Śakra (2023) - Donnie Yen, Chen Yuqi, Cya Liu, Wu Yue

[DiP]

Movie reviews seems to be mixed so far but the reception from audiences in the East Asian and Southeast Asian regions have been positive. A sequel is in the pipeline, according to Donnie.

http://hktopten.blogspot.com/2023/01/20230116-donnie-yen-wants-to-return.html

http://hktopten.blogspot.com/2023/01/20230118-most-important-to-donnie-yen.html

Edited January 22, 2023 by DiP

[Yihetuan]

On 1/18/2023 at 4:03 AM, DiP said:

Movie reviews seems to be mixed so far but the reception from audiences in the East Asian and Southeast Asian regions have been positive. A sequel is on the pipeline, according to Donnie.

http://hktopten.blogspot.com/2023/01/20230116-donnie-yen-wants-to-return.html

http://hktopten.blogspot.com/2023/01/20230118-most-important-to-donnie-yen.html

I watched this earlier today and it definitely has a feel of a 'franchise'. I wouldn't be surprised if a trilogy came out of it. There is certainly enough material in the Louis Cha novel for multiple story and character arcs involving the main three characters. Speaking of which, the version of Sakra I watched didn't have English subs & I never read the abridged English version of the novel but I did see the TVB serialization with Fan Siu Wong. Anyway, i don't want to 'spoiler' the film but it was amazing to see Donnie, a year shy of his 60th birthday doing his stunts and fight scenes & no signs of slowing down.

[DiP]

I managed to find an HD copy of the movie online and went through all action scenes.

My first prediction after seeing the very first trailer of the movie was that the action style would be similar to Donnie's previous action choreography work on Dragon Tiger Gate, 14 Blades (Donnie did some uncredited AC work), The Lost Bladesman, and Wu Xia. My expectations were met... But yet it still exceeded them in many ways. Overall, the work he put here really attracts and the result is something else. Not just in comparison to his previous wu xia movies. I would also say in general within the whole wu xia genre. It's a mixture of everything. Everything with his own stamp on it, his personal take on what defines a wu xia world and its' characters. The way he and his co-players -- shout-out to Wu Yue, veteran Tsui Siu-Ming (in a wonderful guest appearance), and Cya Liu -- perform isn't your typical floaty and flashy wu xia movie either. It showcases power, intensity, speed, and agility in very authentic ways. The Donnie Yen wu xia style of action choreography.

Wu xia isn't without the supernatural elements, and the movie has all that so there's no exceptions. But as a whole, the action scenes kept things as grounded as possible, which is something rare today (grounded wu xia action was more common in the late 60s and 70s). And with Donnie and his team behind the action choreography, things couldn't have been better. The mere feel of watching real physical skills being executed without being overtaken by the typical wu xia traits such as wirework and CGI too often is just fresh and a daring attempt to change and start anew. I wish more Hong Kong action filmmakers today would be like this, and start a reemergence in authentic MA skills done in periodic action movies. 

Wu xia isn't usually a sub-genre I prefer watching (I've seen alot though, especially 90s wu xia movies), and I'm honestly not familiar with the source material (Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils) the movie is based on. But I'll be glad to say that the movie will please many wu xia movie fans, and will absolutely be thrilled by the captivating and inventive action scenes staged by Donnie. This is yet another movie where Donnie is making a mark in terms of raising the bar in Hong Kong (and in general) action choreography. Whatever the movie he will lead star and action direct next, I'll easily look forward to.

Edited January 31, 2023 by DiP

[Yihetuan]

@DiP, great summary of the action scenes. It had the feel of the old wire assisted (now CGI) wuxia but melded with the more physical hand fighting of the modern era martial arts films.

[thundered mantis]

Thank you so much @DiP. Could you tell us the number of action scenes?

[DiP]

4 hours ago, thundered mantis said:

Thank you so much @DiP. Could you tell us the number of action scenes?

6 action scenes in total. 4 of them are major set-pieces all featuring Donnie.

[thundered mantis]

That's more than we had on Wu Xia or The Lost Bladesman. This is looking good for me. 

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

Now I look forward to watching it even more! Quite a long wait, it will be in the cinemas here only in April. 

[Drunken Monk]

Well Go has picked this up for US distribution.

https://www.screendaily.com/news/hong-kong-martial-arts-film-sakra-scores-us-distribution-deal-exclusive/5178950.article

[ShaOW!linDude]

I saw today that this is supposed to a US theatrical release some time in April.

