Notable Cast: Kris Phillips, Li Xuejian, Huang Bo,
Yosh Yu, Luke Chen, Naran, Xia Yu, Yang Le, Chen Kun, Yuan Quan, Ci Sha, Yafan
Wu, Luoyong Wang, Hou Wenyuan, Tim Huang
Now that the Chinese film industry has punted many of its
lower-budget films to streaming services, it’s not shocking to see a massive
CGI-heavy multi-film adaptation of a classic fantasy story look and feel so
much like modern Hollywood blockbusters. The initial trailers for Creation
of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms were brimming with massive superhero-like
action set pieces, while the promise of this being a “part one” of a trilogy
indicated that this would be E.P.I.C. Truly, this looked like the Chinese fantasy
blockbuster to end all blockbusters.
Director Wuershan’s adaption of the Investiture of the Gods
story is undoubtedly just that. Nothing in Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom
of Storms is subtle or straightforward. This is a big scale to the blockbuster
nth degree, and it shows for better or worse. As the first part of this
trilogy, it’s still a highly entertaining film; for that, it does get credit.
It’s just par for the course that its stunning visual feasts and entertaining
action sequences come with a script that is scattered in trying to jam in
dozens stacked upon dozens of characters, plots that never feel fleshed out,
and a narrative that feels elongated and still rushed.
But it also features two massive stone monsters possessed by
an occasionally headless evil wizard chasing a god stripped of his powers on
horseback. So, you know, give a little, take a little.
Kingdom of Storms finds its value in its visuals and
bigger-than-life narrative. Between the sweeping sets, gorgeous production designs,
and the massive CGI creations of its fantastical lands, director Wuershan knows
how to put every penny on screen. Granted, the overall CGI elements aren’t
quite matching Hollywood, but they’re damn close, and Kingdom of Storms
is using its big bold visuals - including some massive war sequences and one
that opens the film that features flaming horses - to hook its audience into
its world.
Punctuating the solid visuals and impressive production
designs are some otherworldly action set pieces that embed various classic
Chinese gods into the universe. Although the war sequences highlight the film
with massive group battles and some shocking violence, it is when the titular
gods arrive that the film moves entirely into spectacle territory.
Classic gods like Jiang Ziya (played by the always-welcome
Huang Bo), Nezha, and Yang Jian appear as they attempt to right some evil
leaked into the world. However, the film introduces these charming Gods and
promptly tosses them out of the narrative at a little past the halfway point.
It’s a relatively strange choice that makes the film feel like it has far more
in store for them later. By later, I mean in another film. Still, when they are
on screen, the film finds some humor and heart in their performances and the
action spectacle they bring to the mix.
In the place of this secondary plot of gods trying to save
humanity from a possibly supernatural evil that has manipulated a great general
into killing his way to the throne, played with an exquisitely sinister performance
by Kris Phillips aka Fei Xiang, Kingdom of Storms focuses on a duo of
guards trying to find balance between loyalty to their king, justice, and
familial oaths. It’s the classic wuxia and Chinese fantasy tropes for young
heroes, but fortunately, the performances by Yosh Yu and Luke Chen get the job
done. The plot between these two heroes, further complicated by their
relationship with other rulers, their friendship, and an overwhelming sense of
social justice that allows the film to skate by Chinese censors, tends to be
the most convoluted of the film. Many characters swirl around these two, feed
into the plot, and add more secondary plots; it generally makes the film feel
like it's spewing forth enough material for three films. Well, that’s cause it
is, and the Kingdom of Storms rarely hides it.
This intention of laying out the chess pieces on the board
makes Kingdom of Storms feel like it is a half-step from narratively
derailing itself as it frantically jams in more and more detail, plot, and characters.
Wuershan does his damndest to get it to all smoothly ebb and flow, but often,
the film must include odd edits between characters or plots to get its audience
back and forth quickly to avoid bogging down the pacing. Weirdly, and I hate to
admit this, there were several times during the film when I thought this
story may have served better as a big-budget television show instead of a
movie.
Yet, watching this in a packed theater in IMAX, it’s hard
not to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of
Storms. It’s fantastical entertainment to the fullest, brimming with
gorgeous production designs, bigger-than-life visuals, and some
spectacle-driven action set pieces that ought to have audiences glued to the
screen. It’s not the most cohesive storytelling as it sets the stage for a
trilogy of films, and many characters or plot threads seemingly weave in and
out without resolution.
Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms is a hell
of a kick-off for the franchise, but it's apparent that despite its
entertaining values, it will be better to watch as a whole when the other films
are released.
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