advancedfilesize
Synopsis: Zu Warriors concerns a reluctant fifth century soldier, who has wandered away from the endless wars in the land of Zu and finds himself entering a cave host to some demons. He is rescued from the demon's clutches by a magical swordsman, Master Ding, and follows the swordsman into battles against the evil Blood Demon. En-route, they form an uneasy alliance with two monks, but one of the monks becomes poisoned by the Blood Demon. The companions must seek to cure the monk or the whole world will fall under the Blood Demon's apocalypse. The young soldier becomes a disciple to Ding and gains special powers, and they travel to seek the help of the Mistress of the Ice Flame. It becomes clear that only a grand battle and the unity of the monk and soldier can save the day. Zu Warriors bears the hallmarks of early Hark films in that it is almost too clever for its own good. The sheer number of ideas and shifts of direction present in the film are almost too much for the viewer to absorb . As a director, Hark's intellectual energy is incredible and his efforts to create modern day parallels to his fantastical stories is one particular joy of his films. In Zu Warriors, the opening narration can be seen to draw an implicit comparison with 1980's pre handover Hong Kong when the land of Zu is described as the area of China “last to submit