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Review | Sakra movie review: Donnie Yen in action-packed adaptation of Louis Cha’s epic wuxia novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils as tragic hero Qiao Feng
- Hong Kong martial arts actor Donnie Yen stars in and directs a respectable adaptation of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, a wuxia novel by Louis Cha aka Jin Yong
- While certain well-known moments from the book are vividly brought to life, Sakra is overwhelmed by its sheer number of characters and marred by uneven pacing
Reading Time:2 minutes
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3.5/5 stars
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Hong Kong superstar Donnie Yen Ji-dan and his martial arts crew put their expertise in hard-hitting action to great use in this respectable adaptation of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, a beloved 1960s wuxia novel by literary giant Louis Cha Leung-yung, also known as Jin Yong.
Yen, who turns 60 this year, said at the screening this writer attended that he is at a stage of his career where he is now treating every action movie as if it is his last.
His passion for this ambitious undertaking is obvious. Not only is Yen the project’s leading star and producer – alongside Wong Jing, a frequent collaborator since 2017’s Chasing the Dragon – but Sakra also marks the first directing credit that he officially takes in nearly two decades. Big Brother’s Kam Ka-wai lends a hand as a co-director.
Yen plays Qiao Feng, the loyal and righteous leader of the Beggars’ Gang, a martial arts organisation in the Han Chinese-dominated Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) in China. The character is one of the most memorable tragic heroes in all of Cha’s oeuvre.
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Qiao, taken in as an abandoned baby and raised by a Han Chinese couple, grows up to become an extremely powerful martial artist who has repeatedly led his sect to victory in battles to defend their homeland against the foreign invaders from the north.
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