THE SORCERER AND THE WHITE SNAKE

Pemain :

Jet Li
Eva Huang
Raymond Lam
Charlene Choi
Vivian Hsu
Wen Zhang
Miriam Yeung
Sonja Kwok

Sutradara :

Tony Ching Siu-Tung

Penulis :

Charcoal Tan
Berkisah tentang seorang siluman ular putih bernama Bai Su Zhen (Eva Huang Shengyi) yang mengubah dirinya menjadi seorang wanita cantik untuk menyelamatkan Hui Sin/Xu Xian (Raymond Lam) , seorang pria yang dicintainya yang memiliki keahlian membuat obat ramuan tradisional. Suatu ketika, saat kota mereka diserang wabah penyakit misterius, Bai Su Zhen mengorbankan kekuatan supranatural dan energi miliknya untuk menolong Hui Sin menyelamatkan penduduk. Namun, kebaikan Bai Su Zhen itu disalah artikan seorang biksu Fa Hai (Jet Li) yang kemudian memburunya dengan dalih ingin menangkap siluman.

Sumber : http://www.21cineplex.com/

Review:
The much-varied Chinese legend of the female White Snake, her sisterly companion Green Snake and the Buddhist monk who seeks to prevent them becoming romantically involved with humans gets a full-scale, 21st-century CGI workout in The Sorcerer and the White Snake 白蛇傳說 白蛇传说. Funded by Mainland sources but largely put together by Hong Kongers, it's a different kettle of fish from previous versions, with none of the staginess of Shaw Bros.' operatic Madame White Snake 白蛇傳 白蛇传 (1962) nor the sheer sensuousness of TSUI Hark 徐克's much later Green Snake 青蛇 (1993), with Maggie CHEUNG 張曼玉 张曼玉 and Joey WANG 王祖賢 王祖贤. Like most of action maestro Tony CHING 程小東 程小东's movies (A Chinese Ghost Story 倩女幽魂 (1987), An Empress and the Warriors 江山美人 (2008)), it's an uncomplicated mixture of stunts, setpieces and local elements aimed directly at an Asian audience, with no special depth to the characters or their emotions and a plot that's simply there to keep the action coming. Combining Mainland and Hong Kong names, smooth special effects (especially for the two snake women) and a tight running-time of just over one-and-a-half hours — thank you, editor Angie LAM 林安兒 林安儿 — it's a professional, entertaining package but with no special signature to make it a must-see.
As the Buddhist monk who's rigidly opposed to any contact between humans and demons — even snake demons in pretty female form — Jet LI 李連杰 李连杰 is now of an age and bearing to convincingly play such authoritarian characters. Hong Kong's Charlene CHOI 蔡卓妍 is well cast as the younger, peskier Green Snake and has good comic chemistry with Mainlander WEN Zhang 文章 (who previously played an autistic son to Li's father in Ocean Heaven 海洋天堂). But despite Li topping the bill, the movie is basically a showcase for Mainland actress Eva HUANG 黃聖依 黄圣依, 28, who debuted in Stephen CHOW 周星馳 周星驰's Kung Fu Hustle 功夫 (2004) and has more recently become a favoured employee of Sorcerer funder Juli Entertainment Media Co Ltd 巨力影視傳媒有限公司 巨力影视传媒有限公司. As the White Snake who falls for a naive young herbalist (TVB contractee Raymond LAM 林峰, adequate), Huang has the looks and charisma to handle a good-evil role like this one and only needs to develop a warmer screen presence to back them up. When she and Choi are on screen together, the latter still steals the show.
The copious visual effects, which dominate the movie's second half with floods and water battles, are especially good for the two snake women — smooth and silky without becoming overtly sensuous. But it's where the CGI is properly integrated with live action that the movie takes off, as in a battle between Li's monk and some female vampire-bat demons in a crowded canal during the Lantern Festival. In this section, William CHANG 張叔平 张叔平's richly coloured production and costume design combine with Ching's action direction for genuine fun and thrills, all backed up by Mark LUI 雷頌德 雷颂德's heroic symphonic score.
The Mandarin print that premiered at the Venice International Film Festival was an "international" version, shorn of one sequence in which some 3-D animated animal characters — that distractingly pop up here and there — briefly appear in human form, played by local names such as Miriam YEUNG 楊千嬅 杨千嬅, Chapman TO 杜汶澤 杜汶泽 and LAM Suet 林雪.

Source: http://www.filmbiz.asia/reviews/the-sorcerer-and-the-white-snake