Customer Reviews

The Duel

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

THE DUEL is the kind of film that gains a solid reputation by the talent involved (the ever-reliable Andy Lau, Ekin Cheng, Patrick Tam, Nick Cheung, etc.), despite the fact that the story -- a "duel to end all duels" between the God of Swords and a member of the royal family -- is medicore, at best, riddled with bad jokes, confusing dialogue, and unexplored relationships.

Yek Koo Sing (Lau) requests he be granted "the duel" with the God of Swords, and the Emperor reluctantly agrees ... however, the man sends (agent) Dragon 9 to investigate, despite the fact that there is very little to investigate, as the viewers is soon to learn.

While the special effects for THE DUEL are especially good throughout, they're also annoyingly intrusive to the storyline: during the climactic final sword battle between the God of Swords and Yek Koo Sing, there is plenty of metal clanking and flash lightning despite the fact that the two opponents rarely even touch swords! While much of the battle is symbolic, it's still a very unusual creative choice made by the folks behind the film.

While this duel apparently has spawned more than four films, over 10 television series, and many books, the story is reduced to a battle which lasts less than five minutes in a (roughly) two hour film. The rest of the film centers upon a series a unsignificant romances, incidental secondary battles, and crude sophmoric humor. Was it the writer's intent to turn this epic struggle into a comedy? If it wasn't, then the film suffers from horrific editing, as the first hour is primarily a study in using foul language.

Still, it's hard not to recognize the merits of THE DUEL. It is well-edited and well-photographed, and, for the most part, the performers all hit their marks. Andy Lau -- when he's given the chance -- brings greater focus and depth to the picture, though he appears miscast here.

I liked this movie more than most reviewers here did. I am a fan of Hong Kong/martial arts movies, but that doesn't mean that they all have to feature endless fight scenes. This one has only three good action scenes, but the rest of the movie is entertaining and well done, and well worth seeing.

But the DVD sucks! I dislike any non-anamorphic DVDs, and with this one it was impossible to find the right aspect ratio to watch it in. Plus the video transfer was poor; very soft, with muted colors. And one thing I've never seen before - the time references were coded by layer. When you start the movie, it shows it as being only 50-some minutes long. Then when it switches to the second layer (a unusually long delay, by the way), the time notation start over from zero again. Very odd.

I'd buy this movie in a second if they would release a decent version of it on DVD. For such a recent, highly-regarded film, this DVD is shockingly bad. That makes it hard to rate; I gave it 4 stars because of the movie itself. But the DVD gets one star.

Just to reiterate the facts already stated by previous reviewers, this movie does NOT feature endless swordplay. There are a few isolated and mostly brief swordfighting scenes, most of which are of a "supernatural" nature (plenty of gravity-defying stunts, little actual bloodshed.) It seems like the filmmakers had already had their fun making Storm Riders, and decided to focus a little more on story this time around.

Slightly misleading is the cover featuring popular actors Ekin Cheng and Andy Lau. Both of which feature prominently in the story, but neither of which has the most screen time. Agent #9 is the investigator who spends the bulk of the film making saucy wisecracks or solving the mystery of a killer on the loose. The ending, to me at least, was a surprise, which should be a decent payoff for a slowly-paced film such as this. Which is good, since the final battle scene ("The Duel" if you will) is too short and anti-climactic for being the crescendo of the entire movie.

Plenty of love-interest storylines, plenty of innuendo jokes, some swordfighting, a large cast, and in general a solid film. Just don't be expecting Crouching Tiger, Iron Monkey, or Dragon Inn, and you won't be disappointed.

after reading a lot of reviews this movie seemed to have mixed emotions from a few folks, so i rented it instead of buying it, and thank god i did. this movie is bad. there is zero kung fu or real sword play in this movie. the title is very misleading.
this is a cheesy comedy at best. i give it one star because i laughed a few times, i gave it the second star because Zhao Wei is in the film, one of the hottest woman on earth. don't buy this movie thinking its going to look great next to Hero and CTHD and Iron Monkey, this movie is crap compared to those films. did i mention everone flys around like superman? rent before you buy is all i can say.

I can't beleive how breathtaking this movie was. It may not have been all sword-fighting, but it was wonderful. Many of the other reviews on this movie are inaccurate, watch the movie for yourself. I would recommend renting it first, I would also recommend watching the subtitiled version first. Subtitile versions make a whole lot more sense than edited dubbed versions. Alot of the jokes are very funny, even if you aren't chinese you will get them, I did and I am not even asian.
On to the review, it basically stars Snow, the Sword Saint, Dragon 9, Imperial Police Detective and Snow's closest friend, Yip Ku-sing, and the God of Fighting. The God of Fighting challenges Snow to a dule atop of the Imperial Palace to see who is the greatest swordsman alive. But things go wrong before the actual duel, prompting Dragon 9 to investigate and find out what is going wrong. To tell anymore would spoil the movie, but I am sure this movie will amze you.
My last final piece of advice,remember its a fantasy.

