“Legend of the Condor Heroes” Falls Short

Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero <射鵰英雄傳:俠之大者>, adapted from Jin Yong’s classic wuxia novel, and directed by acclaimed director Tsui Hark (徐克) was released simultaneously in Hong Kong and mainland China but fell short of expectations at the box office.
Starring Sean Xiao Zhan (肖戰), Sabrina Zhuang Dafei (莊達菲), Hu Jun (胡軍), Tony Leung Ka-fai (梁家輝), and others, audience reactions have been mixed so far, with praises for Tsui Hark’s sincerity and confidence in adapting Jin Yong’s work, alongside criticism for the film’s handling of characters, plot and the chaotic narrative.
Epic Battles on Par with The Lord of the Rings
Many viewers appreciate how Tsui Hark cleverly reworked the latter part of the novel, emphasizing the large-scale warfare with grand and imposing battle scenes reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings and Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven. The film’s CGI effects are also impressive, particularly in the climactic duel between Ouyang Feng (Tony Leung Ka-fai) and Guo Jing, which bear hallmarks of the director’s style, delivering stunning martial arts choreography and breathtaking visual effects.
Tony Leung Ka-fai as Ouyang Feng
In terms of performances, new actress Zhang Wenxin’s (張文昕) portrayal of princess Hua Zheng received widespread acclaim, with audiences finding her character more striking than Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Her strong-willed and passionate nature makes her a fitting daughter of Genghis Khan. Actress Ada Choi (蔡少芬) also delivers a commendable performance as Guo Jing’s mother, Li Ping, but it is veteran actor Tony Leung Ka-fai who steals the show. Viewers agreed that his seasoned acting experience breathed life into the complex character of Ouyang Feng, exuding an almost demonic aura.
One of viewers’ main criticisms was the film’s disorganized storytelling, in particular Guo Jing’s parts, where he constantly shifts between the battlefield and his quest to find Huang Rong, even traveling to the desert in search of Genghis Khan. While audiences understand the challenge of condensing the novel’s expansive plot into a 2.5-hour runtime onscreen, many feel that the script’s structure and editing could have been better.
Flimsy Character Development
Viewers also took aim at the film’s underdeveloped character relationships – Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s briefly mentioned romance, regrettably skipped over their long journey together in the jianghu (martial arts world). Sabrina Zhuang’s portrayal of Huang Rong captures her intelligence and cunning, but lacks the depth needed to win over audiences.
Additionally, the adaptation rushes through many of the novel’s iconic characters, making them feel like fleeting cameos. The legendary Five Greats barely make an appearance, with Ouyang Feng carrying the weight of the villain role alone. Even the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan are only shown as silhouettes before being swiftly eliminated by Eastern Heretic, which diminishes Jin Yong’s signature ability to craft distinct and memorable characters.
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Just saw online news that big S has passed on.
first, very bad main actors choice…
second, HK movies industries is dead, so using the HK Qualities as back up is bad…
third, Using a long Story book to make a short movie, if you know the book, you will able to follow the storie, but new gen. don’t know the story before watching so for them the logic make no sense…
Maybe should have follows lotr and make 3 films at one go. There were 3 books if I’m not mistaken? 4? At least people can grow into the characters with epic showdown. And yes I do think xiaozhan is a miscast.
XZ does not look good >_> I do not find him or WYB look handsome =_= and XZ’s face suits YK a lot better than GJ lol. And the fighting scenes are a joke!
I mean, they should leave Hong kong stories to be adapted by Hong Kong. China almost always butchers the story in their 50 odd adaptations.