Warriors of Heaven and Earth

Yet another candidate for the currently vacant Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon throne (i.e., a Western-accepted Chinese action epic), Warriors of Heaven and Earth has a lot going for it. One, it has an epic, Seven Samurai-like plot wherein Chinese ex-soldiers band together to protect a Buddhist caravan—without knowing initially that the treasure they safeguard is more than a few random buddhist texts and a sole young monk. Second, it has solid leads in Jiang Wen and Nakai Kiichi, as well as a comely "It" girl in saucer-eyed Vicki Zhao Wei. Third, it has simply superb production values, including marvelous cinematography (from veteran Zhao Fei) and a gorgeous Gobi desert location. The elements succeed for the most part; despite some narrative missteps and a lack of depth, Warriors of Heaven and Earth proves entertaining and commercially solid. The initial plot setup of Warriors of Heaven and Earth is compelling in that it recalls the same "downtrodden heroes protect a people's treasure" plotline as Akira Kurosawa's classic Seven Samurai. However, unlike that film, the prize here is not something mundane and irretrievably human, like the safety of a small village or some defenseless peasants. The big McGuffin of this film is a religious artifact which is a deux ex machina plot device portrayed with jarring special effects and an importance that can only be described as Hollywood-worthy. That the ancient relic possesses unknown power AND apparently can distinguish between good and evil makes the entire narrative arc of the film nearly perfunctory. Why go through all this blood, sweat and copious death just to have a couple of glowing rocks solve all your problems? Warriors of Heaven and Earth has Spielbergian conceits, but the matinee thrills that Raiders of the Lost Ark brought to the screen don't exist here. Simply put, this film is not inherently fun enough to warrant such a cheap and easy plot device.