Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon

Honor. It’s a funny word that evokes strong emotion. It makes one do things they wouldn’t rationally do. Some kill for it. Some die for it. In some cultures it is the most important thing one could possess and losing it is worse than losing life itself. Honor is the cornerstone of the movie, Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon. In this epic directed by Daniel Lee, action star Andy Lau portrays Zhao Zilong, a man of humble beginnings who rises up to be a prized general in the Wu army. The movie is set in a divided China in 228 A.D. There are three kingdoms: Wei, Wu, and Shu. Zilong joins the Wu army in order to bring peace and start a family of his own. He fights gallantly and humbly to make himself one of the Five Tiger Generals, never taking defeat from the Cao army. However, in his older years he is the only surviving Tiger General left. He is forced to face off against the Cao army once again and this time it is a little different.

Three Kingdoms is a movie that comes full circle. The movie opens up with Zilong, hair grey with age, and his brother, Ping-An (Sammo Hung Kam-Bo) sitting on the stairs of an old building. Snow is swirling around them and the hopeless look on Zilong’s face tells the story of the state he is in. The story then begins its flashback to Zilong’s younger days. The story tells of how Zilong joins the army, fights heroically in battle, saves a baby from certain death, and becomes the only undefeated general in the nation. It then goes on to set up for the last battle against the Cao army. By this time, both Zilong and Ping-An have been in the army for 32 years. This would be Zilong’s last crusade and it would be against the granddaughter of the king he defeated so many years before. As the battle rages on, Zilong is forced back to the same fortress he had found glory in so many decades ago. This is where the opening scene is played again. Wounded and cold as the first snow begins to fall, Zilong refuses to surrender. Instead, he mounts his horse and gallops toward the enemy, preserving his honor as a war hero.

Another interesting narrative pattern the director uses is that the story is told from Ping-An’s point of view. Ping-An is a man whom Zilong considers his brother. He is an obese man who does not fit the profile of a “might warrior.” However, this does not change his heart. During a raid on an opposing army, Zilong saves his brother’s life. Once Zilong achieves the rank of general, Ping-An is left in his brother’s shadow. On two occasions when the emperor asks Zilong if he is willing to go to battle, Ping-An is off to the side saying that he is too. He never gets the glory he longs for but instead, lives it through his brother. Ping-An yearns to be a war hero but never accomplishes that goal. Yet instead of jealousy, he reacts to and talks about Zilong’s success with great pride. He tells the story through the eyes of an admiring sibling not an envious opponent. As the story concludes and Ping-An is giving his last narration, he preserves the honor of his general even though the battle was a sure loss. It is an interesting dynamic and not one that I expected to see in this film.