''Moon Warriors'' (in Chinese 戰神傳說) is a 1992 Hong Kong ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...

'' film directed by

Sammo Hung Sammo Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreographer for ...

, written by Alex Law and starring

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

Kenny Bee Chung Chun-to (born 23 February 1953), also known by his stage name Kenny Bee, is a Hong Kong singer, musician and actor. He is best known as the singer of the group the Wynners, and as a solo artist who has been active in the Hong Kong ente ...

Anita Mui Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...

and

Maggie Cheung Maggie Cheung Man-yuk (; born 20 September 1964) is a Hong Kong former actress. Raised in Hong Kong and Britain, she started her career after placing second in 1983's Miss Hong Kong Pageant. She achieved critical success in the late 1980s and i ...

Plot

Fei (

) is a simple fisherman who possesses great sword-fighting prowess and rescues the 13th Prince of

Yin Yin may refer to: *the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine *Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty **Yinxu or Yin, the S ...

(

) from assassins sent by his brother, the 14th Prince (Kelvin Wong), who is attempting to usurp his throne. Fei invites the injured 13th Prince and his entourage to his village and allows the prince to heal, and the two become fast friends. The next morning, the 14th Prince's troupes have made their way to the village, so Fei leads the 13th Prince and his entourage to hide inside a mausoleum, which turns out to be the tomb of the King of Yin, the 13th Prince's father, and thus, Fei learns of the prince's identity. Fei joins the 13th Prince on his journey to find the Lord of Lan-ling ( Chang Yi), hoping to get assistant from the lord's army to defeat the 14th Prince, but they encounter the 14th Prince and his troupes. While fighting off the troupes, the 13th Prince entrusts his bodyguard, Mo-sin (

) and gives Fei a piece of jade to meet the Lord of Lan-ling and escort his daughter and the prince's fiancé, Princesses Yuet-nga (

), back. Fei and Mo-sin meet the lord and Yuet-nga but are ambushed by the 14th Prince's assassins and fends them off. As they escort Yuet-nga on the run, they encounter another group of assassins so Mo-siun stays behind while Fei and Yuet-nga continue on. While staying in a cave during the night, Fei and Yuet-nga were attacked by a face-concealed assassin who they encounter again the next day where Fei was impaled and injured while protecting Yuet-nga. Yuet-nga nurses Fei's wound and the two fall in love as they spend time together and Fei gifts her a bunny. Meanwhile, the assassin who attacked Fei and Yuet-nga turns out to be Mo-sin, who was sent by the 14th Prince to spy on his brother. The 14th Prince threatens to poison Mo-sin if she fails to kill his brother by Moon Autumn. Fei brings Yuet-nga back to his fishing village where she is reunited with the 13th Prince and Lord of Lan-ling announces the engagement of the prince with her daughter, the prince also awards Fei the title of the General of Restoring the Country, but the latter refuses as he is heartbroken and just wants to just live a simple life, and Yuet-nga bides a final farewell to Fei before getting married. At night, Mo-sin found the chance to kill the 13th Prince while the latter was napping, she finds her unable to so haven fallen in love with him. Yuet-nga discovers Mo-sin as a traitor after seeing the 13th Prince's entourage dead and informs the prince. Mo-sin has a change of heart and warns the 13th Prince about his brother's plan. The next day, the 14th Prince leads his troupes into Fei's village where they slaughter 89 villagers, while Fei singlehandedly kills a number of the troupes in a fit a rage. The 14th Prince then confronts his brother, Yuet-nga and Mo-sin inside the mausoleum where he mortally wounds Mo-sin and the 13th Prince and injures Yuet-nga, until Fei barges in and fights the 14th Prince to avenge the deaths of his fellow villagers. Fei is outmatched until his pet killer whale, Neptune, whips the 14th Prince, allowing Yuet-nga to blind the 14th Prince, who then delivers a devastating blow to Yuet-nga. As Yuet-nga dies in Fei's arms, the 14th Prince gets up and stabs Fei, but he is killed when the King's tomb cracks and falls on him. Fei then narrates how he woke up in the middle of the sea with Neptune afterwards, and the mausoleum has collapsed, with Yuet-nga, the 13th Prince, 14th Prince and Mo-sin buried inside. When Fei revisits years after, wildlife flowers have grown on it, reminding him of the dead bodies beneath it.

Cast

as Fei (阿飛), a simple fisherman and expert swordsman who grew up in his father's fishing village. He befriends the 13th Prince after saving the latter from assassins, who shows an instant trust to Fei, and helps the prince regain his throne. *

as 13th Prince of

(燕十三), the ruler of the a State of Yin who was dethroned by his evil brother, the 14th Prince, who is attempting to assassinate him. He befriends Fei after the latter saves him from assassins, who later aids him in regaining his throne. *

as Princess Yuet-nga (月牙兒), daughter of Lord Lan-ling and 13th Prince's fiancé. She and Fall falls in love when the latter escorts her back to her fiancé. *

as Mo-sin (魔仙兒), the 13th Prince's bodyguard who was sent by as a spy by the 14th Prince. She has a change of heart after falling in love with the 13th Prince and betrays the 14th Prince. *Kelvin Wong as 14th Prince of Yin (燕十四), the 13th Prince's evil younger brother who attempts to dethrone and assassinate his brother. * Chang Yi as Lord Lan-ling (蘭陵君), ruler of the State of Lan-ling and father Yuet-nga who uses his troupes to assists the 13th Prince in regaining his throne. *

Chin Ka-lok Chin Ka-lok, sometimes credited as Chin Kar-lok ( Chinese: 錢嘉樂, Pinyin: Qián Jiālè, born 6 August 1965), is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, and television presenter. Chin was born in Hong Kong, the younger brother of actor an ...

as one of 13th Prince's entourage. *Heung Lui *Tam Wai as one of 14th Prince's killer in bamboo forest. *Ng Biu-chuen *Wong Man-kit *Lam Wai-kong *Sam Mei-yiu *Law Yiu-hung *Lui Tat as one of Fei's fellow villagers. *Mak Wai-cheung as one of 14th Prince's killer in the kite field. * Hsiao Ho one of 14th Prince's killer in the kite field. *Leo Tsang as an official beheaded by the 14th Prince. *Hon Ping as one of 14th Prince's killer in the kite field. *Cheung Wing-cheung * Hoi Wai as Neptune (海威), Fei's close pet killer whale.

Music

Critical reception

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' gave the film a score of 4/5 stars, praising its balance in character development and jaw-breaking action. Andrew Saroch of ''Far East Films'' gave the film a similar score of 4/5 stars and praises the quality of the action choreography and the emotional nature of the characters' dilemmas, J. Doyle Wallis of ''

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

'' gave the film a score of 3.5/5 stars, praising

and

's performances, the action choreography and the set locations. ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...

'' describes the film as "a visually splendid, dramatically rich, but somewhat rarefied martial arts yarn."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moon Warriors, The 1992 films 1992 martial arts films 1992 action films Hong Kong action films Hong Kong martial arts films Wuxia films Kung fu films 1990s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Sammo Hung 1990s Hong Kong films