''League of Gods'' () is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese
fantasy film
Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...
directed by Koan Hui, co-produced by
Charles Heung
Charles Heung Wah-keung ( zh, c=向華強) is a Hong Kong actor-turned-film producer and presenter. As founder of Win's Entertainment in the 1980s and China Star Entertainment Group in the 1990s, he has helped established the careers of vario ...
and
Wilson Yip
Wilson Yip Wai-Shun (; born 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker and screenwriter. His films include ''Bio Zombie'', '' The White Dragon'', '' SPL: Sha Po Lang'', ''Dragon Tiger Gate'', ''Flash Point'' and the ''Ip Man'' series.
Early career
...
, based on the 16th-century novel ''
Investiture of the Gods
''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese names () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Cons ...
'' by
Xu Zhonglin
Xu Zhonglin (; 1567 - c. 1619 or 1620) was a Chinese writer who lived in the Ming dynasty. He is best known as the author of the 16th century semi-mythical novel '' Investiture of the Gods'' (). He was born in Yingtian Prefecture, present-day Na ...
and starring an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
of
Jet Li
Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, Chinese martial arts, martial artist, and retired wushu (sport), Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singapo ...
,
Tony Leung,
Fan Bingbing
Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. From 2013 to 2017, she was included as the highest-paid celebrity in the ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list after ranking in the top 10 every year since 2006. She appeared on ''Time'' ...
,
Louis Koo
Louis Koo Tin-lok ( zh, t=古天樂; born 21 October 1970) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and film producer. He began his professional career as an actor in local television series, winning TVB's Best Actor award in 1999 and 2001. After 2001, he f ...
,
Mark Huang,
Angelababy,
Wen Zhang
Wen Zhang (, born 26 June 1984) is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 2006. Wen ranked 58th on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, and 45th in 2014.
Career Rising popularity
Wen first became known for h ...
,
Andy On
Andy On () (born May 11, 1977) is an American actor and martial artist.
Life and career
On was born on May 11, 1977, in Providence, Rhode Island. He is a native of the US, and can speak English, Mandarin, and a bit of Cantonese.
Andy On did no ...
and
Jacky Heung
Jacky Heung Cho () is a Hong Kong actor. He is the elder son of film producer/presenter Charles Heung and his wife Tiffany Chen
Tiffany Chen Ming-Yin (born January 15, 1959) is a Hong Kong administrative film producer, agent and investor. ...
.
The film was released in China on 29 July 2016.
Due to the criticism from film critics and audiences with the lack of 3D effects, story and characters, the film was a
box-office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
; eventually, it won the
Golden Broom Awards ''Youth Film Handbook'' (青年电影手册) is a Chinese magazine established by film critic/screenwriter/director Cheng Qingsong (程青松) in 2007, featuring independent film reviews and interviews. It is best known for handing out its annual "G ...
for Worst Picture and nominated for Worst Director. For her role Lan Die in the film,
Angelababy also won the Hong Kong Golden Plum Award for Worst Supporting Actress. However, in the positive view, the film was nominated for
Best Costume Make-up Design at the
36th Hong Kong Film Awards
The 36th Hong Kong Film Awards presentation ceremony took place at Hong Kong Cultural Centre on 9 April 2017.
Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ().
References
Extern ...
, but lost to ''
The Monkey King 2
''The Monkey King 2'' (Chinese: 西遊記之孫悟空三打白骨精) is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese action fantasy film based on the classic 16th-century novel ''Journey to the West'' by Wu Cheng'en. The film was shot in 3D and is a sequel to the ...
''.
Plot
During the reign of
King Zhou
King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse cr ...
(Tony Leung Ka-fai), an official enters his bedchamber, and is devoured by the monstrous tails of
Daji
Daji () was the favourite consort of King Zhou of Shang, the last king of the Shang dynasty in History of China, ancient China. In legends and fictions, she is portrayed as a malevolent fox spirit who kills and impersonates the real Daji. Her ide ...
(Fan Bingbing), his concubine. Outside their city, several warriors within a metal wagon discuss their strategies to free the Invisible People and their Chief, when
Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya ( century BC – century BC), also known by several other names, was a Chinese noble who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China. Following their victory at Muye, he continued to serve ...
(Jet Li) appears to them. He tells them that when King Zhou was younger, he let himself become possessed by the Black Dragon for his quest for power. Jiang Ziya later departs riding his
crane.
