A Battle of Wits (2006)

Defend, well, is still the best form of attack

You must be thinking: this guy simply cannot get enough of war films, right? For the past month, I have watch thousands of soldiers battling it out in Iwo Jima, a handful of Lafayette Escadrille and now we have ONE man slugging his guts out during China's Warring States period. And that man is, who else but Andy Lau ?

This movies is based on a popular Japanese Manga, Bokku. Set during the China's Warring States period, this story is about Ge Li (Andy Lau), who is from the Mozi Clan, helping Liang City fend off enemies and a very certain invasion from the nation, Zhao. People from the Mozi Clan are famed for their unorthodox war fare. As they are a peace loving clan, they main forte, obviously, is to defend. There is only so much a person can do, can Ge Li successfully defend the fortress?

Scenes in this movie are beautiful and grandiose. The battle sequences, though cannot be compared to LOTR, still hold the film pretty well. Nothing spectacular about the acting here as the characters are somehow one dimensional. Lau tries to keep the cast tight but the only chemistry he has is with Fan Bing Bing who plays Yi Yue, a Hua Mulan kind of figure. Director Jacob Cheung emphasizes on the complexity of the human nature. How gratefulness can turn to jealousy and how trust can bring about betrayal. It is saddening to see that the we humans can be such selfish creatures. The greatest irony of man, I'm sad to say, is man himself.

3.5
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