Jet Li is a writer of pulpy Adventure novels with his alter ego acting as the main hero, while in real life he's trying to solve some serious relationship-issues with his girlfriend. Naturally the Adventure part taking place in a fictional scenario (and thankfully using up most of the movie's screen time) is the more entertaining one of those two story lines. Unfortunately plot-twists gradually become more random and ridiculous, so atmospheric visuals and fight-scenes remain as the only redeeming factor. Action focuses on effect and not so much on realism, Jet Li battling a Ninja-Squad is a blast, though. The "Indiana Jones"-feel is there, but without the suspense or energy. SFX are looking good and carry a certain trashy charm to them, while events in the real world stick to being a rather dull affair. Some good jokes here and there, but in the end there's nothing really to remember. Subtitles on the HK-DVD are of worst kind imaginably, they make no sense at all.
22 Reviews
Atypical Jet Li movie, for HK cinema fanatics only
gridoon19 June 2006
I have to disagree with one of the previous reviewers who said that this movie would be ideal for Hong Kong cinema neophytes. I believe that only HK fanatics should even attempt to watch it - the less experienced viewers will probably turn it off after about 30 minutes (it's no wonder that no American distributor picked it up for re-release; it certainly doesn't have the wide appeal of a movie like "Meltdown" / "High Risk"). The idea is ambitious, the production is lavish, but the story is confusing and unengaging, and the result is a film too bizarre and self-indulgent for most audiences. Jet Li once again proves that he can act (in a dual role, no less), but the vast majority of the fighting is over-the-top and (intentionally) unrealistic. There are some memorable moments, however, like his brief encounter with two huge sumo wrestlers! (**)
Good, but not earthshaking.
winner5525 June 2006
Thomas Weissman, who wrote a supposedly major text on Asian cinema (which unfortunately probably blocked publication of better texts for some time) pee-ed off a lot of fans of Hong Kong cinema. One of the reasons is that he knows dam' well the difference between a good movie and a good "genre" film, but, instead of developing this difference critically, he prefers to smudge it, and thus frequently leaves readers with misconceptions.
Weissman's review of this film promised a real avant-garde transgression of time and space, of pulp and serious narrative. I'm afraid that's not what's happening here.
For one thing, we get no closer to any of this characters than we do in any other Hong Kong genre film. That's important; to make real transgressions of time, space, genre, etc., we need to see what's going on from a particular point of view. (If one doesn't care for "The Singing Detective" - and I don't - then refer to "Slaughterhouse Five".) Since this is really an "action-comedy". it can't do that. Instead, it scrambles its plot around from several different points of view; but the heart of the narrative remains action, not 'perspective'.
Well, is it a good action comedy? yeah, I enjoyed it, I'll probably watch it again. IS it the super-duper-transgressive New-wave make or break film that Weissman and a few others have touted it as? Nope. For that see Wong Kar Wai's "Ashes of Time".
But not every film has to be really really serious or 'great'. This is a fun film, with some weird displacements of time and space, just to make it interesting. Enjoy it as such.
Weissman's review of this film promised a real avant-garde transgression of time and space, of pulp and serious narrative. I'm afraid that's not what's happening here.
For one thing, we get no closer to any of this characters than we do in any other Hong Kong genre film. That's important; to make real transgressions of time, space, genre, etc., we need to see what's going on from a particular point of view. (If one doesn't care for "The Singing Detective" - and I don't - then refer to "Slaughterhouse Five".) Since this is really an "action-comedy". it can't do that. Instead, it scrambles its plot around from several different points of view; but the heart of the narrative remains action, not 'perspective'.
Well, is it a good action comedy? yeah, I enjoyed it, I'll probably watch it again. IS it the super-duper-transgressive New-wave make or break film that Weissman and a few others have touted it as? Nope. For that see Wong Kar Wai's "Ashes of Time".
But not every film has to be really really serious or 'great'. This is a fun film, with some weird displacements of time and space, just to make it interesting. Enjoy it as such.
*** SPOILERS *** Jet Li pulls double work, and more comedy
Sooner_8822 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
What can I say about this film other than the fact that it was an interesting watch. I never heard of this movie and to be honest most of Jet Li's 90's films are almost forgotten or lost compared to his post American/millennium run of movies. Somehow though this had enough in it to make it worth a view.