Within the city, King Zhou and Daji hold a festival, and torture the chief of the Invisible People to foretell his future. The chief shows King Zhou a vision of himself pleading for mercy and disintegrating away, causing the King to order his guards to remove the chief's eyes. At the same time, the warriors sneak into a prison and fight several guards, where
Leizhenzi
Leizhenzi ( zh, c=雷震子, p=Léizhènzǐ) a character in the classic Chinese novel ''Investiture of the Gods'' (''Fengshen Yanyi'').
Leizhenzi is a celestial being that had been created by a great thunderstorm at Mount Swallow. Ji Chang had ...
(Jacky Heung), a member of the Wing Adept tribe, uses his powers to destroy the metal bars that seal the Invisible People, even though he was warned not to use them there. His powers attracts
Shen Gong Bao's (Louis Koo) attention, and he rides on his black leopard to pursue them. Several of the Invisible People are then killed by more guards. Nonetheless, the warriors manage to escape with the Invisible Children, who use their powers to teleport to another location. To stop Shen Gong Bao from advancing any further, Leizhenzi destroys a wall and creates a barrier. As Leizhenzi and
Ji Fa
King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC.
King Wu's ancestral name was ...
(Andy On) talk, he explains about his past in which his father was killed by an invading army that exterminated most of the Wing Adepts, and his father's wings were torn off his back.
Jiang Ziya arrives to interrupt the festival and stops time, allowing him to free the Invisible chief, and help the warriors and the Invisible Children to escape. As Jiang Ziya avoids Daji's tails, she casts a magic spell at him. To save him, the chief digs out one eye and throws it towards Daji to distract her, but he gets destroyed by her tails instead. Jiang Ziya escapes to his crane with one of the chief's eyes, while the other eye is obtained by Daji.
The warriors return to their capital. Leizhenzi tries to grow wings where King
Ji Chang
King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of state of Zhou, Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different hi ...
(Zu Feng) requests Jiang Ziya to use the chief's eye to find a way to defeat King Zhou and the Black Dragon. Jiang Ziya answers that it is by using a sword known as the "Sword of Light", which can only be used by the chosen hero "Golden Dragon", and that they must find the sword before the three suns converge, in which the Black Dragon will be released. But while doing so, Jiang Ziya becomes younger, as he warned that Daji cast a spell on him that reverses his age, and for each time he uses his magic the reverse-aging accelerates.
Leizhenzi volunteers to find the sword, and Jiang Ziya tells him that he must take three gifts from the Spring of Life with him. He also summons an egg from the well, out of which
Ne Zha
Nezha ( 哪吒) is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" () after he became a deity.
Origins
According to Meir Shahar, Nez ...
hatches and causes mischief. Leizhenzi and Ne Zha depart into a wasteland, where the first of Jiang Ziya's gifts, a one-eyed plant, gives Leizhenzi advice. Ne Zha plays with the plant, and the three are chased by an legendary desert centipede-like worm, which Leizhenzi kills. Ne Zha steals from Leizhenzi the second gift: a baby Dragon Prince whose growth was stunted by Ne Zha, and it subdues the quickly-grown Ne Zha (Wen Zhang) by breathing a gas on him, making him unconscious while turning him into an adult. Upon waking, Leizhenzi forces him to help him find the Sword of Light, while promising to him that he will help Ne Zha find his Fire Wheels.
Shen Gong Bao constructs and animates an
automaton
An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...
(Angelababy), and instructs her to find and kill Leizhenzi. Leizhenzi and Ne Zha stumble into a collection of pillars within a marsh, which turn into a palace in a desert, where a hermit (Huang Xiaoming) manipulates sand with magic. Irritated, the hermit attacks them, but is defeated. The hermit is revealed to be
Erlang Shen
Erlang Shen () or Erlang, also known as the Lord of Sichuan (), is a Chinese god with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead.
Erlang Shen may be a deified version of several semi-mythical folk heroes who helped regulate China ...
. Leizhenji gives Erlang Shen the third of Jiang Ziya's gifts: his faithful dog Howling Celestial. Erlang Shen then leaves them to find his Golden Armor.
Leizhenzi and Ne Zha travel to a port, where the former encounters a beautiful woman who entertains children with glowing butterflies, whose name is Lan Die, in reality the automaton. Leizhenzi and Lan Die go find a sorceress
Taiyi Zhenren
Taiyi Zhenren () is a deity in Chinese religion and Taoism. ''Taiyi'' () means "primordial unity of yin and yang" and ''Zhenren'' () is a Daoist term for "Perfected Person". According to the opening of the classical novel '' Fengshen Bang'', he ...
