Simply A Masterpiece

One of my all time favorites.

Boring

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

"Battle of Wits" seems to be based on a comic that is based on a famous period in the history of China! Everything in the movie looks authentic! The action is done as realistic possible! So no wire fu or any kung fu for that matter! This is not a martial arts movie! People who expect this will be disappointed! There is just enough action to make a point! The movie is indeed about strategy and tactics as the title suggests! Even when the pace of the movie is slow at times there are some surprises that will keep matters interesting! The love angle is beautifully done and not distracting at all! We have Andy Lau to thank for that because he really is superb as Ge Li! At first he is distant and passive like a monk! When he is explaining his philosophy to a slave he rescued, he realizes that he should show his love for Yi Yu (Bingbing Fan)! Also his prayer for peace is convincing! He is trying to avoid bloodshed as much as possible! When he is forced to kill a large number of enemy soldiers he begins to doubt whether he has taken the right action! This doubt makes him very human and very likable! He even makes an impact on the commander of the enemy troops! "Battle of Wits" is not without flaws! The battles are not that intense and massive as you would expect from a movie like this! And the pace is too slow at times! But in the end the result is that of a war epic with a very powerful message!

"A Battle of Wits" is a historical spectacle that Hollywood used to turn out with what now seems to be amazing frequency during the Big Studio era. The scene when the Andy Lau character Ge Li approaches the Liang city gate on foot in a hooded robe reminds me of another movie scene, Robert Taylor as Ivanhoe approaching on horseback the keep where his father is held prisoner, with Ivanhoe wearing a hooded monk's robe. One movie review described Lau as being the first metrosexual, based on his appearance, but Taylor's Ivanhoe character also sports a stylish goatee. Ivanhoe also has scenes of siege warfare, but is nowhere near as grim as "A Battle of Wits."--SPOILER ALERT-- The only character who seems remotely normal in this Asian co-production is the Zhao slave whom Ge Li rescues. At one point, this slave tells Ge Li that the only way to end the fighting and bloodshed is if China is unified, instead of having seven feuding kingdoms. That statement is meant to appease the Beijing political censors. The Mozi Ge Li is a comic book figure like Superman, totally unreal. The drunken, vicious King, told that his son and only heir died after a bungled attempt to kill Ge Li, lets the General responsible live temporarily. The Commander of the Zhao forces lets himself be burned alive after ordering his troops to leave Liang. After the battles, the city itself is a wreck, parts burned down, others demolished, many of its citizens dead, some executed on orders of the paranoid King. Liang's army leadership ends up wiped out.The production values, especially the art direction, are world class in this movie. From the carved designs on the pillars in front of the city entrance to the costumes (including even classy looking rectangular shields) to the cinematography, the crafts people who worked on this picture did a great job. Whatever the cost of the movie, whether the $16 million quoted on a website or more, all the money spent shows up on the screen.

This movie is based on comic or in Asia popular with name manga. So the time setting, all the cast in this movie is just fiction. But maybe, the author just inspired from great Chinnese history. Especially with a hero name Zhuge Liang. Why? Because there's a lot of common between Zhuge Liang and main cast in this movie Ge Li. Ge Li is a wonderful hero that can beat thousands of enemy troops with only 400 hundred soldiers. He knows exactly how to defend a city and he knows how to build o fortress less than a week. Maybe he knows all war strategies and tactics. But he also has one little problem, he is to idealistic. Maybe what happen in the movie is also happen in our present life today. No one could really good to everybody. Good for who? No one could express his universal love just like bible said. When a man tried to do that, everybody around him will looking for a way to make him fall. That's all. I love the movie.

The warring states of Ancient China serve as a backdrop for this pan-Asian war epic, starring the charismatic Andy Lau. Going by the literal translation of the Chinese title, it's "Ink War", alluding to the fact that much of the battles in this movie relies a lot more on superior strategy in order to overcome a mammoth battle against a Goliath, with a 4,000 population up against the might of a 100,000 strong well-trained army.Based on a Japanese novel/manga Bokkou, Battle of Wits fictionalizes one of the episodes during 370BC, where China was still divided, and each nation seizing opportunities to usurp the other. Those familiar with history will know that eventually, the kingdom of Qin will ultimately unite the Middle Kingdom for the first time. However, the story sets its sights on the Kingdom of Zhao leading an attack on the smaller state of Liang. In its defence lies a mysterious man from the Mozhi tribe known as Ge Li (Andy Lau of course), who galvanizes Liang's population to stage a stand against what seemingly looks like impossible odds.While war movies of long, long time ago have been flogged to death recently by Hollywood, with films like Alexander, Troy, and fantasy epics like the Lord of the Rings series, Asian movies have rarely scratched the surface until of late, with Battle of Wits leading the charge, and coming right up are at least two film adaptations of episodes from the Romance of the Three Kingdom novels. For those expecting fantastical and romanticized wu-xia martial arts moves, you will be disappointed, as this movie is rooted much in reality.Given the epic scale of this production, it still rings a sense of familiarity in its war scenes, and I thought that shooting most of them in middle-close range, loses much of its grandeur. The big spectacles shown have nothing new that will take your breath away, especially after Hollywood has plundered such productions. Nonetheless it augurs well that Battle of Wits managed to pull off a production of this nature, and has, surprise, a competent storyline to carry it through.There is a strong anti-war message that got worn on the sleeves Ge Li, as smart and cunning as he is, he's the reluctant hero, willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. He finds no pleasure in war, nor killings, but in order to save the masses, he must do what he has to thwart efforts of bloodthirsty kingdoms. He's is the message of "loving thy enemy", naturally not shared by the incompetent leadership in Liang.And since time immemorial, you always have the incompetents possessing the heart of insolence, with characters of sloth and ill intentions, straddling from a high horse. Inept leaders silencing their opposition through calls of treason is a tactic all too familiar, which makes it all the more despondent as you ponder about that aged old Chinese proverb about there being nothing wrong in looking after your personal interests first, instead of bothering with the affairs of others. Ge Li faces both the task of winning over the people's trust (since they're committing the state's defences to his organization), and the inevitable unappreciative, thankless task of having to do just that.As I mentioned, do not expect to see "Qing Gong" or fancy swordplay. Rather I was in awe with the delivery of strategies and counter strategies in having two warring factions pitting their wits against each other. Sometimes they come rather unexpectedly, and will leave you with a smile, like when you're wondering just what everyone is up to when they close their eyes en masse.Accompanied by an excellent soundtrack, the movie could be split down two halves, and while the first centered on the macro affairs, a more micro, personal affairs of the heart managed to creep in between Ge Li and Yi Yue (the gorgeous Fan Bingbing), a calvary officer, and though their romance sometimes stalled the pace of the movie, it added some gravitas to Ge Li the Man, questioning his strong beliefs on being unselfish, and made the finale all the more heart-wrenching to watch.Featuring stars like Wu Ma and Nicky Wu (when was the last time I saw them in a movie) and Korean actor Ahn Sung-kee, this certainly is the movie to watch this week. Forget about them animated penguins, treat yourself to an epic worthy of your time, and well worth a weekend ticket.