Jet Li plays the King of Adventurers along with several friends played by Japanese born actor Kaneshiro and newcomer Charlie Yeung who both give well timed comedic beats that compliment Jet's character even though sometimes they fall short. The film reminded me a lot of Jackie Chan's Armor of God films, and very close to that style of genre, but what makes this stand out is its reliance on developing narrative told by the perspective of its characters similar to Rob Reiners Princess Bride, or Bryan Singers Usual Suspects . I'm not too keen myself on these movies if they're not executed in a way as the movie's I've listed, and I feel that's where this movie sort of falls short.
I want to address the humor in this film first. I'm not familiar with mainland China's sense of humor and what they believe as being funny or comedic, when I can only relate to the entire catalog of Jackie Chan films and he alone has that edge over the likes of Jet and Kaneshiro.
The second is the multiple narratives being told by multiple characters to finish the story within the film. This makes it very uneven and hard to follow since you have one story taking place while another is completely fictional within the world of the film. Then you through in fight scenes, along with some dated CGI and humor and you got a recipe for a film that is doing a lot while not doing enough to balance it.
What I can say that sells the film is the action set pieces that without a doubt are the highlight of the movie. From practical trains rampaging through a village set, all the way up to an epic duel with fire swords toward the climax of the movie keep you around long enough to see what might make you scream out in hilarity. I found the action to be mostly fun, if not humorous for what it was aiming for and that was good enough for me.
If you ever run across this movie on Youtube, and are a big Jet Li fan that must add this to your watch list then give it a try, but good luck finding a copy of this film on DVD which I don't believe was released in North America. All in all, I recommend to anyone who are fans these particular films
6/10.
Jet Li plays the King of Adventurers along with several friends played by Japanese born actor Kaneshiro and newcomer Charlie Yeung who both give well timed comedic beats that compliment Jet's character even though sometimes they fall short. The film reminded me a lot of Jackie Chan's Armor of God films, and very close to that style of genre, but what makes this stand out is its reliance on developing narrative told by the perspective of its characters similar to Rob Reiners Princess Bride, or Bryan Singers Usual Suspects . I'm not too keen myself on these movies if they're not executed in a way as the movie's I've listed, and I feel that's where this movie sort of falls short.
I want to address the humor in this film first. I'm not familiar with mainland China's sense of humor and what they believe as being funny or comedic, when I can only relate to the entire catalog of Jackie Chan films and he alone has that edge over the likes of Jet and Kaneshiro.
The second is the multiple narratives being told by multiple characters to finish the story within the film. This makes it very uneven and hard to follow since you have one story taking place while another is completely fictional within the world of the film. Then you through in fight scenes, along with some dated CGI and humor and you got a recipe for a film that is doing a lot while not doing enough to balance it.
What I can say that sells the film is the action set pieces that without a doubt are the highlight of the movie. From practical trains rampaging through a village set, all the way up to an epic duel with fire swords toward the climax of the movie keep you around long enough to see what might make you scream out in hilarity. I found the action to be mostly fun, if not humorous for what it was aiming for and that was good enough for me.
If you ever run across this movie on Youtube, and are a big Jet Li fan that must add this to your watch list then give it a try, but good luck finding a copy of this film on DVD which I don't believe was released in North America. All in all, I recommend to anyone who are fans these particular films
6/10.
End Credits Song
kisonaimartialarts11 September 2021
The movie was overwhelming and captivated, I re-watch 3 times a week, but its quite sad I couldn't get my hands on the end credits song, I've searched heaven and earth for the song but couldn't get... Pls any source or means I can get the end credits song?
Lumbering, would-be spectacular
Libretio27 December 2004
DR. WAI IN "THE SCRIPTURE WITH NO WORDS" (Mao Xian Wang)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic)
Sound format: Dolby Digital
A huge disappointment from director Tony Ching (DUEL TO THE DEATH, "A Chinese Ghost Story"), this lumbering would-be spectacular - conceived as a light-hearted riff on the Indiana Jones subgenre - finds paperback author Jet Li ploughing all of his frustrations from a crumbling marriage to Rosamund Kwan into a work of fiction where his brave alter ego (a 1930's soldier of fortune, also played by Li) seeks a magical scripture and is thwarted at every turn by a villainous seductress (also Kwan) and her evil cohorts.
