Special screening of The Taking of Tiger Mountain

'The Taking of Tiger Mountain' is a Chinese-Hong Kong 3D epic action film which is based on the novel, 'Tracks in the Heavy Forest' by Qu Bo. This movie is also Tsui Hark's latest 3D legendary battle during a period of one of the many Chinese civil wars. Personally, I found the balance between the reality and fantasy setting, which the movie tries to portray a little off and lacking. This was probably due to the movie being his first one with a historical setting. Nevertheless, it was pretty entertaining, and it may not be a classic Tsui film but definitely a decent one!



There is some slo-mo shots meant to justify the price of 3D for those who paid extra to see it with the additional dimension.



Hong Kong veteran, Tony Leung acts as a villain in the show. His outfit is very flashy, which also is shown on his eight personal warriors, as they were decked out in very prominent and colorful costumes. However, on the other hand, the protagonists of the movie are the PLA, 'People's Liberation Army', and they are far more conventional and plain.

In this show, Kenny Lin outshines himself as a new actor and leaves a strong impression of being mature and looking serious.

The story takes place in Northwest China, where a civil war has begun between a gang of bandits and the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Jianbo (starring Kenny Lin) leads the PLA Unit 203 to fight against the bandit Chief, Lord Hawk (played by Tony Leung), who takes over Tiger Mountain with his eight warriors and thousands of bandits. The PLA, on the other hand, have only 30 soldiers and an assortment of light weapons, and the only one way to win this battle is to look for weak link in the opponent's strong defence system.

Yang Zirong (starring Zhang Hanyu) volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the bandit gang, so he can help the PLA to capture them at one swoop. This mission has to be carried out carefully as any small slips might cost his life. 

There was a fighting scene between Yang and a hungry tiger which I found ridiculous as the action was too 'kua zhang'. However, I was quite impressed by the snowfield, which was where the main story unfolded. It seemed quite odd to me that the beginning of the movie started with a prologue in modern day New York though! Lastly, I was surprised that there is an alternative ending in the show, but it is unnecessary.

Thanks Clover Films for the invite, and 'The Taking of Tiger Mountain' premiered on the 8 January 2015.