Saga of the Phoenix

1989 [CN]

Action / Adventure / Fantasy

3
IMDb Rating 5.3/10 10 243 243

asia

Plot summary

Hell Virgin is granted permission to live on earth for 7 days, if she promises not to cause armageddon whilst she's there. She accepts and tries to enjoy her remaining time. but Hell Concubine has other plans.

Director

Sze Yu Lau Photo
Sze Yu Lau

Top cast

Hiroshi Abe Photo
Hiroshi Abe as Kujaku
Biao Yuen Photo
Biao Yuen as Kôngquè
Shintarô Katsu Photo
Shintarô Katsu as Jiku Ajari
Yûko Natori Photo
Yûko Natori as High Abbess
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
862.53 MB
1280*672
Chinese 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 33 min
Seeds ...
1.73 GB
1920*1008
Chinese 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 33 min
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by DanTheMan2150AD 5 / 10

A huge downshift

In its attempt to one-up The Peacock King, Saga of the Phoenix unfortunately feels like a massive downturn often coming across as a huge internal battle between two directors whose styles do not fit together, cutting the darker and more adult fantasy elements to make it more kid-friendly was a poor move. Poor Yuen Biao spends most of the film encased in ice and nobody seems to care, granted the sequences helmed by Lam Nai-Choi are a sight to behold with plenty of great special effects work and dazzling production design, however, the action is sorely lacking even if it is rather well shot. Nobody ever sets out to make a bad film but sometimes even the best intentions go badly awry, there's a wealth of oddness and general daftness to keep you entertained but it lacks what made its predecessor special. Granted the film does earn an extra brownie point with me for having Zatoichi himself, Shintaro Katsu, in the film even if it is a relatively small role. By the time Biao returns to the film to set things straight, the damage has been done. Truth be told, the film is passable in spurts but sadly, it's also 25 minutes too long. The scope of Saga of the Phoenix may be smaller but there's still a lot of charming creativity which means I can't hate the effort, although catering the film for a younger demographic did not help matters and hurt its overall impact.
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Reviewed by OllieSuave-007 5 / 10

A humdrum saga.

This is the sequel to the adventurous and action-packed Peacock King, returning Biao Yuen and Gloria Yip in their respective roles. This time, Ashura (Yip) is trapped by a Buddhist monk so she wouldn't fall into evil hands and use her power to destroy humanity. However, the Abbot Jiku (Hiroshi Abe) grants her wish to enjoy the human world for seven days.

While this movie has some exciting action and whimsical magic scenes, much of the plot suffers from dragged-out attempts at comedy and the romantic themes between the male and female leads. This distracts from the main point of the story and actually can bore the audience. It takes a while for the movie to tread back to the good vs. Evil themes.

The acting wasn't bad, but the movie is overall average at best.

Grade C-

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