ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Adam k (cromm-2) I was very much entertained, then touched and finally saddened by the movie. It was very beautiful, despite some technical shortcomings and lack of good fights. Definitely the CG and magic could seem funny and outdated, they are not important though and do not detract from the overall quality and value. The music seems very good as well, at least to my not very discerning ear, I liked it a lot.The movie was very interesting to watch for a few reasons. Obviously, the two actresses were very pretty and there were many really pleasant scenes in the movie involving them taking the clothes off. There are enough silly and funny scenes as well.I would not say this is a martial-arts or Kung Fu movie, definitely not a typical one. There is litte going for the martial arts and the movie concentrates on the love life of the two heroines and their naive teacher, with some interruptions from a crazy blind taoist monk ghost-hunter. For me it was deep enough to think about and entertaining at the same time, with an unfortunate but (maybe)typical pessimistic ending.What is important in the movie, is the moral story of Buddhist improvement and the circle of life and death. Two snake spirits, sisters most likely, are training to become humans to be able to advance their spiritual position, the way I understand it, in order to achieve nirvana? Or maybe because they think the emotions of humans are very important and beautiful, it is difficult for me to say. I did definitely find this story touching. One of the sisters, the white snake (wifey says white is the color of wisdom), has been training twice as long as the Green (Blue) Snake and is very powerful. She gets herself a man and they fall in love. Part of the movie is about her falling in love with him, with the sister being doubtful if human emotions are worth it. This is indeed a very light and beautiful part of the movie, I did love it. The Blue is trying to understand the emotions, but she is a bit lazy and likes being a snake so is not training hard enough. Additionally, she is an erotic dancer, to add a bit spice to the movie, the initial scene where the two appear is worth watching for sure. She is also trying to get the man of her sister, maybe out of jealousy, were it not too human a feeling.After the first part of the movie, there is the second where the sisters live together with the man, who starts noticing that they are a bit strange and suspects they are indeed "evil" snake spirits. In fact, he is absolutely terrified, the more noble to be later when, despite terror, he refuses to poison them. He obviously loves both of them and cannot help the monk who is after themThe Monk... I really truly despise this persona. He did seem noble, besides incredibly powerful. He is a Buddhist monk, living his belief 110%, holier than thou. He seemed to understand that the spirits are not all to be hunted. However he has a terrible fault in his character, a typical universal, trans-cultural "hamartia" where he cannot see that he has human emotions and that he is a man who cannot escape desire. He is fighting those feelings and though the refusal to accepts them, develops hatred, pettiness, vengefulness, PRIDE , and forgets about mercy and compassion. He does realize it at the end but it is too late for some of the main characters... I hate when it happens.It is too much to describe the movie in its totality. However, it is difficult to stop writing about this movie too. I need to finish saying that the last part of the movie is spent despising the proud monk and hoping he realizes the mistake. In other words, the hallmarks of good tragedy. Beautiful but sad, with the lasting feeling that by changing a minute of the ending, we would be able to finish with a more positive and heartwarming outcome. I understand this would not be as cathartic but catharsis is often and overpriced commodity.If you are inclined this way, you could consider the ending more positive, with some characters having a chance to meet in future lives, having achieved the humanity they sought, others realizing the mistakes and being burdened with the feelings and unwelcome pain.Hated the ending and loved the movie.

gorthu 2 giant snakes named White (Joey Wong) and Green (Maggie Cheung) are trying to become humans. White does her best at trying to act like a human but Green finds it too hard to change. White falls in love with an honest man, and even after he finds out she is a snake he still loves her. But Green doesn't like all the attention that White is getting and starts flirting with her man. Vincent Zhao plays a high monk with unlimited power and his job is to kill any evil beings who do not follow the Heavenly laws. He has problems of his own and does not know for sure if these 2 snakes are truly evil.This is quite an adventure and it never gets boring. Joey Wong is very good in her role, but Maggie Cheung manages to outshine her. I would have liked to see some actual kung fu moves from Vincent Zhao, but he is perfect for his role. He is a master of playing straight-faced roles like the one he plays in this movie. The music is mesmerizing and the ending is very special even though it is a bit illogical. But then again, this is a movie with snakes and spiders acting as humans so the end doesn't feel too far fetched. It is one of the best endings I have ever seen. This is not you typical mindless Hong Kong movie. I had to watch it a few times to take it all in, and it manages to get better every time I see it. This movie is a real gem.There is no real fighting, and the action is what you would expect from a Tsui Hark wuxia. All of the action involves flying around, posing, and using magical powers.

Chung Mo Tsui Hark is one of those director's that sort of polarizes his audience. You either go along with his loopy, unique directorial style or you get angry at him. Other directors like him are Sam Raimi and Takeshi Miike. They all go where their muse takes them regardless of where the movie is at the moment.The film tells the story of two giant magical snakes who decide to experience human emotional life. We first encounter them while a super powered Buddhist is searching for evil spirits to destroy. He starts to attack them but relents when he discovers that the snakes are sheltering a pregnant woman in labor from a torrential downpour. The snakes enter the local town and one, White Snake, chances upon a bureaucrat who catches her fancy. The two transform into human form, create a mansion by spell and lure the bureaucrat there. White Snake falls in love with the man, marrying him, while Green Snake, her sister, has problems understanding the human emotions her sister is so capable of enjoying. Green is also having a hard time hiding her true snake self from her sister's husband. It gets complicated with the monk entering the picture once again with bad consequences for all.First of all, this is a story that fully compliments Hark's style. Unlike other films of his that I felt were compromised by his experiments and vaudeville style, here it almost all works wonderfully. The fantastic characters and action of Chinese mythology are colorfully illustrated here. The art direction and photography is excellent as well. Music score is great.I felt the film was a commentary on religious rigidity but clearly this production has many meanings to different viewers. That's a sign of a good movie. Recommended.

curtpdx ...and this one's very good. It's a retelling of the Chinese legend Madam White Snake, and while some of the effects aren't what a big-budget film would allow, Cheung and Wang convey a sexiness in their roles that make it highly entertaining.Shaw Brothers made a version of the story titled Madam White Snake in the 60's or 70's. In 2001, there was a very lengthy Taiwan-produced TV series of the same name. So far as I know, neither of these are out on DVD.