The Banquet (2006)

Great Film overall

A Masterpiece!

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The Banquet is a Chinese wuxia drama film. It stars Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, Daniel Wu and Zhou Xun. It is a loose adaption of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, and features themes of revenge and fate. It is set in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in 10th century China.It was directed by Feng Xiaogang.Her empire on the verge of a massive revolution as storms begin to brew both within the royal court as well as in the outlying kingdoms, the entrancing Empress Wan gazes upon her stepson, Prince Wu Luan, with the eyes of a forbidden lover rather than a caring mother. When the emperor dies an unexpected death and his younger brother Li ascends to the throne, Empress Wan marries the newly appointed sovereign as a means of both protecting her beloved Wu Luan and cementing her position within the royal court. When assassins dispatched by Emperor Li fail in their attempt to silence Wu Luan and his majesty subsequently announces a lavish banquet, Empress Wan and Wu Luan realize that the time has finally come for them to take action against the murderous despot. This film is as eye opening as it is thought provoking.Xiaogang Feng presents a unique tale that is both beautifully filmed and well acted. Legendary fight choreographer Woo-ping Yuen orchestrates some beautifully fierce aerial battles that while no longer novel are still thrilling to watch. Great performances especially by Zhang Ziyi,who as the cold-hearted matriarch, she more than proves her abilities as an actress who is ready to move onto meatier roles that aren't driven by her beauty.This may be one of the rawest Shakespearean adaptation you'll ever see.

I doubt that anyone could claim that this film isn't very pleasing to look at. The cinematography, the art design, the costumes, the battle choreographies, the settings, they're all very nice to look at, breath-takingly stunning even. Add in talented actors (Zhang Ziyi especially will always remain close to my heart) and a beautifully performed score and you have a film that has a very pretty outer exterior.Unfortunately the story and the plot don't quite manage to keep up. The film suffers from an inability to tell a coherent story and to keep its viewers engaged to the plot. Right from the first few scenes we are left wondering just what in the name of gods is going on and where this story is going. Of course some of these questions get eventually answered and knowing that this is based on Hamlet helps a lot, although it should be able to stand on its own merits when it comes to the latter. Naturally, some might argue that one should just pay attention and that some questions don't need answering, but the fact remains that sometimes a whole scene goes by and only later we learn just what happened, if we learn at all. The major example is the last scene, which to me feels completely useless and confusing, as the main conflict has already been resolved and thus the events of the ending scene just leaves us confused and a bit angry, because it means that we never resolve one of the biggest mysteries of the film, although naturally there are hints and nudges, but all of them are inconclusive. That's just bad storytelling if you ask me. Viewers are naturally curious and leaving us hanging like that serves no purpose.Nevertheless, I can't say that I dislike this film. It's gorgeous to look at, the actors are talented and it's only the plot that keeps this movie from being all that good. But, sometimes the pretty exterior is all that one needs to spend a few hours, and for that purpose this movie is more than enough.

I'm gonna say it directly about my thought of this movie. The plot is too long and too boring, the story somehow ridiculous and Daniel's character especially is very weak and his character doesn't a bit close enough with "Hamlet". The setting is good but it's too dark since almost everything are in black and red. This is somehow a bit disappointment and "Curse of the golden flower" is much better than this movie. The director couldn't bring the talents of the artists. Zhang Zi Yi and Zhou Xun are may be who acted well. The ending also silly and unexplained. The queen just died without being explained who's the killer. Enough of this quite disappointment movie.I won't suggest any of you to watch this movie.

I really don't have too much good things to say about this film...1. There are an excessive amount of baroque, while both storyline and characters fall short for being too predictable and seemingly unreal, respectively. There was a dream-like quality to whole movie experience, but it was not an enjoyable one.2. And there are too much perfectly choreographed death scenes... I mean, c'mon! WHO DIES LIKE THAT?! For example, there is a scene on the bridge where the new emperor's assassins synchronously killed themselves (for their failure). Or the scene on the snowy field where the imperial guards, again, synchronously fall from their horses after been struck by arrows.3. The ending (i.e. the banquet) didn't come as a surprise (at least to me). And by this point, I was a bit sick of the whole thing because amidst the grandeur of set (who knows how much was thrown on the set design and the costumes), the storyline was shallow.4. Please DO NOT compare this to Hamlet! Hamlet's character was 1000% better developed. We saw Hamlet's numerous soliloquies and understood his internal turmoil. What did we see in this film?This film also very much reminded me of "the curse of the golden flower." There is very little story-telling or character development; instead, the audience is bedeviled with flashy background and beautiful choreography, much like those horrible Star War prequels by George Lucas.Attention directors! We, the audience, demand a balance. Learn not just to tell a beautiful story with you fancy toys; tell a great story, one that is based on your refined script!