An Empress and the Warriors – DVD Review
The Film:
Sometimes you don’t really mind when a film resembles another film. An Empress and the Warriors is one such film, as it feels like a mixing pot of ideas and angles from Gladiator, Mulan, and Elizabeth, but it somehow doesn’t feel trite. I can see how the overly familiar ideas, could turn some people off, as it does hurt the film from being really good.
One of the immediate pleasing aspects of why I enjoyed the film, is the stunning cinematography from Lui Zhang Mu, who worked on the Jet Li film, Hero. The film opens up with a big battle between two armies, in the rain. The unique armor on the soldiers really stands out against the raining back drop, and these big wide shots within the forest are radiant. The fight sequences, and let’s face it since it is a Donny Yen film, are actually pretty restraint for the most part. Nixing the wuxia as seen in Hero, House of Flying Daggers, or the other Donny Yen epic, Seven Swords, this might be rather disappointing, for those who know of Donny Yen. For those who don’t, the film really doesn’t showcase his MMA style as seen in Kill Zone, but it’s more realistic for the time period. Don’t fret though, Yen kind of goes crazy towards the end, mixing a little martial arts into the film.
An Empress is essentially a remake of a remake from a story and a 1930s film, in that a king is killed, and the heir is his daughter, who must choose between love and a kingdom. I’m paraphrasing of course, but that’s it, in a nutshell. With 95 minutes to work with, it doesn’t offer up anything new, especially with my mentioning of how it felt like collection of better films. What keeps it interesting is the cinematography, it’s just so gorgeous, but also the acting. Donny Yen started off as just a martial artist with no real emotion outside of just kicking butt. Lately, with this and Ip Man, he’s coming into his own, and while something like An Empress doesn’t offer him much to emote, the ending battle showcases that with the right material, he can act. Now, the film’s all about Kelly Chen, who briefly shined in Infernal Affairs, as the so-called empress. Not known for her martial art skills, she handles the action as a pro, and very convincingly. The film doesn’t portray her as some master of fighting, but again, realistically depicting a variety of skills, you’d believe her to have studied. This is really displayed in the end battle, but I also enjoyed her in the action scenes against the goblin masked assassins in the middle of the film.
An Empress and the Warriors is by no means a classic, but it is a good film. The Eastern feel to the film, at least in this Westerner’s eyes, makes for an interesting ancient epic, with some odes to Braveheart, but like that’s a bad way to be compared, just don’t expect a martial art film.
The DVD:
Audio/Video: Dragon Dynasty offers up another stellar transfer. While one wishes this was one Blu-ray, especially for the raves I’ve given the cinematography, it’s still a detailed and beautiful transfer. The audio is as dynamic as one would expect, especially in the battle scenes. Good low end, clear dialogue, while not demo material, still a good offering.
Commentary: Bey Logan delivers another informational track, covering all aspects of the film, from production, to his set visits, to the differences between the original Chinese cut to the US cut. He fills the running time with enough material to make it worth listening to again.
Making of: A pretty good piece on the production with interviews and behind-the-scenes info, all subtitled. I say it’s a good companion piece to the commentary, but hardly essential.
Conclusion: Dragon Dynasty offers up another great release, even if the film is has a “been there, done that” feel. Donny Yen fans will check it out regardless, all others rent.
The Film: Rating: 
The DVD: Rating: 