First off I want to say that I totally enjoyed this film. Than let me say if you only watch the Hong Kong movies to see fights do not buy this movie. Don't be fooled by the name there are about two fights in this film. The rest of the film is funny and romantic. Dragon 9 is really the central character. He is really funny, but if you don't like Hong Kong humor you won't agree with me. The women are beautiful the men are tough and graceful, and overall this film hits every major theme love,action, and humor. This film is very entertaining and actually has a decent script. It is like a whodunit that actually has a good third act. If you watch Hong Kong film to be entertained, not just blown away by fighting than buy this movie right away it is really entertaining. If you want to just see a lot of fighting buy Iron Monkey, or Tai chi master also great movies.

I've long been a fan of Hong Kong action cinema, but I haven't seen many recent efforts. The Duel makes me think I was better off sticking to more of the output of Hong Kong's "Golden Age" in the 80s and early 90s.

The Duel tries to be all things to all people-- comedy, drama, mystery, romance, action and epic. But it fails to succeed at much of anything. The mystery is paper-thin and predictable, the action is almost non-existent, the comedy is childish, and the characters are too shallow for the drama or romance to have much impact.

There are a few effective moments here and there, and one or two good effects, but all told it's a tired retread of the complex and engaging elements that made the world stand up and take notice of Hong Kong cinema in the first place.

Furthermore, the fast-paced action and use of special effects to enhance fight scenes have become so much a part of American action films that, even though Hollywood still can't match Hong Kong for elegant and lightning-paced fights, nothing here will impress the Hong Kong film novice. Veterans of Hong Kong film will be similarly disappointed, because they've seen it all before-- and better-- in other movies.

Now that Hong Kong movies are widely available and inexpensive, anyone can find them with ease. The Duel isn't going to rock anyone's world, so try one of the 'classics' instead-- Hard Boiled, Dragon Inn, Supercop, Pedicab Driver, The Magnificent Butcher, and so many others. It's the twenty-first century, so why not make use of the Internet and start at the top?

Hong Kong action films are no longer just for the guys. More and more female viewers are discovering the pleasures of a well choreographed fight scene--not to mention the perfectly toned male bodies that dance them. The Duel is tailor-made for female viewers who may never have seen a martial arts movie not made expressly for Western audiences. Like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, it is visually breath-taking. Andy Lau as Yip Ku Sing brings a wonderful maturity and authority to the role. Ekin Cheng brings an unexpected depth to Saimoon Tsui Shi. Nick Cheung as Imperial Agent Dragon Nine is ably assisted in the comic relief by Vicki Zao Wei as Pricess Phoenix, royal brat. The special effects are impressive and actually help the story instead of getting in its way.

On the technical side, The Duel was filmed in Cantonese, but has dubbings in both Mandarin and English. It also has subtitles in English and it is entertaining and enlightening to compare the two. The sound quality is better in the Cantonese (the English isn't bad, just not as good). The special features include a "Making of" segment which is more informative than most American versions are.

As an American watching a translation, it's sometimes difficult to determine a film-maker's intent. Ever since "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," we in the West have had to re-evaluate martial arts cinema--it's not always about revenge. Sometimes, it seems pretty inexplicable. You know-- different culture, different philosophy, etc. (That's what I'm told, anyway. Since I don't speak Chinese, I couldn't exactly say WHAT gets lost in translation.)

Regardless of culture or genre, the big question always has to be: did you like the movie?

Well, yes, I liked it. I don't know if I get all of it, but I liked it. The action sequences and special effects are soundly executed without taking over the film. The actors are enjoyable to watch, and I actually got the jokes (there were many). At the end of the movie, I felt like I'd watched a story, and not just fluff. There was a theme and hidden plot behind all those flying people with swords. You gotta like that.

Despite the film's title and it's otherwise serious trailer, "The Duel" plays off as more of a slapstick comedy with interesting special effects, than the hybrid Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon/Matrix extravaganza it claimed to be. So, does this essentially make it a bad film? Yes, if you're martial arts fan looking for some great fighting scenes (that aren't all CGI enhanced) and a film with a serious tone. However, if you're looking for something more lighthearted and far less serious, this is film is for you.

Overall, "The Duel" will awe you with its special effects, beautiful cinematography and colorful characters. Where the film is weakened however, is in its plot, which is riddled with holes (especially the end), and its sometimes overdone humor. For the martial arts fans, remember that these actors are not martial artists, so anything spectacular is mostly done through computer enhancement rather than pure skill. For film buff, this movie may give you headache trying to make sense of it all, so I wouldn't recommend it. Watch "The Duel" for the special effects, "one-liners" and the mere campy charm of the whole film, because although there are moments of seriousness, they don't linger long...