Leofwine_draca THE BANQUET is the Chinese martial arts retelling of Shakespeare's HAMLET, a play with which I'm very familiar. The problem here is that THE BANQUET jettisons most of the good stuff leaving a flabby, overlong production that often looks fantastic but has no substance to go with the style. Almost all of the high drama from the original play has been removed and instead we get a familiar tale of court intrigue and a tyrannous emperor.I really wanted to like this film, and the limited martial arts action is quite nice, with some HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS-inspired wirework and even a few gore effects thrown into a mix. It's a shame, then, that the characters are so resolutely one-dimensional and the entire storyline feels dragged out, particularly at the climax (which is hugely anti-climatic, given that the entire film builds towards it).The cast do the best they can with the limited material. Daniel Wu is okay as the Hamlet character, but he's been better elsewhere (like ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK). Ziyi Zhang is pretty good - and detestable - as the scheming Empress, and the others rarely disappoint; it's just a shame that the story is so lacking and that ambiguous ending just feels silly. Check out the same year's CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER: it's a similar milieu, a similar storyline, and MUCH better.

J_Charles this film is beautiful to look at. Scenery is great, the way the scenes are set up, the colours and the lighting are fantastic. Even the actors are beautiful to look at - Zhang Zhi Yi is at her sensual best.The story did have some interesting twists but not too many which is why some on here are complaining it's not 'complex' or 'layered' enough. But compared to a regular Hollywood film and this one is much better.The acting is uneven. Daniel Wu had a tough time adding any depth to his morose character. I guess he's the Chinese version of Hayden Christenson. Zhang Zhi Yi really shines as does Zhou Xun. Ge You also plays the usurping emperor with passion and adds a bit of humanity to him - he's not just an evil bad guy to be hated.8/10

vicdragon19-1 Having high anticipations for this film, in particular it was a Shakespeare play adaptation i was fond of (Hamlet),the story suits the betrayal and revenge themes that most wuxia films are evolved upon. Yet, I could not really feel any feeling towards the characters, and the fight scenes don't really display anything that makes the violence truly horrific for such a tragic story. The acting is good, Ziyi Zhang showing another compelling performance. Many of the scenes feel a bit oddly shot, as though it doesn't really capture the characters true feelings. The ending ( i wont say anything about it) is also a tad confusing, but i'm assuming is meant to be symbolic of tragedy - see it for yourself and see if you understand.The similarities with Hamlet are very apparent, yet the real villain in the film is the queen. Shows an interesting twist to the characters. Its well worth a look.

dbborroughs Zhang Ziyi stars in a tale inspired by Hamlet. When the emperor marries his sons lover the son flees into the country. The Emperor is murdered by his brother who has designs on the wife and wants the son dead. Failing to fall victim to his uncles plot, the son returns to the palace and the family's bickering goes into over drive.The look of this film is mind blowing. from the sets, costumes, action sequences, and even the smallest motions of the actors, nothing seems out of place. This is a world that is both real and unreal. This is a film with a high Gee Whiz factor that must be seen in wide screen.Its a work of visual art.Unfortunately this is tough to sit through.I don't think its a bad film, its just one that I wish would get on with things. Many sequences, especially the action ones, seem to go on and on and on (especially since they are all shot in stylized slow motion). At other times things don't seem to have gone on long enough. Some of Zhang Ziyi early scenes left me a little confused as to what he deal was, she seemed more to be an actress trying to find a character instead of a real person on the screen. And while things got better as the film went on I never really bought her in the later scenes simply because of the fumbling early on. Worth a look for those who love on screen opulence or those who can be a bit more forgiving than I can with the pacing.This would make an interesting double feature with Curse of the Golden Flower, another tale of family dysfunction in ancient China