The half-hearted script (by Szeto Cheuk-hon, Sandy Shaw and Lam Wai-lun) lurches from one overblown set-piece to another in search of a worthwhile narrative, combining lackluster comedy and predictable action scenes in a failed attempt at a modern epic. However, the combat sequences - choreographed by Ching himself, aided and abetted by Ma Yuk-sing (CAT AND MOUSE) - are staged with typical cinematic bravado, but the formula is wearing a little thin, and the intrusive comic asides serve only to drain tension from the various confrontations between Good and Evil. Stunningly photographed in an uncredited scope format by veteran cinematographer Tom Lau (DRAGON INN, THE EAST IS RED), the film conjures a vivid period atmosphere, and there's a couple of outstanding set-pieces - including a spectacular train crash; Li's encounter with a couple of Sumo wrestlers (don't ask!); and the final showdown with villain Billy Chow - though the climactic visual effects are poor by western standards. Li and Kwan, reunited from their successful teaming in the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series, are attractive and lively, while Takeshi Kaneshiro (CHUNG KING EXPRESS) and Charlie Yeung (FALLEN ANGELS) are largely wasted in routine supporting roles.
Plagued by budgetary problems following a disastrous fire which destroyed $HK10 million worth of sets, producers sought to bolster the film's international fortunes by hiring Tsui Hark to direct additional footage for a re-edited export version which drops the modern day sequences and rearranges the narrative in linear fashion. It doesn't help much, but the filmmakers at least deserve points for trying.
(Cantonese dialogue)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic)
Sound format: Dolby Digital
A huge disappointment from director Tony Ching (DUEL TO THE DEATH, "A Chinese Ghost Story"), this lumbering would-be spectacular - conceived as a light-hearted riff on the Indiana Jones subgenre - finds paperback author Jet Li ploughing all of his frustrations from a crumbling marriage to Rosamund Kwan into a work of fiction where his brave alter ego (a 1930's soldier of fortune, also played by Li) seeks a magical scripture and is thwarted at every turn by a villainous seductress (also Kwan) and her evil cohorts.
The half-hearted script (by Szeto Cheuk-hon, Sandy Shaw and Lam Wai-lun) lurches from one overblown set-piece to another in search of a worthwhile narrative, combining lackluster comedy and predictable action scenes in a failed attempt at a modern epic. However, the combat sequences - choreographed by Ching himself, aided and abetted by Ma Yuk-sing (CAT AND MOUSE) - are staged with typical cinematic bravado, but the formula is wearing a little thin, and the intrusive comic asides serve only to drain tension from the various confrontations between Good and Evil. Stunningly photographed in an uncredited scope format by veteran cinematographer Tom Lau (DRAGON INN, THE EAST IS RED), the film conjures a vivid period atmosphere, and there's a couple of outstanding set-pieces - including a spectacular train crash; Li's encounter with a couple of Sumo wrestlers (don't ask!); and the final showdown with villain Billy Chow - though the climactic visual effects are poor by western standards. Li and Kwan, reunited from their successful teaming in the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series, are attractive and lively, while Takeshi Kaneshiro (CHUNG KING EXPRESS) and Charlie Yeung (FALLEN ANGELS) are largely wasted in routine supporting roles.
Plagued by budgetary problems following a disastrous fire which destroyed $HK10 million worth of sets, producers sought to bolster the film's international fortunes by hiring Tsui Hark to direct additional footage for a re-edited export version which drops the modern day sequences and rearranges the narrative in linear fashion. It doesn't help much, but the filmmakers at least deserve points for trying.
(Cantonese dialogue)
If I am judging this by how much martial arts this movie has, this is what I'd give it.
jordondave-2808529 September 2023
(1996) Dr. Wai: The Scripture With No Words
(In Chinese with English subtitles)
HISTORICAL FICTION ACTION/ DRAMA
One of Jet Lee's weaker films in terms of both action and plot which showcases the story line in different segments than to allow Jet Lee to really showcase his stuff. More drama than action and intended only for die hard Jet Lee enthusiasts. Like many martial art movies, I judged this movie by how much martial arts it has, as well as how much innovative martial art scenes it has. I must confess, I did not pay too much attention to the story, and just used the fast forward button while playing. Since I read somewhere during this time, because "action" and "comedic sequences" were the two genres that Hong Kong viewers prefer watching, I just assumed 'story' is sometimes built around comedy and action scenes.
One of Jet Lee's weaker films in terms of both action and plot which showcases the story line in different segments than to allow Jet Lee to really showcase his stuff. More drama than action and intended only for die hard Jet Lee enthusiasts. Like many martial art movies, I judged this movie by how much martial arts it has, as well as how much innovative martial art scenes it has. I must confess, I did not pay too much attention to the story, and just used the fast forward button while playing. Since I read somewhere during this time, because "action" and "comedic sequences" were the two genres that Hong Kong viewers prefer watching, I just assumed 'story' is sometimes built around comedy and action scenes.
Nothing at all Entertaining.
Batkid116 October 2007
I don't expect much from Action/Adventure films, but this is just plain out ridiculous.
