REVIEW: Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms (2023)
The biggest Chinese fantasy action movie of the year gets the biggest Arty Dans review ever!
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This is one of the big ones of 2023. A long time in the making with some impressive effects, but with a massive weight of the Chinese fantasy world on its shoulders
A classic tale told time and time and time again. But I guarantee, you’ve never seen it look this good.
First, let’s check out what this movie is about.
PLOT
Amidst a backdrop of rebellion, Yin Shou, the Shang Dynasty's second prince, inadvertently unleashes a demon fox. Its possession of Daji, the rebel leader's daughter, sets the kingdom on a dramatic course. Emerging from the shadows is Jiang Ziya, a sage searching for a leader to restore balance in a world teetering on the brink.
Before we start, two very big special thanks to China Lion Film Entertainment
They provided me with a preview of the film to watch. They are the official distributors of the film in Australia and New Zealand, including theatrical and Video On Demand. Cinema release for this film is September 14 – please check your local cinema for times.
And also thank you for the synopsis, which was better and more concise than what I could have come up with!
First, I’ll get the easy part of this review out of the way. The movie is terrific and is a hell of a spectacle to enjoy.
Coming in at 2hours and 25-odd minutes, the movie does not feel that long at all, with something always happening on screen, there is never time for the movie to dwell on anything, which means you either really need to pay attention or watch it twice, which no doubt a lot of people will. It’s that kind of film.
Now rather than looking at this film from an Eastern perspective, I am going to take a western approach.
I don’t have the background with the story, I’ve never read the Fengshen Yanyi books or learnt about the history of all the characters. The only things I know about this lore are the following three animated films: Jiang Ziya Legend of Deification – terrible subtitle by the way, NeZha Birth of the Demon Child and the recently released New Gods Yang Jian film from Lightchaser. The first two are more faithful to the original stories, but the Yang Jian movie is just in character only with a completely original story.
The reason I mention this is because these three characters have a very important part in the film. And dare I say it from my perspective they are easily the best characters in the film. They are certainly the most enjoyable although Nezha and Yang Jian definitely don’t get enough screen time.
If you are new to Chinese films, new to this lore or are wanting to know the closest comparison to a more popular western IP, then I could compare it to two. Firstly, before you get your pitchforks – I am not saying that they are like for like comparisons or that this story is based on those, the Fengshen Yanyi stories or Investiture of The Gods, are hundreds of years old, dating back to 1500’s in the Ming Dynasty, so it’s more likely this story influenced these two properties I am about to mention, and they are Lord of The Rings and Game of Thrones.
The comparison is: all of these titles have epic storylines, spanning multiple chapters and dozens of characters – if you are a Lord of The Rings fan, I think you can certainly make comparisons with the characters. I’m not going to dare to do that as I don’t know enough about Lord of the Rings. But a sprawling epic fantasy film, mixed in the fantasy style of Game of Thrones, specifically the ease of which they both kill off characters, will mean that anyone who is a fan of those IPs will have some familiar reference point.
But this review is about Creation of the Gods, and it really is an incredible film that’s just let down by its spotty visual effects. Now this movie is a CGI-fest, its everywhere in this film and in some cases, it looks great, such as Nezha’s golden rings, or the war scenes, but then you can get some effects that kind of take you out of the moment. When Yang Jian is cutting the log with his staff, most of the scenes with the fox demon or when Shen Gongbao is demonstrating his head levitation trick to the king, there’s just something not quite polished with those scenes, but it’s not enough to stop you from enjoying this film.
The story is well told, and as the movie gets on it gets easier to follow, so don’t worry if you feel a bit lost in the first 20-30 minutes. Also, be forewarned that this is part of a trilogy, so the movie ends by setting up the next film. Thus, make sure you stay behind and watch all the post-credit scenes.
If fantasy is your thing, the thing that gets you excited when picking a movie to watch or a book to read, then this is definitely a title that you want to see. Some knowledge of the Fengshen Yanyi might be a good idea – and at a minimum perhaps watch the three animated movies I suggested so you at least understand who three of the characters in the film are and what they can do – but if you are going in cold, I don’t think you will feel left out. The movie does a great job of introducing characters and letting you know where they fit into the story line, you just have to make sure you’re paying enough attention.
What are my overall thoughts?
A rating. Easily a 4-star film, and one of the best Chinese movies of this year putting it in the same category as Never Say Never and Full River Red. I think this needs to be enjoyed at least once in the cinema, which is something I will do because watching it on the TV doesn’t quite elicit the same feelings of awe which is what I assume the director Wu Er Shan is going for.
Make this one of your must-watch movies. And since this took almost 8 years to come out, let’s hope the sequels don’t take anywhere near as long.
If you’ve seen this movie, what did you think of it? Leave a comment below with your thoughts – you’ll probably tell me not to ever compare it to Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, but that’s ok that was just for comparison for people who might be on the fence about seeing this film
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Genre Fantasy Action
Director Wu Er Shan
Starring Kris Phillips. Huang Bo, Xuejian Li, Luke Chen
Original Title 封神第一部:朝歌风云
Country of Origin China
Release Date July 20 2023 (China), September 15 2023 (Australia)