, who uses his dreams to read into his mind. After being woken by the plant, Lan Die steals the artifact that they use as a ship to sail out of the port, and Ne Zha follows. That ship is supposed to sail to any location that its user desires. While in the ship, Ne Zha torments the baby Dragon Prince, who breathes gas on Ne Zha again to put him to sleep and reverting him back to a child. Lan Die and Leizhenzi admire the sunrise, but Shen Gong Bao takes her memories away, revealing her to be an automaton.
Leizhenzi wonders why is the ship going to the middle of the ocean, and the plant answers that it is because someone else, the baby dragon prince, has controlled the ship to return to his father's palace. As the Dragon Prince sings, the
Dragon King of the East Sea
Ao Guang (; or ) is the Dragon King of the East Sea in Chinese folklore. He featured prominently in different works including ''Fengshen Yanyi'' and ''Journey to the West''.
''Fengshen Yanyi''
According to the ''Fengshen Yanyi'', after the passa ...
(Waise Lee) hears him and orders his giant octopus to bring Ne Zha and his son back to him. While in the sea palace, Ne Zha demands the Dragon King to return his Fire Wheels to him. The Dragon King orders his guards to attack Ne Zha, but he defeats them by urinating and passing gas at them. The Dragon King gives Ne Zha the Fire Wheels, and is given the baby dragon prince in exchange. With the fire wheels, Ne Zha turns into an adult and flies away.
The ship is now able to fly to Leizhenzi's former home, which is now in ruins. He finds the Sword of Light, which is guarded by several rapidly-moving rings that surround its floating island. Shen Gong Bao arrives with a fleet of flying ships, and subdues Leizhenzi. In exchange for Leizhenzi's life, Lan Die overcomes the rapid rings, and retrieves the sword, but it inadvertently destroys the rings and blows Shen Gong Bao and his fleet away. Leizhenzi grows new wings and carries the dying Lan Die to see the sunset. She turns into a wooden mannequin, and he leaves her to rest at the sword's island, taking the sword with him. As he notices the suns beginning to converge, he hurries with Ne Zha and Erlang Shen (who has found his golden armor) back to the capital, which is now under siege by another fleet of King Zhou's flying ships. As Jiang Jiya struggles to use the city's defense system properly, Daji uses her magic again to revive Shen Gong Bao, which turns him into an invincible monster.
The three heroes return with the Sword of Light to find Jiang Ziya being reverted to a young boy. They fight Shen Gong Bao, who during the fight kills Ji Chang. With his dying breath, Ji Chang passes his command and the sword to his son, Ji Fa. Ji Fa rushes to the Spring of Life and dives in to charge the sword. As the heroes draw Shen Gong Bao into the Spring of Life, Ji Fa emerges as the "Golden Dragon" with his charged sword and new golden armor, and kills the monster.
The movie ends with Ji Fa mobilizing his forces for a counterattack and flies his fortress towards the
Shang kingdom, while King Zhou turns into the Black Dragon awaiting for the heroes to attack, with a baby Jiang Ziya in their possession.
Cast
*
Jet Li
Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, Chinese martial arts, martial artist, and retired wushu (sport), Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singapo ...
as
Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya ( century BC – century BC), also known by several other names, was a Chinese noble who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China. Following their victory at Muye, he continued to serve ...
, a wise sage who helps the protagonists, but is affected by a spell that reverses his age.
*
Fan Bingbing
Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. From 2013 to 2017, she was included as the highest-paid celebrity in the ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list after ranking in the top 10 every year since 2006. She appeared on ''Time'' ...
as
Daji
Daji () was the favourite consort of King Zhou of Shang, the last king of the Shang dynasty in History of China, ancient China. In legends and fictions, she is portrayed as a malevolent fox spirit who kills and impersonates the real Daji. Her ide ...
, King Zhou's concubine whose tails can tear their victim to pieces.
*
Louis Koo
Louis Koo Tin-lok ( zh, t=古天樂; born 21 October 1970) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and film producer. He began his professional career as an actor in local television series, winning TVB's Best Actor award in 1999 and 2001. After 2001, he f ...
as
Shen Gong Bao, an official who serves King Zhou as head warlord and rides on a black leopard.
*
Mark Huang as
Erlang Shen
Erlang Shen () or Erlang, also known as the Lord of Sichuan (), is a Chinese god with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead.
Erlang Shen may be a deified version of several semi-mythical folk heroes who helped regulate China ...
*
Angelababy as Lan Die, an automaton created by Shen Gong Bao to spy on Leizhenzi.
*
Tony Leung Ka-fai
Tony Leung Ka-fai (; born 1 February 1958) is a Hong Kong actor who is a four-time winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor.