First off, you don't really care about the characters because most of them are too self-centered and given "next-to-none" development so the viewer could honestly care less.
Granted, it's not the "Worst Movie Ever," but here the film just drags to the point where you just want to turn it off even if you're a patient person like me.
Fan of Jet Li who are here just to see his performance and showing off his Martial-Arts skills will be heavily disappointed because there are few scenes where he is creatively beating up someone or drawing in the viewer. The film is just a silly Chinese version of Indiana Jones and, sadly, it was better off not being parodied and/or being rehashed.
Watch it if you absolutely need to see anything with Jet Li in it, but don't come complaining to this IMDb board exclaiming on how disappointed you were !
First off, you don't really care about the characters because most of them are too self-centered and given "next-to-none" development so the viewer could honestly care less.
Granted, it's not the "Worst Movie Ever," but here the film just drags to the point where you just want to turn it off even if you're a patient person like me.
Fan of Jet Li who are here just to see his performance and showing off his Martial-Arts skills will be heavily disappointed because there are few scenes where he is creatively beating up someone or drawing in the viewer. The film is just a silly Chinese version of Indiana Jones and, sadly, it was better off not being parodied and/or being rehashed.
Watch it if you absolutely need to see anything with Jet Li in it, but don't come complaining to this IMDb board exclaiming on how disappointed you were !
Hard to follow! 1/10
leonblackwood12 July 2014
Plot: Set in the early 20th century where Wai (Jet Li) embarks on an action packed quest in search of "The Scriptures With No Words". Accompanied by his loyal assistant Pao they encounter many obstacles along the way, including the lovely-but-deadly Yu Fung, a top agent for the Japanese who falls for Dr Wai's boyish looks, and lethal fighting skills of underworld gangster Ngai, who falls prey to the scriptures and transforms into an evil monster to confront Li in the final showdown.
Review: I'm usually a big fan of Jet Li movies, but this one was really bad. I didn't have a clue what was going on and the acting was pretty appalling. Some of the action scenes weren't to bad, but the storyline was all over the place and it just seemed to jump for one scene to the next. Although the movie was made in the 90's, it looked like it was made in the early 80's with a dodgy camera. The film reminded me of Jackie Chan's earlier work when he was making those ridiculous Kung fu comedies that were equally bad. Anyway, I'll put this movie down to a quick payday for Li because he brought out much better movies in the 90's.
Round-Up: I've decided to start a Jet Li collection, but this movie was not a good film to start off with. It might be down to the fact that I lost complete interest right from the beginning, which is why I lost the plot, but it didn't seem like I missed much. The fact is, no matter what type of movie Jet Li is in, his fighting skills are impressive and there very unique, except for appearance in the Expendables were he doesn't seem to do much at all. Anyway, if your a Jet Li fan, don't judge him by this movie because it had to be one of his worst ones.
I recommend this movie to people who are into there Jet Li movies about a man in search for some scriptures. 1/10
Review: I'm usually a big fan of Jet Li movies, but this one was really bad. I didn't have a clue what was going on and the acting was pretty appalling. Some of the action scenes weren't to bad, but the storyline was all over the place and it just seemed to jump for one scene to the next. Although the movie was made in the 90's, it looked like it was made in the early 80's with a dodgy camera. The film reminded me of Jackie Chan's earlier work when he was making those ridiculous Kung fu comedies that were equally bad. Anyway, I'll put this movie down to a quick payday for Li because he brought out much better movies in the 90's.
Round-Up: I've decided to start a Jet Li collection, but this movie was not a good film to start off with. It might be down to the fact that I lost complete interest right from the beginning, which is why I lost the plot, but it didn't seem like I missed much. The fact is, no matter what type of movie Jet Li is in, his fighting skills are impressive and there very unique, except for appearance in the Expendables were he doesn't seem to do much at all. Anyway, if your a Jet Li fan, don't judge him by this movie because it had to be one of his worst ones.
I recommend this movie to people who are into there Jet Li movies about a man in search for some scriptures. 1/10
Recommended, particularly for Hong Kong movie neophytes
YTSL21 July 1999
This movie has an interesting premise (the depiction of and flip-flopping between a writer's fictional life as The King of Adventurers and his "real", problem-ridden -- he is in the middle of a huge writer's block precipitated by marital problems -- life). Although there may appear to be echoes of and borrowings from such American movies as "Romancing the Stone" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark", it turns out to have characteristically Hong Kong elements ("wire fu" fights, cross-dressing, etc. -- all featuring the hero, as played by Jet Li; action -- in one case, whip-wielding -- women) as well as its own attractions (I particularly like the idea of the pen as a real as well as metaphorical weapon). All this having been said, it still seems to lack the extremes of and thus seem surprisingly tame compared to many another Hong Kong movie...which may explain why it is not a particular favorite of many Hong Kong movie fans. On the other hand, for those (relatively) unused to the pace, gore and quick mood changes of so many movies from that part of the world, this would be recommended as a movie which showcases the imagination of Hong Kong movie makers and the ability -- in terms of quality but also range of possibility -- of its actors and actresses.
