them to succeed.

nickav-1 This film was a really great surprise. The characters were a lot of fun without being goofy or two-dimensional, and the story was complicated enough to be interesting without being overwrought and confusing. The locations were beautiful, and the costuming was great, too. The action was practically non-stop -- lots of chases and sword fights. It didn't have any of the hokey mysticism that so often appears in films like this (although there was a lot of acrobatic swordplay), opting instead for a grittier approach (with a notable exception or two). Definitely worth seeing.

Zeuz Ruse Read at your own risk. Don't waste your good money watching it. This movie just reaffirmed my decision not to watch Hero. I had the chance and figured it would be Americanized with implausible plots. One of the aspect I enjoyed was the cinematography. In one scene, the camera looked up at Lieutenant Li reminiscent of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Parts of the sound track was enjoyable, more so if father dearest didn't open his mouth and buries the good dialogue way way below the obnoxiously loud music. Dear Ping He, please watch either volume of Kill Bill and learn how to mix soundtracks. Finally about the second viewing, my ears adjusted and picked up the words. I suppose the slightly jarring music was a foreshadowing of the sloppy weaving of the story leaving gaping holes where the audience is left to fill them in. For example, what is the Japanese doing at the military post? what was the relationship between Japan and Tang Dynasty? Wen Zhu (played by beloved formerly saucy Huan Zhu Ge Ge) didn't receive a decent chance to break out of the pretty girl mold. Instead, poor dear was reduced to narrate the obvious like when they were sneaking of the Big Steed Post (their translation, not mine), "Lai Qi spotted them heading for Red Rock Gorge. He didn't want the bandit steal the caravan, nor does he want Li killed until they reach the capital." (not word for word) This is only slightly less painful than Legolas stating "those are orc horns." Bah!I can't say that I know the costume from Tang Dynasty but the helmets look suspiciously like shiny plastic. I could be wrong. I could also be wrong but half way through the movie, there were more camels than they started with. The key parts of the journey cuts through the desert. If they were true desert people, even with wells, Master An would not give water/spit at Lai Qi, nor would the girl take a luxurious bath. And what is with the mysticism of the pagoda? If the plot is believable and characters true to their environment, anything valuable could replace the pagoda. Anyone who thinks this is good need to watch Chinese television series Yang Jia Jang about the rise and fall of a family of warriors serving their emperor. Or San Quo Yang Ye/Tale of Three Kingdoms.