As he is often confused with actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony," while Tony Leu ...
as
King Zhou of Shang
King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu (wikt:紂, 紂) also refers to a ...
, the power-hungry ruler of the later
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
.
*
Jacky Heung
Jacky Heung Cho () is a Hong Kong actor. He is the elder son of film producer/presenter Charles Heung and his wife Tiffany Chen
Tiffany Chen Ming-Yin (born January 15, 1959) is a Hong Kong administrative film producer, agent and investor. ...
as
Leizhenzi
Leizhenzi ( zh, c=雷震子, p=Léizhènzǐ) a character in the classic Chinese novel ''Investiture of the Gods'' (''Fengshen Yanyi'').
Leizhenzi is a celestial being that had been created by a great thunderstorm at Mount Swallow. Ji Chang had ...
, the last surviving member of the Wing Adept tribe.
*
Wen Zhang
Wen Zhang (, born 26 June 1984) is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 2006. Wen ranked 58th on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, and 45th in 2014.
Career Rising popularity
Wen first became known for h ...
as
Nezha
Nezha ( 哪吒) is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" () after he became a deity.
Origins
According to Meir Shahar, Nezh ...
*
Xu Qing
Xu Qing (; born 22 January 1969), known also as Summer Qing, is a Chinese actress. She was accepted into the acting class of Beijing Film Academy in 1988 and graduated in 1992.
Career
Xu made her debut in the 1990 film '' Life on a String'', ...
as
Taiyi Zhenren
Taiyi Zhenren () is a deity in Chinese religion and Taoism. ''Taiyi'' () means "primordial unity of yin and yang" and ''Zhenren'' () is a Daoist term for "Perfected Person". According to the opening of the classical novel '' Fengshen Bang'', he ...
*
Zu Feng
Zu Feng (; born 23 February 1974) is a Chinese actor and director.
Zu first attracted attention in 2008 for his role as Li Ya in the successful TV drama '' Lurk''.
He has earned and been nominated for numerous awards during his career, includi ...
as
Ji Chang
King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of state of Zhou, Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different hi ...
*
Andy On
Andy On () (born May 11, 1977) is an American actor and martial artist.
Life and career
On was born on May 11, 1977, in Providence, Rhode Island. He is a native of the US, and can speak English, Mandarin, and a bit of Cantonese.
Andy On did no ...
as
Ji Fa
King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC.
King Wu's ancestral name was ...
*
Wang Zipeng as Ji Ping
*
Li Xiaobo as Ji General
*
He Jude as Dun Di
*
Waise Lee
Waise Lee Chi-hung (born 19 December 1959) is a Hong Kong film and television actor best known for playing the roles of villains and antagonists in various films.
Biography
Lee graduated from TVB's Artist Training Academy in 1982 and was from the ...
as
Dragon King of the East Sea
Ao Guang (; or ) is the Dragon King of the East Sea in Chinese folklore. He featured prominently in different works including ''Fengshen Yanyi'' and ''Journey to the West''.
''Fengshen Yanyi''
According to the ''Fengshen Yanyi'', after the passa ...
Production
The budget of the film is .
[ ]Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
started on 21 January 2015. Actress Cecilia Cheung
Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi (in Chinese 張栢芝, born 24 May 1980) is a Hong Kong actress and cantopop singer. Cheung is considered a " Sing girl"—an actress who first received media attention through starring alongside Stephen Chow, and later ...
was originally cast in the role of Nezha
Nezha ( 哪吒) is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" () after he became a deity.
Origins
According to Meir Shahar, Nezh ...
, however, due to her poor behavior on set, she was fired from the film. She was replaced in her role by actor Wen Zhang
Wen Zhang (, born 26 June 1984) is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 2006. Wen ranked 58th on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, and 45th in 2014.
Career Rising popularity
Wen first became known for h ...
, who was the original choice for the role.
Release
The film was released in Australia and New Zealand on 28 July 2016 and in China, USA, Canada and the UK on 29 July 2016.
Reception
The film grossed at the Chinese box office. It grossed worldwide.
References
External links
*
*
{{Fengshen Yanyi
2010s fantasy comedy films
2016 3D films
2016 films
2010s Cantonese-language films
Hong Kong fantasy films
Hong Kong 3D films
China Star Entertainment Group films
Chinese 3D films
Chinese fantasy comedy films
Films based on Chinese novels
Works based on Investiture of the Gods
Films scored by John Debney
Huayi Brothers films
2016 comedy films
Films set in the Shang dynasty
2010s Mandarin-language films
2010s Hong Kong films