- English name：Legendary Amazons
- Broadcast time：November 18, 2011
- Starring：张柏芝（Cecilia Cheung）、任贤齐（Richie Jen）、刘晓庆、郑佩佩（
Pei-pei Cheng）、周海媚（Kathy Chau）、陈紫函（Emily）、金巧巧、于娜、刘冬（Alice Liu）、杨紫彤（Ashley）、大岛由加利（Oshima Yukari） - director：陈勋奇（Frankie）
Introduction
Today, I’d like to introduce a Chinese film, Legendary Amazons (杨门女将之军令如山yángménnǚjiāng zhī jūnlìng rú shān)(2011).It is based on the stories of the Yang Clan Generals (杨氏将军Yáng shì jiāngjūn). The film is directed by Frankie Chan and stars Richie Jen, Cecilia Cheung, Cheng Pei-pei and Liu Xiaoqing. The film is based on the same source material as the 1972 Hong Kong film The 14 Amazons.
Plot
The film is set in early 11th century China during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty (宋朝Sòngcháo). The emperor neglects state affairs and indulges in personal pleasures, while the government sinks into corruption and war continues to rage on at the borders of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty is being invaded by the armies of the rival state of Western Xia (西夏Xī Xià).
Yang Zongbao is the last man standing in the Yang clan, a family of generals who have dedicated their lives to defending the Song Dynasty from foreign invaders. He apparently dies in battle tragically when the treacherous Imperial Tutor Pan refuses to send reinforcements to aid him. Yang Zongbao’s widowed wife Mu Guiying leads the other widows of the Yang clan into battle to continue the legacy of their husbands.
Professional evaluation
Positive reviews
After a female general of the Yang family learned that Yang Zongbao’s (played by Richie Jen) army was annihilated, although they experienced the test of both sadness and joy, they accepted the war and resolutely led their troops to the battle, despite the difficult future, tight manpower and chaotic war situation. On the battlefield, the female generals united, helped each other, took charge of their own affairs and were ready to die. Externally, each female general risked her life to fight. Internally, the female generals overcame difficulties together and held their ground. Even in the face of death, Aunt Yang (played by Ge Chunyan) had a calm expression, Yang Sanniang (played by Jin Qiaoqiao) cared about everyone, and Yang Wu Niang was still domineering.
Negative reviews
1、Maybe the script is not attentive enough, or the investment is not attentive enough, the film is full of all kinds of suspected bloopers or exposed shots. The regrettable scenes happened not only to one character, but to all the characters. From Lady She to Yang Wenguang, we can always see their inability to do their best, or hear simple and naive lines. As for the widows in the middle, they can’t run the family with literature, and can’t repel the enemy with martial arts. It’s not only a tragedy of fate, but also a tragic role. Although “The Female Generals of the Yang Family” is a serious film, the professional level did not provide effective support, especially the design of the script, which did not capture the heavy sense of historical themes, lost the temperament that heroes should have, and was like a child’s play, which was disappointing.
2、The highlight of “The Female Generals of the Yang Family: Military Orders Are Like Mountains” is the war scenes, but unfortunately they were poorly filmed and edited. Whenever there is a large scene involving group performances, the editing starts to become messy, making people feel dazed and their attention wandering, and they can’t even remember which character died first. There are many types of weapons, including maces, crossbows, double hooks, and two-handed swords. After years of baptism of costume films, we are not very new to these weapons in the film. The use of some weapons in the film is like toys, like watching a martial arts film or a science fiction film. When it comes to the tactics in the film, I don’t feel that wisdom plays any role in it. The overflowing action scenes are not exciting, but endlessly boring.
3、”The Yang Family Generals: Military Orders Are Like Mountains” proves one thing: there is no bottom line for bad movies. With it, all bad movies are nothing. A group of actors who have achieved some success in the past successfully staged a heartbreaking play. When I watched the story of the Yang Family Generals as a child, I got goose bumps because of the heroism, passion, and strategy. Today, I also got goose bumps when I watched the movie directed by Chen Xunqi, but it was because it was too bad, so bad that it shocked the skin and made people feel at a loss.
