[Movie] The Taking of Tiger Mountain 智取威虎山

The Taking of Tiger Mountain 智取威虎山 is the latest action blockbuster directed by Tsui Hark 徐克 basing on the novel Tracks in the Snowy Forest by Qu Bo. 

TRAILER

This movie is set during the civil war era of 1946, when ruthless different groups of bandits occupied Northeastern China and threatening the lives of the civilians there. 

Look at how make-up has transformed Tony Leung into an old villain.
Picture Credit : Link 

The most powerful bandit of all was Mountain Eagle “座山雕” acted by Tony Leung. He was almost invincible together with his 8 bodyguards.    

Unit 203 of the Liberation Army led by Shao Jianbo (Lin Gengxin) decided to stay and fight against the Mountain Eagle despite with only 30 soldiers in his troop. 

They were clearly outnumbered so headquarter sent a skilled investigator, Yang ZiRong (Zhang Hanyu) who came out with a plan to get into the Eagle's gang as a spy. It soon leads to a battle of wits with the cold blooded Eagle at the snowy mountain.

There's one exciting scene that involves a one to one fighting between Yang Zirong and a fierce tiger.  

RATING 4.5/5

Thanks Jessie for bringing me to the movie screening. My name is on the movie ticket cause I was 15 minutes late into the movie and have to get the ticket outside. I find this movie very impressive. It's like the Chinese version of the movie "300" whereby the small outnumbered army have to think of strategies to fight against a bigger group. In this situation, Yang Zirong has to risk his life to get into the Mountain Eagle's gang, familiarize himself with the surrounding and most importantly gain his trust. At the end, we also see, how the 8 bodyguards scarifies their lives just to protect Mountain Eagle. I also enjoyed the snowy setting and their skiing skills. Overall, a movie above my expectation.