Creation of the Gods: Kingdom of Storms Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Wuershan
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Kris Phillips, Li Xuejian, Huang Bo, Yu Shi
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ English
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, French Canadian
• Language ‏ : ‎ Mandarin Chinese (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Mandarin Chinese (Stereo), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), English (Stereo)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ China
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 28 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2024

        It is difficult to convey the significance of the classic Chinese fantasy novel Fengshenyanyi to Western Civilization. Not only is it among the most popular fantasy novels, it is also the only mythical epic in Chinese literature history to have originated from real historical events, while also including rich fantasy that includes gods and monsters. Because of this, the novel has been adapted numerous times, but the Creation of the Gods trilogy is the first time the novel has been filmed consecutively.

 

        The difficulty for those unfamiliar with the novel is the complex cast of characters within Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, especially given this first installment has so many introductions to make. The story begins with an attack by the Shang dynasty’s army against Jizhou rebels, led by Prince Yin Shou (Fei Xiang) and the hostage sons used as a deterrent from attacks by their biological fathers. Although Prince Shou is successful, his soldiers unintentionally release a fox spirit after the battle, which attaches to and revives the body of a dead Jizhou princess, Su Daji (Narana Erdyneeva).

 

        Once brought back with the Shang army, the fox spirit instigates the death of the king, resulting in Prince Yin Shou taking the throne. This disturbance causes the dynasty to be cursed and initially the Immortals of Kunlun consider giving Shao the Investiture Scroll to restore order and end the curse, but when they send the monk Jiang Ziya (Huang Bo), he discovers the king has been corrupted. Hostage son Ji Fa (Yu Shi) also begins to suspect the negative influence of Su Daji on the king, and quietly investigates as efforts to retrieve the Investiture Scroll are made.

 

        Jiang Ziya is chased by Shen Gongbao (Xia Yu), a corrupted rival monk after the power of the scroll in service of the king, but he is also aided by his powerful nephew-disciples, Nezha and Yang Jian. This results in a number of exciting chase sequences, between the larger scale battles carried out by the human characters fighting for power. At the same time, there is much left unresolved by the end of the narrative, as this is only the first part of the adaptation.

 

While it is likely to be expected from high fantasy adaptations, some may be turned off by how much of the film relies on CGI, though the scope of the production is impressive beyond these digital additions. The cast went through intensive training to make the film as historically accurate as possible, making this an impressive blend of fact and fantasy. Even audiences unfamiliar with the classic story will be able to find something to enjoy here, especially once they have managed to keep track of the massive cast of characters, more of which are introduced in the film’s post credit scenes.

 

Despite the amount of time and energy put into this massive production, the Blu-ray release only includes one special feature, aside from a theatrical trailer. There is a making-of featurette about the production, though the real reason for the Blu-ray is to watch the effects-heavy film in high definition.

                 

 

Entertainment Value: 7/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 6.5/10

Historical Significance:  6/10

Special Features: 3/10