andrei-kivu
Now, reading through the reviews here I see there are obviously two kinds of people: ones who get it, and ones who don't. Get what? one might ask. That this film is not to be taken seriously by any means. Yes, it's badly presented (myself too was expecting something in the vein of Hidden Dragon/Flying Daggers). But it has nothing to do with them whatsoever. What it is it's a romantic comedy/parody. Anyone looking for "action", "drama", "fight scenes", should look somewhere else. Of course, it's a weak film, but I kinda liked the goofiness of it. When I saw the copying files animation when a character was transferring her powers, I was like "ok, hold on, what is going on here?". Of course most of the attempts at comedy are pathetic. It is indeed a high-school comedy transported in medieval China. Everything works out at the end and you feel a warm feeling of completeness. Some (ok maybe one) of the dances of the blind man I found quite well done. I repeat - the film is a goofy little flick, easy too watch, hyper predictable. If you expect anything else from it you will be disappointed. And how funny life is - I don't know what curiosity pushed me to find a little more of the main actors. Oh boy. The main character - Cecilia Cheung involved in a major sex scandal?! To see the fearless warrior, White Dragon performing fellatio on a guy?! Oh, the irony.
henry325
If you have ever watched a 90s Hong Kong action/comedy...say city hunter with jackie chan (ie: Jackie chan as Chun Li from street fighter) then you know just how unserious these movies can be. This is an example of it (this genre happens to be one of my favorites). This movie has managed to incorporate jokes from the new millenia into the a feudal china setting. If you aren't entertained by a teenage girl smashing a sitar on a pillar in rock star form and then crowd surfing, then this movie might not be for you. If you are however just looking to be entertained and don't really care if the movie is real quality or not then this will do. The story isn't really innovative, the jokes are pretty cheesy, the lines are pretty cheesy too, but you know if people didn't make these types of movies then there wouldn't be a cliché or a norm. So take it for what it is, a silly movie designed to entertain you with out a lot of drama or required brain power. It's a movie, it's job was to entertain, it did for the most part. I could probably do without the last couple of minutes of the movie.6/10, it is average for the most part, Cecilia Chung looks pretty cute in this movie. The blind guy...just looks goofy or like hes having seizures. You might say I have no taste, I say don't be so picky, you might starve to death.
revolutioner
Saw this on a double bill with "Springtime in a Small Town".What an odd pairing!"Springtime" was a deliberately paced, beautiful period piece and "The White Dragon" was an in-your-face laugh riot.Another movie patron warned me that I would be wasting my time, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Never laughed so hard at an Asian film!A lot of sight gags but Francis Ng's over the top performance won me over. Cecilia Cheung does a credible job as his foil.Certainly not "high art", but if you desire a little levity and silliness, you won't be disappointed.The late afternoon-evening that I spent watching these two films is one of my favorite solo adult experiences, so they'll always hold a place in my heart.
sarastro7
When I saw Cecilia Cheung for the first time in The Legend of Zu (2001), I was immediately struck (if not smitten) by her beauty, and I hurriedly started looking for her in other movies. After a bunch of modern-day dramas (slightly boring, truth be told), she's finally back in a fantasy martial arts epic, looking better than ever.I was immensely thrilled to find White Dragon, and I was elated as I saw the first twenty minutes of it. There is so much cool action, so many great laughs; so much delightful entertainment.The rest of the movie is not bad, but it slows down a great deal to focus on building up the love story. It has many of the same plot elements that other Asian movies of this type has; someone is blind (yet a superb kung fu master), the girl is betrothed to another but can't help falling in love with the hero (yes, just like in House of Flying Daggers), and the love story completely takes over the movie after about a half-hour opening of great action and comedy (the great 2002 comedy Chinese Odyssey had the exact same structure). This is a little disappointing; one would really have liked the action and comedy to be sustained throughout the movie.However, it's still an uproariously entertaining, beautiful and funny movie, and the actors all do an amazing job.8 out of 10.