Waste
sarthakjaiswaloo1 August 2021
An okay Jet Li movie
Poe-64 November 1998
Jet Li stars as the "King of Adventurers," a novelist who is having marital troubles and takes his feelings to his book that he is writing. The story was pretty interesting, but it was a bit slow paced for me. There were a few interesting fight scenes, especailly with the ninjas and the sumo wrestlers, but they weren't as good as Jet Li's other fights. It's a good rental movie.
Jet Li in the script with no worth.
BA_Harrison18 February 2015
Chow Si Kit (Jet Li) is a writer of serial adventures who imagines himself as the hero of his stories, brave archaeologist King of Adventurers. Recently, Chow Si Kit has been suffering from writer's block as a result of his marriage problems with wife Monica (played by the lovely Rosamund Kwan), but receives help from his friends when his back is turned, making the King of Adventurer's latest exploits a little more outlandish than usual.
I'm a massive fan of martial arts star Jet Li, and director Siu-Tung Ching's A Chinese Ghost Story is one of my all-time favourite HK movies, but with Dr. Wai, the pair have managed to deliver one hell of a dreadful film, a shoddy mess of ill-conceived comedy and action scenes that seem to have been edited together completely at random. I defy anyone to make sense of this movie, particularly if, like me, they're watching with English subtitles, the film boasting some of the worst subs I have ever tried to read.
Cutting between Chow Si Kit's real life and that of his imaginary character, Dr. Wai pays little attention to logic or narrative flow. The visuals are stylish, as one might expect from Siu-Tung Ching—a lot of time and money has clearly been spent on creating a spectacle—but it's all so incredibly slapdash that none of it works. On the contrary, the film proves extremely tiresome, despite such lavish nonsense as a giant runaway metal bull, a steam locomotive crashing through a town, a mid-air encounter with a man-monster on a crashing plane, and a set-to with flaming whip-swords. Despite such adversaries as a team of ninjas, a pair of sumo wrestlers, and Billy Chow, the showy kung fu fight scenes also fail to impress thanks to an over reliance on ridiculous wire-work.
I've seen Dr. Wai described as a Chinese Indiana Jones, but to be honest, the best bits of Dr. Wai aren't even as good as The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull at it's worst, which says a lot.
I'm a massive fan of martial arts star Jet Li, and director Siu-Tung Ching's A Chinese Ghost Story is one of my all-time favourite HK movies, but with Dr. Wai, the pair have managed to deliver one hell of a dreadful film, a shoddy mess of ill-conceived comedy and action scenes that seem to have been edited together completely at random. I defy anyone to make sense of this movie, particularly if, like me, they're watching with English subtitles, the film boasting some of the worst subs I have ever tried to read.
Cutting between Chow Si Kit's real life and that of his imaginary character, Dr. Wai pays little attention to logic or narrative flow. The visuals are stylish, as one might expect from Siu-Tung Ching—a lot of time and money has clearly been spent on creating a spectacle—but it's all so incredibly slapdash that none of it works. On the contrary, the film proves extremely tiresome, despite such lavish nonsense as a giant runaway metal bull, a steam locomotive crashing through a town, a mid-air encounter with a man-monster on a crashing plane, and a set-to with flaming whip-swords. Despite such adversaries as a team of ninjas, a pair of sumo wrestlers, and Billy Chow, the showy kung fu fight scenes also fail to impress thanks to an over reliance on ridiculous wire-work.
I've seen Dr. Wai described as a Chinese Indiana Jones, but to be honest, the best bits of Dr. Wai aren't even as good as The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull at it's worst, which says a lot.
Great HK escapist fun
lonnieturner6 October 2001
Jet Li stars as a writer of a series based on the character King of Adventures. When an accident puts him in the hospital, friends try to continue his current storyline for him. Great fun ensues as new twists and turns spring from the different characters adding to the story; including a pair of flying sumo wrestlers (!) and some well done CGI. A change of pace for the usually intense Li that's one of the most enjoyable HK movies of '96.
