Rent Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023)

A brilliant Chinese war-fantasy - Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms review by Gwydion

If you're not put off by subtitles, any fan of war films and heroic fantasy should watch this. Though it seems odd they haven't done an English-dubbed version, which would get it through to a much wider audience.

They could also try a different title. Maybe 'Superheroes of the Fall of the Shang Dynasty'. For Chinese and other East Asians, the idea of mortals becoming gods is familiar and believed by the religious or superstitious. A belief also found in Classical Greece, but confusing for a Western audience.

It is an heroic fantasy, loosely based on the actual fall of the Shang, 3000 years ago. A concubine who was widely blamed in later histories is re-invented as a Fox Demon - another concept unfamiliar in the West. And it is actually simplified from the original legend, which has three spirits sent by an offended goddess to be destructive concubines who made a bad man worse.

Which may be no more historic than Shakespeare's Macbeth, but certainly makes a good drama.

It seems this legend is even better known than Journey to the West / Monkey, which is much better known in the West and had a recent much-rewritten film, as well as a Japanese television series that was popular in the West with dubbing into English. As I said, maybe humans become gods is too odd in the Western view, though the very popular superheroes are essentially the same.

The plot is complex, and I found the palace guards confusingly similar. But it was entertaining, and is the first of three.

Visual extravaganza - Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms review by Alphaville

Like many Chinese films of its ilk, this is a feast for the eyes but lacks plot clarity and characters to root for. The typically hammy acting doesn’t help. However, it has an undeniable grandeur right from the outset, which features a visceral cgi-enhanced battle in the snow. The plot, such as it is, centres on a relic called the Fengshen Bang that can save mankind from the Great Curse (yawn, yawn). It’s overlong and gets bogged down in boring court intrigue. Nevertheless, the scale is vast, the visuals are sumptuous, the cgi jaw-dropping, the camerawork kinetic and there’s a rousing climax with added monsters. If cinema is a visual medium (clue: it is), this is a visual treat.