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China, Korea, United States · 2005
Rated PG-13 · 2h 1m
Director Chen Kaige
Starring Cecilia Cheung, Liu Ye, Chen Hong, Cheng Qian
Genre Action, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller
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Kunlun, a slave to General Guangming in ancient China, journeys to save the king from assassination and ends up instead saving Qingcheng, a girl who rose to wealth but was cursed never to find love. However, she believes Guangming saved her, and Kunlun must win her back as an invader sends the country into chaos.
There's a nice Road Runner-cartoon moment when the slave runs really, really fast, carrying the wounded general on his back while dodging an attack of CG bulls. I can't imagine Road Runner was what Chen had in mind for the most expensive movie ever made in China, but then, I was born too late for the time of the snowy eagle.
Some critics are badly selling the film short, when the story it tells, measured strictly in terms of emotional power and overall fun, is as moving and pleasurable as any matinee item by Ford, Hawks or Raoul Walsh.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
The over-the-top acting is forgivable, but the plot's incoherence is not.
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
Chen's masterful, deeply perceptive direction of his superb cast is equaled by the film's luminous cinematography, rich yet spare and stylized production and costume design, and rousing score.
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt
While it aspires to draw the same audiences who admired "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero," The Promise is but a pale imitation of those landmark films.
Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten
Like its images, The Promise billows through the imagination as it unfolds but it leaves little lasting impression once its last feather has fluttered.
Village Voice by Michael Atkinson
You can't help wondering how the same Fifth Gen filmmaker who made "Yellow Earth" and "Life on a String" could've fallen on such hard times, or justified such goofiness to himself.
A mixed bag of near-risible storylines, second-rate CG effects, some fabulous set pieces, somewhat cartoonish martial arts fighting and difficult international casting.
The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson
For Kaige, The Promise can't exactly be called a return to form--it's more a return to "Hero" and "House Of Flying Daggers" director Zhang Yimou's form. Either way, it's still glorious.
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