A Fascinating Film
drngor1 March 2000
This movie is a fascinating film. First of all, the plot is very original. I liked the story-within-a-story approach to the plot. It deals with an adventurer going up against the Japanese for a mythical scripture. The events of the story parallel the life of the author of the story. What I liked about this film were the fight scenes. Most of them were short, unfortunately. However, they were fairly original. The viewer gets a chance to see Jet Li use tai chi, a chain, flaming swords, and his lethal feet. My only complaints were the fights scenes weren't that long. Otherwise, it's an entertaining film.
An incredibly entertaining and exciting movie
The-Sarkologist6 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Woah, what a brilliant movie. This movie was the movie that made me want to get cable TV because world movies was advertising it, and it caught my attention immediately. I didn't end up getting cable because not only did I find this movie at my not-so-local video store, but I discovered that it had yellow subtitles - which are far better than the white ones that are found on most Chinatown videos.
Now, I at first thought that this movie was a simply Indiana Jones adventure movie, which was one of the reasons that I wanted to hire it. There was a lot of similarities between this movie and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, but the thing is that this movie was a thousand times better - Harrison Ford was never that great a martial artist.
The difference with this movie is that it jumps between the 1930's and the present day. Dr Wai is actually a script being written by a company and the writer is in the middle of divorce and has lost all will to right, so his assistants take the job of writing it for him, but when he sees it going a way he doesn't like, he takes over and moves it to a more acceptable place, then others come along and add their own bits to the story.
The writer of the story is a geek (though Jet Li doesn't come across as a geek) and so are his co-writers. Every character in the present era have duplicates in the story, though this duplicity becomes less substantial as the characters being to take on their real names and real roles. Dr Wai is about dreams and how we place ourselves into our own dreams, a dream of what we want to be is true. Here the geek, who could not hurt anybody, is a rough, tough, adventurer king who is a whizz at martial arts. His wife, Monica, is a bitch queen who controls the Japanese soldiers in China. Yet when others take over, their perception of Monica take over, and so does their perception of Dr Wai. The scene where he drives a steam train through the town is a classic scene of where another aspect of Dr Wai emerges.
The movie itself seems predictable, but we don't watch Hong Kong movies for their unpredictability (actually we do, because there are a lot of unpredictable aspects to their movies) but we watch them for their action, and Dr Wai delivers. It has every thing from ramming a steam train through numerous buildings, jumping out of a burning aeroplane, fighting a monster who is in fact the bad guy who was mutated, and ancient artifacts that are needed to be retrieved. This movie has it and this movie seriously rocks.
Now, I at first thought that this movie was a simply Indiana Jones adventure movie, which was one of the reasons that I wanted to hire it. There was a lot of similarities between this movie and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, but the thing is that this movie was a thousand times better - Harrison Ford was never that great a martial artist.
The difference with this movie is that it jumps between the 1930's and the present day. Dr Wai is actually a script being written by a company and the writer is in the middle of divorce and has lost all will to right, so his assistants take the job of writing it for him, but when he sees it going a way he doesn't like, he takes over and moves it to a more acceptable place, then others come along and add their own bits to the story.
The writer of the story is a geek (though Jet Li doesn't come across as a geek) and so are his co-writers. Every character in the present era have duplicates in the story, though this duplicity becomes less substantial as the characters being to take on their real names and real roles. Dr Wai is about dreams and how we place ourselves into our own dreams, a dream of what we want to be is true. Here the geek, who could not hurt anybody, is a rough, tough, adventurer king who is a whizz at martial arts. His wife, Monica, is a bitch queen who controls the Japanese soldiers in China. Yet when others take over, their perception of Monica take over, and so does their perception of Dr Wai. The scene where he drives a steam train through the town is a classic scene of where another aspect of Dr Wai emerges.
The movie itself seems predictable, but we don't watch Hong Kong movies for their unpredictability (actually we do, because there are a lot of unpredictable aspects to their movies) but we watch them for their action, and Dr Wai delivers. It has every thing from ramming a steam train through numerous buildings, jumping out of a burning aeroplane, fighting a monster who is in fact the bad guy who was mutated, and ancient artifacts that are needed to be retrieved. This movie has it and this movie seriously rocks.
One of the most expensive movies from Hong Kong's big period and one of the best
dave13-110 January 2012
This wonderful adventure comedy is filled with eye-popping action and big budget sets and other top line production values, but what really makes the movie is the fact that the main story is framed within another even funnier story. You see, Dr. Wai, China's answer to Indiana Jones, is a fictional creation of author Jet Li, who has writer's block and is facing a deadline. So, his two idiot assistants and soon-to-be-ex-wife 'help' him by writing in parts of the story while he sleeps, causing the main story line of 'Dr. Wai' to go off in wild directions, and causing characters to shift from good to bad and back again. As a straight adventure movie, this is fine entertainment, but as a comedy about the creative process it is very clever and quite effective. Each of the four writers has his/her own slant and makes the story different by their contributions, and yet it all comes together smoothly. Plus, the mix of comedy, romance, historical fiction and martial arts action meshes well, something that is not often the case in Hong Kong pictures.
