None of the recent wuxia martial art epics can seem to avoid the the endemic schlockiness of the genre, so as a viewer we are just content to find one that isn’t altogether too offensive in this regard. We think that Three Kingdoms manages to do that. There’s some good action, though nothing you haven’t seen before — the hail of spears and arrows, the beheaded enemies, the evil vixen (Maggie Q) playing pipa while men are being slaughtered, and of course, the de rigeur moral message about the evils of war and humanity’s inability to end violence with violence.
The film is based on one of the classics of Chinese literature, The Three Kingdoms> (三国演义), and focuses mostly on the
character of Zhao Zilong (赵子龙), one of the legendary warriors in the book. There’s nothing to deep or particularly memorable about his journey from being a nobody in the army to becoming legendary heartthrob general, but Andy Lau does a competent enough job of it, even though his perfect teeth don’t really jibe with the character.
There are great actors like Ti Lung, and then there are not so great actors, like Maggie Q, Van Ness Wu (he of F4 boy band fame), and Sammo Hung.We’ve been reading some reviews, and most of them seem to say something alone the lines of what we read in Cinema Online:
With “Kingdoms”, you feel that it could have been a five star film if a few things were improved here and there. Before John Woo’s “Red Cliff” hits the screens, it’s still a good bet for almost-there entertainment. One thing though - Vanness Wu should never be in the same picture as Lung Ti. Harshly said, boy band members have no place in war epics, at least not one with Shaw Brothers’ icons in it.
Twitch has a slightly more critical view of the film:
These days with so many period epics on the way or already released, you can literally create a checklist for their requisites. Beautiful costumes: check. Stylish weapons: check. Breathtaking landscapes: check. Armies of thousands: check. Exciting martial arts and action sequences?
This genre has really gone the way of “all style and no substance” which is somewhat ironic, given that the whole reason why the Three Kingdoms is such a classic in the Chinese world is not just because it’s a good yarn, but because it’s moving. The characters are moving. Their relationships, their words, deeds, and actions are memorable. People know so much of these stories by heart. That’s a challenge to any filmmaker, so believe us that we aren’t trying to slag off this director as not worthy of the challenge; few directors could be. However, you’d think that character development would not be as short-shrifted as it regularly is.
Fans of wuxia and Three Kingdoms might like this one, the rest of you should not encounter any existential crisis if you miss it.
译文:
影评之《见龙卸甲》
似乎当下所有的武侠史诗都陷入了一种被改编后的俗套，而作为普通观众，我们希望能在这堆烂片中找到一部并不是太差的片子。幸运的是，让我们找到了《见龙卸甲》。这部片子里有许多你们前所未见的震撼动作场面：漫天落下的箭阵和矛阵，被斩首的敌军，在杀人的时候弹琵琶的女魔头…当然，片子的最终要体现的人道主义的主题是战争的危害和人类无力以暴“止”暴。
改编自中国经典名著之一的《三国演义》，《见龙卸甲》主要侧重于书中传奇性的武将赵子龙。影片并没有深入地介绍他是如何从军中的一个无名小卒，成长为一名令敌人闻风丧胆的大将军。赵子龙的扮演者华仔无疑能胜任这个角色，虽然他那口白牙跟人物不是很相符。
《见龙卸甲》中有很多像狄龙一样贡献了精彩表演的优秀演员，但有些演员的表演却不那么尽人意，像Maggie Q ,吴建豪（f4成员之一)和洪金宝。有很多影评都就此片发表了跟《电影在线》类似的观点：
“如果有些地方做得再好一点，那么《见龙卸甲》有可能成为‘三国’题材中五星级的电影。在吴宇森的《赤壁》上映之前，这仍是同类题材试探市场的绝佳机会。但是有一点，吴建豪和狄龙绝不应该出现在同一部片子里。严格来说，在选角上，一部战争史诗片不要选择一名偶像组合的成员，最起码是一部里面有邵氏武侠标志级人物狄龙的史诗片不要这样选角。”
Twitch（国外著名影评网） 对这部电影发表了更苛刻的评价：
"现在有很多的古代史诗电影正在拍摄中或是已经上映了，观众甚至可以为这种千片一律的类型片要素列个清单，再一边看电影一边对清单：华美的服装？有了；犀利光亮的兵器？有了；美到令人屏息的外景？有了；蜂拥而至成千上万的敌人？当然不会少。那么赏心悦目的震撼武术设计和动作场面呢？”
刻薄点说，此类型片都陷入了“有形式没内容”的怪圈。《三国演义》之所以在中国能成为如此经典，不仅它是一个伟大的故事，而是在于它是“活”的。其中的人物是活的，他们的关系，台词，事迹和活动都是活的，观众们早就对这些故事烂熟于心了。把经典搬上银幕对任何一个电影制作者来说都是挑战，但并不是不值得挑战，只是很少有人能成功。只是，无论怎样做，都不能忽视，人物要按照他应该走的路线来发展。
武侠迷和《三国》迷们也许会喜欢这部电影，但是你两者都不是的话，就算你没看《见龙卸甲》也无可非议。