[Drunken Monk]

Hong Kong Blu Ray drops on March 10th…

[laagi]

47 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

Hong Kong Blu Ray drops on March 10th…

Wow, did they even try with that cover. Looks like a bootleg sold in Chinatown LOL.

[DiP]

Most likely a tentative cover art. Looks terrible, yeah.

Well, it's relief that we don't have a long wait for this. I'm pre-ordering it now.

[Drunken Monk]

I’m going to wait for the Well Go USA release of this one. It would be awesome if they put it out on 4K.

[laagi]

14 hours ago, DiP said:

Most likely a tentative cover art. Looks terrible, yeah.

Well, it's relief that we don't have a long wait for this. I'm pre-ordering it now.

Any word if it'll have english subtitles?

[One Armed Boxer]

29 minutes ago, laagi said:

Any word if it'll have english subtitles?

They always do!

[DiP]

The bluray is being distributed by CN Entertainment. They always have English subtitles on their blurays.

On 2/25/2023 at 2:02 PM, Drunken Monk said:

I’m going to wait for the Well Go USA release of this one. It would be awesome if they put it out on 4K.

Yeah, I'm looking out for that one.

[thundered mantis]

Watched it. Sadly action didn't cut it for me, although I can understand @DiP's take on it. Will avoid spoilers, so many things I'll refer to just on a general way. 

I liked the movie. Fine interpretation from Donnie Yen, nice and well thought dialogs to give depth to the protagonists. Nice rhythm on the whole movie, the action pieces are well blended in and don't happen unnecessarily. Nice costumes and scenery (sadly quite a lot the overall feel is ruined by CGI landscapes). I can attest there was a thoughtful effort in giving us a comprehensive context for what it seems a very complex universe, kudos for that. 

Now, on the action. It's entertaining to watch Donnie because he moves so well, no signs of decline here at all. But we just get to see his moves (of which quite a lot are his trademarks that we have already seen before). No real physical prowes fight, he is no contested on his physically grounded moves (on the contrary as it happened on his final fight on Dragons Tiger Gate). Nice whusuist escrima and nice edition overall, with some innovative bits here and there. But for me this was a bread's only sandwich. The real dispute on every fight was by qi's blow exchanges. That and supernatural force that meant whenever Donnie used it, some poor guy was threwn away by a kick or fist. Donnie moves really well, ok, but he had no real foe who blocked or counterpunched or no nothing. Will watch the first fight again which I think had a little bit of it, but really nothing that could saciate my hunger for physical conflict lol. 

I was totally wrong when I feared some epic with absurd costumes and enormous weapons that would deem unfit for any real physical display. The moves are there, but there's no oposition. Don't know if CTHD or Hero qualify as wu xia, but the fighting on those two is miles over this one. 

The rooftop chasing scenes on this one are not just below CTHD or even Donnie's previous Wu Xia, they are quite shameful by the really bad CGI. This and some major inconsistency on Donnie's emotional ordeal are my two major gripes with the movie, letting aside than the action did nothing for me. Zero replay value for my likings.

Edit to say I've revisited the first fight and I've been unfair to it. That one is meaty, it contains real oposition. Kudos to Tsui Siu Ming for still retaining the skillset

Edited March 10, 2023 by thundered mantis

[DiP]

Glad to see your take on the movie. I can understand your sentiments though, which I respect. If anything, the only thing I wish Donnie and co could've done was to avoid CGI. Seems inevitable these days, as most big-budget Hong Kong movies today can't be done without using it.

[laagi]

Save to assume this is a bit of a vanity project for Donnie?

Because for a large portion of the movie that's how it exactly feels for the better or worse.

Sakra sets out wanting too much and ultimately falling into the pitfall of delivering too little.

That's not to say there's some truly enjoyable stuff here! Things shining through and proving why Donnie is the star he is today.

Especially some of the earlier fight set pieces are very well done. Yes there's some shoddy looking CGI and if you're not a fan of wire or supernatural Fu you're probably gonna hate this all together. But for what it's worth I really liked it! They even had some blood and gore in it, which was a pleasant surprise for once.

Needless to mention most of the sets, costumes, locations etc. all look fantastic. Likewise you have some rather dull looking stages with the usual CGI enhancement. Sakra for its entirety very much remains two sides of the same coin. Which again given the potential here is a bit of a shame!

However to me the biggest crime it commits is by its underlying premise(s). Which is mildly put nothing short of an incoherent mess. Making it not only hard to follow but as the movie progresses there's just TOO MUCH going on. Even the initial premise is just silly. Also for anyone going into this with little to no knowledge of the Wuxia Novel of the same name (Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils) will not only be left utterly confused but probably also with a tremendous headache.

