Micransix Crappy film

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

paulclaassen Well now, this was rather interesting - almost like a cross between Indiana Jones and Journey to the center of the Earth (not that I enjoyed the latter). Although the visual effects are not award-winning, they were rather well done and added significantly to a thoroughly enjoyable action adventure. Some effects - like the attack of the demon beasts in the desolate town - were incredibly good. I enjoyed the fact that they did not add cheesy humor as most Hollywood films of this genre do, and the love interest was subtle and not overbearing. The music was great, too. This is just plain good old-fashioned fun with great modern effects.

kluseba Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe is a fantasy movie based upon Tianxia Bachang's novels about a nurse and a soldier that team up to raid tombs. It's interesting to note that another movie about the novels entitled Mojin: The Lost Legend was released less than three months after this movie. There are actually two different production companies. One owns the rights for the first few novels, the other for the more recent novels. That's why both movies aren't directly connected and even slightly contradictory at times. This movie here focuses on the first novel and shows us how the two main characters actually meet.Many contemporary Chinese fantasy movies suffer from terrible special effects that look extremely artificial and wooden. This isn't the case for Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe. The action sequences are captivating, the costumes, landscapes and relics look stunning and even the monsters look rather scary.The movie has a very strong introduction that develops a mysterious atmosphere that makes me think of Indiane Jones or Tomb Raider video games. Our two main characters discover the remnants of a mysterious and dangerous civilization in an ancient tunnel system in northern China. It's quite gripping to watch our main characters discover creepy skeletons, face aggressive butterflies and run away from a massive avalanche in a very fast-paced way. The movie loses some significant momentum after these opening sequences. The story shifts several years forward multiple times which is slightly confusing. The story also gets quite predictable. Some terrifying monsters related to the mysterious civilization have escaped and attack an oil town in a desert. Our main character will go on the mission to find a mysterious professor, fight the monsters and prevent the evil ancient civilization to break its curse and enslave mankind.The last third of the movie quickens up the pace a little bit. The fight scenes in the oil town are gripping and the clashes between the ancient civilization and those who accompany our protagonist are entertaining, intense and include a few minor twists. The conclusion itself is somewhat disappointing though because several questions are left unanswered. Since the movie is based upon a novel that had numerous sequels, it seems probable that there will be more movies about this story line in the future. If you want to watch a single movie with a coherent story line from the introduction to the conclusion, you shouldn't watch this film in the first place.While the movie has a mysterious atmosphere, a solid pace and great special effects, it's lacking in the acting department. Mark Chao's acting performance as the protagonist is average at best as it doesn't leave a deeper impression. Chen Yao as female lead isn't quite convincing even though her character has more depth. The romantic relationship between the two characters happens so quickly and unexpectedly that it's not credible. The supporting actors and actresses are doing a solid job but there isn't one performance that really stands out. Despite the movie's flaws concerning the acting performances and a story that is too closely inspired by numerous other archaeological fantasy stories, Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe is still an overall entertaining and convincing film thanks to its atmosphere, pace and special effects. The film should get more praise than it gets. It might not be the most innovative genre movie but it's clearly more interesting than Hollywood's fantasy reboots in the key of Kong: Skull Island and other shallow flicks.

Paul Magne Haakonsen The synopsis for "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe" (aka "Jiu ceng yao ta") does make this sort of feel like a mixture between the traditional Asian martial arts movie mixed up with a hefty doze of "Tomb Raider" or "Indiana Jones". And this is also what the movie turned out to be, to some extend...Visually then "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe" was indeed a nice treat for the eyes to behold on the screen. Lots of great things, details in the scenes, props, costumes, etc. to look at. But the story just failed to have all that shine and luster that the visuals had.The story turned out to be a confusing scramble of an attempt of writing a coherent storyline, and it just lacked that all-important red thread that ties it all together. And on that account, the movie just became something of a visual presentation of various effects and Visuals, more than it was a story-based and story-driven movie. Which ended up being a hindrance for the movie.Now, whether this was the fault of director Chuan Lu or the fault of writers Chuan Lu, Bobby Roth and Nick Roth, I can only guess of course. But I am prone to lean towards the writers.The characters in the movie were well enough details and chiseled out on the screen, but they just were run over by the confusion of the entire movie, which overshadowed everything. And it should also be noted that they had indeed managed to get together a good ensemble of acting talents to star in the movie, just a shame that they had virtually no script or storyline to work with.There are far better forays into the adventure genre, even in Asian cinema, and as such, then "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe" is hardly the type of movie that you will watch more than a single time.

CelluloidDog OK...real rating is about 6.7-7.2. But the ratings here are notoriously and this film is better than that. So I am balancing the ratings. The critics reviews were actually fairly favorable compared to viewers. Some people trashed it (read other comments) saying this film is inferior to Transformers in depth and rips off Indiana Jones, Godzilla, etc. First, I'm not sure what this film and Indiana Jones have much in comment. Not much except for an archaeological dig at the start. No Indy film dealt with monsters. Second, it has little to do with Godzilla other than old bones which suggest dinosaurs but there are no dinosaurs (or I though dragons at the start). And I have not seen another movie with red or blue bats. In fact, the scenes in the caves and mountains resembled more Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit. I'm expecting Smaug to appear somewhere.So what does it really rip off? Not much but probably the general Hollywood investigative conspiracy-type film where a government bureaucracy, in this case Bureau 749 is much like Area 51, Roswell or Project Bluebook. But no one got that. The other film is remotely resembles is actually Tremors where you have a group of people out in the desert surrounded by creatures. A bit different. We see mysterious characters like Mr Wang, the Professor and Bureau 749. Not sure which Hollywood film produces those types. But most people naturally stereotype, if it's Chinese, it must be copying some western film since Chinese are unoriginal. So old prejudices can affect how a film is rated. One interesting thing about some recent Chinese films is the depiction of old-style communism. Films today are generally but loosely scrutinized by the government. It seems to depict the old communist lifestyle as "glorious" but that is a bit tongue-in-cheek since the main character Hu Bayi is overworked at the beginning. More the opening of the film is a social commentary on hard labor as a virtue of the 60s communism in China. One almost senses a labor camp where the government tries to cover up an accident. Otherwise, it's really a interesting cross between a science fiction and a love story. The depth of the plot unwinds and is confusing halfway through. But that is because the main character Hu Bayi himself is confused. He doesn't know he's part of something greater until it's quite late. And we never really find out why the Professor and his daughter were on the archaeological dig until the end. It's a far more complex plot than Transformers. Really! For the person who thinks Transformers, a film made for kids (mostly young boys), is more sophisticated.The opening scenes which are comparable to some as an Indiana Jones film, but I think any movie that deals with caves (a huge genre that started with Journey to the Center of the World) is fun and riveting. The library scenes are also mysterious and fascinating. One issue is that awkward introduction and explanation of the ghostly tribe. It didn't go down smoothly. And again, the complexity of the plot is hard for many to follow. Hence, some criticism is natural.Regardless, the product really is a one-of-a-kind production that is entertaining but perhaps too deep in plot for many viewers who just want monsters or a simple action plot. So some say, it's great for action. But it gets bogged down with the plot (or the love story). But many Chinese action films do involve a love story somewhere. And gorgeous sets and cinematography. In that sense, this film does achieve all three. And it's well acted, all the leading roles were well done. And it does have great CGI (monsters were great!) which is rare outside Hollywood (and some French films). Overall, this film far more complex than Godzilla or Transformers. I'm not sure how that comparison was made. Probably a bit too esoteric for an action-craving audience. Definitely worth renting.