Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain

Reverend Long-brows (Hung) holds a ravening blood monster at bay for 49 days while four fallible humans comb the universe for the two celestial swords which can save the world. Tsui brought in technicians from Star Wars, Star Trek and Tron to help him make 'the ultimate Chinese mythological spectacular', inspired by a newspaper serial of the late 1920s by Li Shoumin. Thanks to Hollywood know-how (and William Chang's designs), it does look pretty good, and the starry cast just about holds its own amid all the special visual effects. But where was the script? So much effort has gone into the set pieces that pacing, coherence and even dramatic impact all go hang.