Worth: $16.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Kris Phillips, Li Xuejian, Huang Bo, Yu Shi, Chen Muchi, Naran, Ci Sha, Wu Yafan, Xia Yu, Yuan Quan, Wang Luoyong, Hou Wenyuan, Huang Xiyan, Li Yunrui. Yang Le, Chen Kun
Intro:
A seamless blend of high fantasy, political intrigue, and traditional mythology ...
A seamless blend of high fantasy, political intrigue, and traditional mythology, Kingdom of Storms, the first entry in the Creation of the Gods trilogy heralds the welcome return of Wuershan, the Mongol born director who has proven himself one of China’s truest blockbuster auteurs.
Based on the classical fantasy novel Fengshen Yanyi, first published sometime in the 1550s during China’s Ming Dynasty, the acclaimed tome, under Wuershan’s singular vision, has received an adaptation comparable to Peter Jackson’s masterful execution of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, imbuing a beloved, yet dated narrative with a contemporary depth of complexity and a visual splendour that is nothing short of arresting on the big screen. In fact, The Creation of the Gods 1: Kingdom of Storms delivers Wuershan his most grand narrative yet, both in terms of storytelling and cinematic spectacle.
Essentially, Kingdom of Storms is the opening chapter of an epic trilogy, designed to introduce audiences to key players of China’s Shang Dynasty, the supernatural influences quietly corrupting the leading political family, and the agents of Heaven forced to intercede.
While the film does deliver a satisfying cluster of mythological players and ethereal special effects, Wuershan manages to ground his first chapter in a very human world of cruelty and Machiavellian twists, forging an effective breach for his audiences to enter and lose themselves within his established world. An attribute further enhanced by a number of committed performances from the impressive cast, led in part by Kris Phillips, who portrays King Zhou, the narcissistic head of the Shang Dynasty and deadly puppet to a manipulative Fox Demon.
While the political and personal intrigue centre the plot of Kingdom of Storms, the film in no way neglects its scope in terms of battles and sets, with tightly controlled ambition reminiscent of the grandeur seen in Game of Thrones’ most memorable battle sequences and the real-world details that hark back to Lord of the Rings military hardware and armour. All of which is given further gravity on screen thanks to a stellar score from Gordy Haab, best known for his work on the Star Wars Jedi game.
Creation of Gods 1: Kingdom of Storms is a worthy first chapter, managing to stand on its own as a cinematic spectacle. Without a doubt, the two and half hour run time allows for a few missteps with inconsistent CGI, certain scenes tapping into a telenovela vibe and the film’s McGuffin, a celestial artefact destined to end a great curse, oddly sidelined. However, none of these elements detract from what is otherwise a fun, darkly hued, raucous cinematic adventure. And, as hinted at by two mid-credit scenes, this should stand as a popular foundation to the far darker next chapters, and as promised in the original novel’s climatic war between mortal humans, Gods and monsters.
