Written by Musgo Del Jefe

The 2000 release and subsequent Western world success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was supposed to pave the way for more big budget wu xia films for China and Hong Kong. Much like the same promise that Life Is Beautiful would make Roberto Benigni a star in the US or that Amelie would pave the way for more French films, this promise has only been hinted at. Director Zhang Yimou answered Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger with his own Chinese epic, Hero (2002). The success of that film led Zhang Yimou to film his more romantic take on the wu xia genre, House Of Flying Daggers (2004). That movie took place in 859 A.D., as the Tang Dynasty was starting its downfall. The latest in this line of epic Chinese storytelling is The Legend Of The Black Scorpion (2006), known internationally as The Banquet.

This 2-disc release from Dragon Dynasty comes with best pedigree of all these previous epics. The action is choreographed by Yuen Wo-ping who worked on Crouching Tiger as well as 2004's underrated Kung Fu Hustle (where he worked with LOTBS director, Feng Xiaogang). The star of the film is Ziyi Zhang is arguably the most famous Chinese actress in the world. It's hardly a wu xia epic without her - she's starred in Crouching Tiger, Hero, and Flying Daggers.

Legend Of The Black Scorpion is "inspired" by Shakespeare's Hamlet. In truth, Disney's The Lion King is "inspired" by Hamlet. This film isn't the direct adaptation of the play that Kenneth Branagh's four-hour epic is either, but LOTBS never strays too far from its source material. It's the choices that the writer and director make that deviate from the original story that will make or break a movie like this.

As it starts, we are quickly set into 907 A.D., towards the end of the Tang Dynasty. While the Prince is away studying acting, his father, the Emperor, has been killed (presumably by a Black Scorpion) and his Uncle has assumed the throne and plans to marry his father's wife, a woman that the Prince was previously in love with. Assassins have been sent to kill the Prince.

This first lengthy fight scene is also my favorite scene in the film. It has everything that I've come to love about these recent wu xia films. The setting is lush. All the actors are in plain white masks. We've yet to see the Prince, so the viewer and the assassins are not sure which one is the Prince. The fight here is full of ballet-like wire effects and slow-motion shots of blood spattering. This film is noticeably bloodier than the previously mentioned efforts. It works well here, the blood appears almost like Chinese characters against the clean white backgrounds. Not until the end of the scene is the Prince identified.