Yin Zhou (Kris Phillips) takes the throne of the Shang dynasty due to carefully crafted sinister machinations and betrayal and teams up with an evil fox spirit in the guise of the daughter of a former enemy to ensure his control is unchallenged. Meanwhile venerated monk Jian Ziya is given a scroll by the gods that is able to restore order and free King Zhou of a curse placed on him due to his murderous behaviors, but Ziya does not trust Zhou with its power and proceeds to flee the kingdom with it, his disciples Nezha and Yang Jian in tow. What follows are fast-paced chases, further betrayals, murders and epic battles for the fate of the kingdom!
The wuxia epic fantasy is beloved and important part of the Chinese film heritage, dated all the way back to the 1920s and reaching a zenith with the King Hu epic A Touch of Zen in 1971. Cut to today where wuxia fantasy accounts for some of the biggest, most expensive and most successful films at the Chinese Box Office, and you can say these films, full of gods, demons, warlords, soldiers, monks and assassins, are the Chinese equivalent of Hollywood’s big superhero movies except that China’s legends go back much further in History than anything Marvel or DC can muster (Investiture of the Gods, the 100-volume novel that Creation of the Gods is based on, was written back in the 16th century). But like modern superhero films, China has given an energetic boost to those old stories. Creation of the Gods is full of CGI spectacle, bringing to life the classic mythology using all the technology at their disposal. The plotting is a bit dense and slow-going early on, and for westerners, there are a lot of names to keep track of as well. But the film really picks up in the second half and is a lot of fun with its epic magic-fueled battles. The film also has a lavish and detailed production that is a beauty to behold in action. But for those who do want more depth in their films, a close watch will yield great results with the Shakespearean plotting and nuanced character dynamics.
As usual Well Go USA provides us with a strikingly clear video presentation with nary a distortion or blemish to be seen. It’s remarkable how consistent their transfers have been. On the audio front we have an original Mandarin track in both DTS-HD 5.1 as well as 2.0 stereo. Also newly produced by Well Go USA, we get an English dub also in 5.1 and 2.0. This film contains some truly epic battle scenes and the 5.1 track in particular really takes advantage of chaos and energy of the combat with a very nice separation that creates an immersive experience. For extras, we get a series of slickly produced featurettes primarily covering the aspects of the film that factor into the visual spectacle such as the effects, makeup, lighting and art design. Even though these lean more toward the fluffy press kit type features, I actually still like watching these just to see how effects on this scale are done.
If you are a long-time wuxia fantasy film, Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms will be right up your alley, and if you haven’t experienced the over-the-top excess of a Chinese CGI blockbuster, then here’s your chance to get in on what you’ve been missing!