I'm not sure why they tried to cram so (too) many things into roughly two hours runtime. Sometimes it feels entire segments belong to a different movie. This is especially evident as Sakra isn't capable of capturing a distinguished look or style throughout. A lot of it feels stitched together. The editing, outside of the action set pieces, is really poorly done.

Overall there's some really great stuff here BUT no thread to hold it together in any way. Sakra would've been in desperate need of a clearer direction and especially editing. As it stands it's just an above average movie largely due to the screen presence of one Donnie Yen and some pretty spectacular action set pieces. Recommended for the latter only.

Edited March 20, 2023 by laagi

[Drunken Monk]

So today I finally gave in and opted to watched a version of Sakra that has what I can only assume are literally translated English subtitles. However, while the dialog was odd as times, it was very easy to follow and there wasn't that much craziness in the translation. I was actually pretty shocked that it made so much sense.

So what of the film? Well I bloody enjoyed it! Donnie has made a film that feels very much like an 80's wuxia film sprinkled with a 90's aesthetic. The vast cavalcade of characters is here, the lavish sets and costumes are on display and then the 90's style wire-fu and ludicrousness puts a very nice cherry on top.
I'm surprised so many people have complained about the story. It's a little convoluted but it's not complicated. I found that it made perfect sense. Though admittedly, some characters felt a little superfluous. Not offensively so though. It also goes a little off the rails about halfway through, but that could have been a problem with my subtitles. Wu Yue's character felt a little random so I may have missed something.

Donnie directs incredibly well. The film looks gorgeous. My only gripe being that it looks entirely colorless. The whole things feels like it has a grey filter on top of it. I would have loved to have seen this with a less muted palette. It would have been beautiful.
That minor gripe aside, the film feels big, the world is well shot and it feels like we're seeing a small segment of a very big story. Which I actually like. I don't mean to sound facetious, but I want more from the Sakra cinematic universe.

What about the action? The action is fucking glorious. It has a wire-filled absurdity to it (not to mention magic) but there are beautiful grounded moments too. In fact, it's the perfect combination for a wuxia film. Donnie and his team knew what they were doing with this one. It does feel new and fresh. Is there enough of it though? Not really. After the first big fight, you really have to wait a while before the next one rolls around. Don't get me wrong, there was enough of a story to keep my gripped. But I did find myself craving some fisticuffs after a while.
But when the fights do come, they act as a reminder of the excitement this film has to offer. The second big fight scene is a masterpiece of action design and had me positively giddy.
But like others have said, the film is marred by some very poor CGI. In fact, at times, the CGI is utterly dismal. To make matters worse, it's actually not needed most of the time. The wire stunts along would have worked without his CGI qigong "waves." Speaking of which, I can understand why some people got fed up with Donnie's qigong. He does use it a lot. Basically at the end of every fight scene. I found it to be cool and depicted as super powerful though. It was a nice addition. Overused? Maybe a little.
The last thing have to say about the fight scenes is that they're long as fuck. No brief scuffles here. The action sequences are genuinely epic.

All in all, I very-much-liked-and-almost-loved Sakra. I may actually love it upon a second watch. It's a smidgen too drama heavy (though the drama is good) but it's a great addition to the wuxia genre. It feels new and exciting. Hats off to Donnie Yen for this one. This is definitely a feather in his cap.

 

[One Armed Boxer]

I had the opportunity to check this one out as well, and echo the general sentiment that an overstuffed and unevenly paced story is offset by some epic action scenes that feel like a rejuvenated take on the early 90's new wave wuxia flicks. I gave it the full review treatment over at COF - 

https://cityonfire.com/sakra-2023-review-donnie-yen-well-go-usa-new-movie/

On 2/25/2023 at 11:28 AM, DiP said:

Most likely a tentative cover art. Looks terrible, yeah.

Nope, that's the actual cover for the HK Blu-ray. The Well Go USA one isn't much better.

[DiP]

3 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

Nope, that's the actual cover for the HK Blu-ray.

Indeed it is but that's the slipcase cover. The case cover is completely different.

Nice and well-written review.

[laagi]

@One Armed Boxer Now I'd love to hear your thoughts on 'The Hidden Fox'

 

[One Armed Boxer]

15 hours ago, laagi said:

Now I'd love to hear your thoughts on 'The Hidden Fox'

If only I had iQIYI I’d definitely give it a go. I’m sure it’ll turn up somewhere down the line!  I’m similarly eagerly awaiting the @laagi hot takes on ‘Decision to Leave’ and ‘Nameless Gangster’!