Like we said, disbelief is pointless if you intend to buy into its premise. And while we're at it, you should accept that you are the hero they seek called 'The Black Knight' – because that is the name of your avatar in a similar video game – and not hesitate to journey back in time to fulfil your destiny. You should also accept the warrior's explanation that the young lady who shows up with him dressed like a princess (Ni Ni) is indeed one, and that she is on the run from some very terrible people. As its hero Jack Bronson (newcomer Uriah Shelton) does, you should simply accept with little question that the English-speaking Chinese warrior Zhao (Mark Chao) in steel armour and straw hat who suddenly appears next to his bedside one evening has indeed travelled through a time portal in a waist-height drum-shaped chest he had received as a gift from the antiques dealer he helps out at after school. You should not, in the first instance, expect it to make much sense, for it gives scant regard to logic or coherence. Such faint praise however is also premised on little expectation at the start, which is a prerequisite for any manner of enjoyment.
And yet, if you're willing to put aside the obvious similarities, you're likely to find this reiteration more entertaining than you're expecting it to be.
And last but not least, like the latter, it lets its modern-day Caucasian male protagonist fall in love with a steely yet gentle female from that era, the inter-ethnic coupling not only to pander to the teenage demographic but also to ensure its appeal to audiences on both sides of the continent. Like the latter, its humour is based on self-aware anachronism and its action of the traditional 'wushu' variety. Like the latter, it sends an American teenager back to ancient China where he learns to summon the warrior inside of him and teams up with a noble companion to save a kingdom from the clutches of an evil warlord. It may wear its tag of being the first significant 'French-Chinese co-production' proudly on its sleeve, but 'The Warrior's Gate' is really no more than a rehash of another East-meets-West action comedy that you may remember from about a decade ago called 'The Forbidden Kingdom'.
0 kommentar(er)