HIGHLY recommended for anybody who likes Jet Li, action movies in general, or even movies about writers. This one is smart, well-formed entertainment.
HIGHLY recommended for anybody who likes Jet Li, action movies in general, or even movies about writers. This one is smart, well-formed entertainment.
Plot? No, we hit things!
pumpkincarriage29 May 2000
Ever watched a Hong Kong action flick and said at the end of it, "That was good, but I really wish they didn't have a plot."
Then Dr Wai is for you!
It seems that at least halfway through the movie, the writers simply tried to look for excuses for Jet Lee to hit things and flip about the place. This he did with a large degree of success.
It's a great film, watch it for Hung Sing, Basket Head, and a useless oracle.
Then Dr Wai is for you!
It seems that at least halfway through the movie, the writers simply tried to look for excuses for Jet Lee to hit things and flip about the place. This he did with a large degree of success.
It's a great film, watch it for Hung Sing, Basket Head, and a useless oracle.
Rousing film within a film
laadolf30 August 2002
Dr. Wai and the Scripture With No Words is a rousing adventure tale set in the middle part of the 20th century. Dr. Wai, known as the King of Adventurers, is a writer and archaeologist in the mold of Indiana Jones, and a renowned finder of missing artifacts.
He is also the alter-ego of his creator, Chow Si-Kit, played by Jet Li. Chow Si-Kit is a beleaguered writer of serialized adventure tales whose own life is in a tailspin. His wife, Monica (Rosamund Kwan) wants a separation and is going to great lengths to insure the break with her husband up to and including engaging in the equivalent of phone sex with her husband's employer in Si-Kit's presence. Later, at a dinner requested by Monica to discuss divorce, a famous movie star--another apparent romantic swain of Monica's-- barges in, lawyer in tow, offering the barrister's services for the divorce.
His rotten home-life is intruding upon Si-kit's work. He is suffering from writers block and cannot seem to move the adventures of Dr. Wai forward--risking his livelihood.
Fortunately, Chow Si-Kit has friends in the publishing house where he works. Shing (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is an eager young writer who befriends Si-Kit and tries his best to support him in his marital troubles and help break his writer's block. When that effort is unsuccessful, he enlists the aid of Yvonne, a pretty young colleague, and together they begin to ghost write the adventure of Dr. Wai and the Scripture With No Words. Shing is represented in the tale by an alter-ego--also named Shing who is sidekick and disciple to Dr. Wai The Scripture is actually a two fold artifact which has, in the course of time been sundered into its components. The first is a seemingly ordinary wooden box, with an inscribed lid--which can kill and maim the unsuspecting who open it. The second is a scripture scroll which, when joined with the box creates an oracle which can tell the future. Many nefarious and greedy types are looking for the two artifacts for their own ends. Dr Wai has more than one occasion to engage the villains in martial arts battle, providing a showcase for Jet Li's impressive physical prowess.
Shing and Yvonne, who are engaged in a budding romance of their own, soon steer the serial into the area of romance, even while Chow Si-Kit is being ever more plagued by his personal life.
The plot of the film within the film lurches forward in a somewhat non-linear way as a "novel by committee" is wrested to and fro between its authors. Ultimately the lines between reality and fiction become less distinct, as a convalescing Monica begins to see her husband in a new light. Coming into his room and finding him asleep and his friends gone, she makes contributions to the novel herself.
The dual plots wind down, one to a bittersweet end, the other more hopeful.
Jet Li is very appealing in the dual roles of Chow Si-Kit and Dr. Wai "King of Adventurers". Where Chow Si-Kit is a bit of a bumbler and a man victimized by life, Dr. Wai is capable and fearless in his pursuit of his objective. Takeshi Kaneshiro shines as the two Shings, both stalwart and steadfast in their support of their friends.
Rosamund Kwan is the perfect ice princess as Monica, and her alter ego, Cammy. Charlie Yeung is excellent as Yvonne and the editor's assistant who is instrumental in bringing the two aspects of the Scripture With No Words together.
