Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8069 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-03-23
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Synopsis
When the ancient King of a proud Chinese Kingdom is killed, the throne passes to his only daughter, Yan Feier (Kelly Chen – INFERNAL AFFAIRS). Ill-prepared for the rigours of leadership that lie ahead, she relies heavily on her father’s most trusted General, Muyong (Donnie Yen - HERO). But when she is poisoned by her envious cousin, Wu Ba (Leon Lai – SEVEN SWORDS), she flees, choosing love over duty, and leaving the ever-loyal Muyong to stand alone against the insidious forces that threaten to tear their nation apart. Will the Kingdom be lost forever, or can Feier summon the courage her bloodline demands and return to fight her enemies and assume her rightful place at the head of the nation?

Customer Reviews

Love or duty?
What's it about?
Yen Feier (Kelly Chen), through turmoil, must take up the mantle "Empress of Yan kingdom" and repel the invading neighbouring armies of Zhao. With Champion, Muyong Xuehu (Donnie Yen) to support her military inexperience, Feier must overcome full scale war and the internal strife that undermines her authority.
Along the way, Feier became mortally wounded in battle but was nursed back to full health by the reclusive hermit, Duan Lanquan (Leon Lai).
With Feier struggling between newfound peace and duty, could Muyong continue to hold the kingdom of Yan in his Empress absence?

Depress
Characters
The glaring thing I did not like is how the antagonist seemed to able, shall I say, disrupt or set their actions in motion without a hitch and in a casual fashion too. Only the most innocent minded would turn a blind eye what they were capable of.

Empress
Cast
Donnie Yen (Kill zone) plays his heroic usual self that would occupy the action fans. Kelly Chen (Infernal Affairs) shoulders the burden of her role admirably. Leon Lai (Infernal Affairs 3, City Hunter, God of Gamblers 3) seemed to able juggle his role between hermit and guardian well.
Costumes
Despite the lack of memorable stage settings, the elaborate armour suits gave this film a unique feel.
Action
No wirework. Well, not as much as "Crouching tiger, Hidden Dragon" anyway. The battle scenes are "Gladiator" inspired and the noises is top notch too.
Romance
The romance scenes and the triangle conflicts between the leads would appeal to the female masses.

Arguably, there are better far east costume films out there. What I mean is it did not quite have the compelling story of "Hero", and I doubt it will gain global recognition as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". But "The Empress and the warriors" supplement the genre well enough to entertain.

Enjoyed it? Have you also seen
Swordsman 2, Curse of the Golden Flower, Red Cliff 1, 2, Warlords, Odd Couple,

An Empress and the Warriors
This is good. This is what Asian Movies are about. The action is excellent. The story is quite good. It is very well filmed. This is highly recommended and thoroughly enjoyable. Very praise-worthy and a must see!

Cheesy romance, a little bit of humour and and even smaller bit of warfare.
Here we have another instalment in the 'Warring states era of China' films.

Although it doesn't quite live up to its competitors in the field: Hero, Curse of the golden flower, Battle of wits or Banquet it is still in its own right a valid entry.

The plot of this film is a classic love story loosely set in the 5 Dynasty - 10 Kingdoms Period of ancient China. At times during the film it seems as if the director has forgoten whether he is trying to make an epic war film or a romantic comedy. And because of this it unfortunately fails to deliver on either levels.

Whilst there are a few well known celebs in this film: Donnie Yen, Kelly Chan and Leon Lai this to unfortunately fails to bolster the films credentials. As there parts are at the best shallow and their acting quite wooden.

The directing and production of this film is nothing more than you'd expect for this type of film and the Special effects are minimal and if anything shied away from.

The lows of the film are the short battle scenes and sense of direcetion. Whilst a particular individual fight scene from Donnie Yen towards the end of the film makes it actually worth buying. Don't want to give too much away but: Donnie Yen, 1 huge sword and about a 100 enemies. Also the costumes in the film are particulary good, but I doubt you'll be buying it for this reason.

If you are a newcomer to this Genre I would invest in some of the above mentioned titles before averting your attention to this film.

But for true fans of the genre, although it isn't the best film of its kind I still feel its worth adding to the collection, if bought at a bargain.

All in all - A cheesy romance set against the backdrop of feudral China.