Starring: Andy Lau Tak-wah, Ahn Sung-ki, Wang Zhiwen, Fan Bingbing
Director: Jacob Cheung Chi-leung
Category: IIA (Putonghua)
The Christmas blockbuster season gets off to an early start with a substantial narrative that eventually gets bogged down by an artificial love interest for superstar Andy Lau Tak-wah. Director-writer Jacob Cheung Chi-leung's Putonghua adaptation of the critically acclaimed Japanese manga, set in China during the Warring Kingdoms era two millennia ago, is at times spellbinding and thought-provoking, with a strong anti-war message. The battle scenes rank among the cleverest yet for a Hong Kong-mainland co-production. All the more frustrating, then, when the film resorts to generic plotting and forced sentimentality.
Ge Li is Lau's most philosophical role since Running on Karma (2003). Sporting a beard rather than a muscle suit, Lau endows the warrior pacifist with a stellar refinement lacking in the original manga, a quality that takes the edge off the character but undoubtedly looks better on screen. The script laudably does not restrict the philosophy so integral to Ge's being. He is a disciple of Mozi, whose anti-Confucian school of thought stresses the principle of universal love rather than blind obedience to authoritarian leaders. As such Ge is something of a paradox, a genius at battle strategy who will only practise his craft when coming to the aid of realms under siege. Such is the case of the tiny Liang kingdom, which faces annihilation by the powerful Zhao.
The plot is hardly a simple one and requires a great deal of exposition, handled here in a manner more lucid than in the usual historical sagas. Of particular interest is the movie's sympathy for the common folk who bear the brunt of war to a far greater extent than the emperors, lords, and ministers who are so often the main focus of these epics. Though peasants are minor players in A Battle of Wits, their plight, and Ge's concern for their well-being, is sometimes more captivating than the palace intrigues surrounding the Liang emperor (Wang Zhiwen) and his impetuous son (South Korean newcomer Choi Si-won).