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He is also the alter-ego of his creator, Chow Si-Kit, played by Jet Li. Chow Si-Kit is a beleaguered writer of serialized adventure tales whose own life is in a tailspin. His wife, Monica (Rosamund Kwan) wants a separation and is going to great lengths to insure the break with her husband up to and including engaging in the equivalent of phone sex with her husband's employer in Si-Kit's presence. Later, at a dinner requested by Monica to discuss divorce, a famous movie star--another apparent romantic swain of Monica's-- barges in, lawyer in tow, offering the barrister's services for the divorce.
His rotten home-life is intruding upon Si-kit's work. He is suffering from writers block and cannot seem to move the adventures of Dr. Wai forward--risking his livelihood.
Fortunately, Chow Si-Kit has friends in the publishing house where he works. Shing (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is an eager young writer who befriends Si-Kit and tries his best to support him in his marital troubles and help break his writer's block. When that effort is unsuccessful, he enlists the aid of Yvonne, a pretty young colleague, and together they begin to ghost write the adventure of Dr. Wai and the Scripture With No Words. Shing is represented in the tale by an alter-ego--also named Shing who is sidekick and disciple to Dr. Wai The Scripture is actually a two fold artifact which has, in the course of time been sundered into its components. The first is a seemingly ordinary wooden box, with an inscribed lid--which can kill and maim the unsuspecting who open it. The second is a scripture scroll which, when joined with the box creates an oracle which can tell the future. Many nefarious and greedy types are looking for the two artifacts for their own ends. Dr Wai has more than one occasion to engage the villains in martial arts battle, providing a showcase for Jet Li's impressive physical prowess.
Shing and Yvonne, who are engaged in a budding romance of their own, soon steer the serial into the area of romance, even while Chow Si-Kit is being ever more plagued by his personal life.
The plot of the film within the film lurches forward in a somewhat non-linear way as a "novel by committee" is wrested to and fro between its authors. Ultimately the lines between reality and fiction become less distinct, as a convalescing Monica begins to see her husband in a new light. Coming into his room and finding him asleep and his friends gone, she makes contributions to the novel herself.
The dual plots wind down, one to a bittersweet end, the other more hopeful.
Jet Li is very appealing in the dual roles of Chow Si-Kit and Dr. Wai "King of Adventurers". Where Chow Si-Kit is a bit of a bumbler and a man victimized by life, Dr. Wai is capable and fearless in his pursuit of his objective. Takeshi Kaneshiro shines as the two Shings, both stalwart and steadfast in their support of their friends.
Rosamund Kwan is the perfect ice princess as Monica, and her alter ego, Cammy. Charlie Yeung is excellent as Yvonne and the editor's assistant who is instrumental in bringing the two aspects of the Scripture With No Words together.
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Only for hardcore Li fans
torgoerie27 November 2000
If you're not already a hardcore - and I do mean ultra-hardcore must see everything the man has done - Jet Li fan, AVOID THIS MOVIE AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT. I and one of my best friends are avid HK movie fanatics, and very big on Li. At best, we drank beer and tried hard not to laugh at the ultra-bad story and lame acting and poor action. The plot device of a modern-day Jet Li and his cohorts expressing their emotions about what is going on in their lives thru a continuing written story of a 'King of Adventurers' is absolutely terrible and distracting. And I LIKE stories told thru flashback and scene jumping, a la Man Called Hero. Though I'm sure someone will claim this device is 'inventive', it is incredibly annoying and very poorly delivered. And don't even get me started on the scene with the puppet mutant mouse - yes, you unfortunately read that right, a giant puppet mutant mouse.
For hardcore Li fans the only thing of interest is seeing Li play a totally different type of character - out of touch, a semi-loser, not sure what's going on and dumped on by his love interest. And that held my attention - for all of five minutes. Then I had to have more beer. And it still didn't help. Do yourself a favor and skip over the VCD in your local Chinatown and grab New Legend of Shaolin or Hitman if you're in the mood for Li, or Tokyo Raiders or Double Tap for good modern HK cinema. Buy this thing only if you're really drunk or really daring, or you need a new coaster for your drink. And if you do buy it, don't call me.
For hardcore Li fans the only thing of interest is seeing Li play a totally different type of character - out of touch, a semi-loser, not sure what's going on and dumped on by his love interest. And that held my attention - for all of five minutes. Then I had to have more beer. And it still didn't help. Do yourself a favor and skip over the VCD in your local Chinatown and grab New Legend of Shaolin or Hitman if you're in the mood for Li, or Tokyo Raiders or Double Tap for good modern HK cinema. Buy this thing only if you're really drunk or really daring, or you need a new coaster for your drink. And if you do buy it, don't call me.
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