cityonfire.com | Dr. Wai And The Scripture Without Words

	Dr. Wai And The Scripture Without Words "Pretty much the only good thing that can be said for this film is that its unusual structure wasn't a half bad idea." - Numskull Dr. Wai And The Scripture Without Words (1996) AKA: Dr. Wai and the Scripture Without Words, Dr. Wei in the Scripture with No Words, Scripture with No Words, The Literally: Adventure King Director: Siu-Tung Ching Producer: Charles Heung, Tsai Mu Ho Writer: Lun Ah, Sandy Shaw, Roy Szeto Cast: Jet Li, Billy Chow, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Johnny Kong, Rosamund Kwan, Kar-Ying Law, Sing Ngai, Charlie Yeung Running Time: 92 min. Plot: A serial adventure writer with problems in his personal life lives out the adventures of his literary hero, King of Adventurers. Reviews NUMSKULL'S REVIEW: Holy crap, what a waste. Of time, of money, of energy, of potential. This could have been a remarkable action-adventure with a scope the width of which is rarely seen in Hong Kong cinema. Instead, it's just ninety yawn-inducing minutes pasted together in a fashion that tries to accomplish too much with too little. Jet Li plays both a pulp adventure story writer and his own creation: The King of Adventurers, a thrill-seeker clearly inspired by Indiana Jones, but with more of a roguish streak. Jet the writer is married to a bitchy, unfaithful woman named Monica who wants a divorce, and it's hurting his productivity. While the hostility between them intensifies, the latest chapter in the ongoing King of Adventurers saga is written by Jet, two of his co-workers, and Monica herself. A story being told in installments by several people with differing viewpoints on how it should progress is a pretty cool idea, but the stylistic differences amongst the various writers aren't significant enough for this premise to be used to full effect. As the writing reins are passed from one hack to the next, most of The King of Adventurers's universe remains unchanged, and the viewer will be hard pressed to give a damn whether he and his traveling companions find The Scripture With No Words or not. Much of the movie's fictional portion (it's ALL fiction, of course, but I mean the part that's fictional to the "real" characters) revolves around a mystic box that emits a light which roasts people alive when opened. Hmm...didn't I see something like that in a more substantial movie? Ah yes, it was Raiders of the Lost Ark. This film could use a few of those melting Nazis to liven things up. The movie is rife with anemic, emotionless fight scenes, with the only cool part being the electric fence bit during the battle against the ninjas. There are also cheesy special effects peppered throughout its duration, like the dog-rat creature and the flaming whip-swords. Dialogue gems include "I love to be a pile of shit" and, in one scene, a length of train track leads directly into a row of buildings. Later, Dr. Wai and his buddies drop onto the Great Wall of China...which is over 3600 miles/6000 kilometers in length...and just happen to land on the section containing the ONE secret brick that unlocks the vault wherein the coveted scripture lies. Worst of all is the romance factor, both inside and outside the King of Adventurers story. Pretty much the only good thing that can be said for this film is that its unusual structure wasn't a half bad idea. However, the execution is limp-wristed at best, and some people may not like the fact that those portions of the movie where the lion's share of the action lies aren't "really" happening. Oh yeah, and the Mei Ah DVD has no menus of any kind. The package says you can choose Cantonese or Mandarin, but that's a load of shit. And so is this movie. NUMSKULL'S RATING: 3/10 KISHIGAI'S REVIEW: This was one crazy movie. Jet Li is a writer who is having woman problems. As a release he makes his wife an evil bitch in his story, in which he himself plays the King of Adventurers. Lots of funny scenes follow, my favorite being a fight between the hero and two big sumo wrestlers. The film has many twists and turns, and a really cool pen. While more of a comedy than an action film, this movie is still entertaining. Not a very good fighter though. But it's still good. KISHIGAI'S RATING: 7/10

Dr. Wai And The Scripture Without Words

"Pretty much the only good thing that can be said for this film is that its unusual structure wasn't a half bad idea."

- Numskull

Dr. Wai And The Scripture Without Words (1996)

AKA: Dr. Wai and the Scripture Without Words, Dr. Wei in the Scripture with No Words, Scripture with No Words, The

Literally: Adventure King

Director: Siu-Tung Ching

Producer: Charles Heung, Tsai Mu Ho

Writer: Lun Ah, Sandy Shaw, Roy Szeto

Cast: Jet Li, Billy Chow, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Johnny Kong, Rosamund Kwan, Kar-Ying Law, Sing Ngai, Charlie Yeung

Running Time: 92 min.

Plot: A serial adventure writer with problems in his personal life lives out the adventures of his literary hero, King of Adventurers.

Reviews

NUMSKULL'S REVIEW: Holy crap, what a waste. Of time, of money, of energy, of potential. This could have been a remarkable action-adventure with a scope the width of which is rarely seen in Hong Kong cinema. Instead, it's just ninety yawn-inducing minutes pasted together in a fashion that tries to accomplish too much with too little.

Jet Li plays both a pulp adventure story writer and his own creation: The King of Adventurers, a thrill-seeker clearly inspired by Indiana Jones, but with more of a roguish streak. Jet the writer is married to a bitchy, unfaithful woman named Monica who wants a divorce, and it's hurting his productivity. While the hostility between them intensifies, the latest chapter in the ongoing King of Adventurers saga is written by Jet, two of his co-workers, and Monica herself. A story being told in installments by several people with differing viewpoints on how it should progress is a pretty cool idea, but the stylistic differences amongst the various writers aren't significant enough for this premise to be used to full effect. As the writing reins are passed from one hack to the next, most of The King of Adventurers's universe remains unchanged, and the viewer will be hard pressed to give a damn whether he and his traveling companions find The Scripture With No Words or not.

Much of the movie's fictional portion (it's ALL fiction, of course, but I mean the part that's fictional to the "real" characters) revolves around a mystic box that emits a light which roasts people alive when opened. Hmm...didn't I see something like that in a more substantial movie? Ah yes, it was Raiders of the Lost Ark. This film could use a few of those melting Nazis to liven things up.

The movie is rife with anemic, emotionless fight scenes, with the only cool part being the electric fence bit during the battle against the ninjas. There are also cheesy special effects peppered throughout its duration, like the dog-rat creature and the flaming whip-swords. Dialogue gems include "I love to be a pile of shit" and, in one scene, a length of train track leads directly into a row of buildings. Later, Dr. Wai and his buddies drop onto the Great Wall of China...which is over 3600 miles/6000 kilometers in length...and just happen to land on the section containing the ONE secret brick that unlocks the vault wherein the coveted scripture lies. Worst of all is the romance factor, both inside and outside the King of Adventurers story.

Pretty much the only good thing that can be said for this film is that its unusual structure wasn't a half bad idea. However, the execution is limp-wristed at best, and some people may not like the fact that those portions of the movie where the lion's share of the action lies aren't "really" happening.

Oh yeah, and the Mei Ah DVD has no menus of any kind. The package says you can choose Cantonese or Mandarin, but that's a load of shit. And so is this movie.

NUMSKULL'S RATING: 3/10

KISHIGAI'S REVIEW: This was one crazy movie. Jet Li is a writer who is having woman problems. As a release he makes his wife an evil bitch in his story, in which he himself plays the King of Adventurers. Lots of funny scenes follow, my favorite being a fight between the hero and two big sumo wrestlers. The film has many twists and turns, and a really cool pen. While more of a comedy than an action film, this movie is still entertaining. Not a very good fighter though. But it's still good.

KISHIGAI'S RATING: 7/10