Semblance of old school wuxia stylings with a very unambitious story.
Benny Chan is no stranger to action orientated affairs; Gen X Cops, New Police Story, Invisible Target and Heroic Duo all provide a great levels of action entertainment. Though his decline in quality output recently has become more apparent in recent times with shakier exploits such as the misguided City Under Siege, a disappointing Shaolin though Call of Heroes is not as bad as the two aforementioned films it a rather meek affair.Following the dissolution of the Qing Dynasty, China has become ravaged in the military takeovers. A son of a military governor, Marshal Cho (Louis Koo) wonders the cities indiscriminately killing and robbing individuals and derives pleasures from his misdeeds. During one of his killing sprees a school teacher Pak (Jiang Shuying) manages to escape and flees to a small town called Pucheng which is under the temporary protection of Yeung (Lau Ching-Wan), leader of the local militia. Also present is wanderer Ma Fung (Eddie Peng) and Pak enlists in his help to protect the children but he refuses. Marshal Cho soon arrives at the town of Pucheng and murders the school teacher and a few others along the way. Cho is quickly apprehended and sentenced to death but not too long after, the presence of Cho’s loyalist arrives, led by Cheung Yik (Wu Jing) and demands his release giving them till the morning to make a decision or there town will be massacred. Fearing there safety the town pleads Yeung to release Cho to spare their own demise and Yeung eventually relents but Cho still attacks the town and at the end Yeung and his remaining followers have to band together to save the town.
There are a good few points in the film that harkens back to the old days of Hong Kong 80’s cinema, with a simple story of brotherhood, triumphing against unsurmountable forces with sprinkling of martial arts thrown in. The story is simple to a point and there’s little in the form of surprises which is not necessarily a bad thing. Holding the film back is Louis Koo’s performance which goes to extreme territories and it seriously derails the film to new levels of absurd. His performance is so over the top its hard fathom how this was passed as a good performance by the director. Eddie Peng and his odd facial hair makes a welcome turn in a rather pointless role, his carefree nature and heroic acts is something that has been done to death but Peng fits the bill just fine. Lau Ching-Wan is reliable as always as the ambivalent leader but it’s hard to buy that he’s a credible martial arts master, he exudes a great authority and as a fine father figure in guiding his towns people and his eventual downfall is wonderfully acted. Wu Jing is just a side character whose sole purpose is to fight and acts as a lackey to the villainess Koo. Jing’s is properly the most multi layered character in the film but his plight is rather cliched and his connection with Eddie Peng’s character is typical film convenience.
Handling the fights is the legendary Sammo Hung and though occasionally satisfying, it is highly hindered by some very obtrusive wire work that seriously pulls viewers away from the fights. Hung is no stranger to odd uses of wire work in his films but they are usually in small dosages but Call of Heroes goes overboard with the weirdness and physics are very jarring, (I know it’s weird talking about physics in a Wuxia film). It’s not the floaty or balletic type found in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon but there are some very strange body movements that just don’t work in context of things. Fights also tend to end pretty much as it gets going which is not a good sign for a film that sells itself on martial arts. Lau Ching-wan don’t quite look the martial artist but he is artfully doubled throughout and his style rarely requires him to perform the more flamboyant movements that is afford to Wu Jing or Eddie Peng. Lau Ching-wans weapon of choice is the whip which is, for most parts put to creative use but nothing to make it standout. The best fight is the night ambush where the henchmen gather to rescue there master, the fight allows each bit player to demonstrate the move set and it is possibly the most grounded fight scene in the film. The finale sees an all-out brawl in the Pucheng village and it is rather underwhelming with Lau Ching-wan not able to participate much in the action. The main draw is the fight between Eddie Peng and Wu Jing which is hindered by an over use of wire work, as the combatants stand on a pile of wine jugs to do battle.
Benny Chan does attempt to add layers of character but it fails to really elicit any excitement or emotional impact. The usage of a truly detestable villain is a very weak plot ploy to elicit triumph but Benny Chan is not known for his intricacy in dealing with plots and characters but usually the action and melodrama makes it for those shortcomings, Call of Heroes does become a bit tiresome for its lack of story ambition.
Call of Heroes is not a terrible film but it is definitely a step down from his more entertaining features such as Invisible Target, New Police Story and Gen X Cops days.
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