Under Genghis Khan, the Mongolian army pushes west to destroy the Jin Dynasty, setting its sights on the Song Dynasty next. Amid internal conflicts among martial arts schools, Guo Jing unites the Central Plains' warriors to defend Xiangyang, embodying courage and loyalty in the fight for the nation.
A private user reviewed Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants (2025)
Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants
This had great potential as a martial arts extravaganza, but it relies way too heavily on some very repetitive and not so special effects to get its story across. Itâs all about âGuo Jingâ (Zhan Xiao) whoâs the adopted (Han) son of the great Mongol chief Genghis Khan (Bayaertu). He has been out on a mission when he encounters the young âHuang Rongâ (Dafei Zhuang) and the two sort of fall for each other, then a serious misunderstanding drives them apart and he has a series of encounters with the menacing âVenom Westâ who is desperate to obtain a scroll that will give him powers to rule the Earth. Instead, though, itâs our young hero who - thanks to some expert help from another constantly hungry master, secures the benefits of those teachings. On returning home, he discovers that his father has decided itâs time to make war on the Jin and to do that he is going to march his formidable army through the territory of the âSongâ - and the young man cannot allow this transgressions of his erstwhile homeland. Thanks to the Khanâs loved-up daughter he manages to escape and take refuge in the besieged Xiangyang - but can he hope to defeat the approaching army, reunite with his gal and, donât forget, the malevolent âVenom Westâ is still seeking global domination. If youâre looking for eye candy then Zhan Xiao does just about enough here, but the rest of the casting is pretty unremarkable and the mythology is really all rather undercooked as we lumber on for two and a half hours to a denouement thatâs great for the CGI-fetishists amongst us, but otherwise isnât really anything much to write home about. The story darts about too much, threads are left unfinished or simply abandoned and by the end I felt Iâd got very little to get my teeth into. Visual effects technology is only going to make these kind of epic historical films easier to make, so to stand out there is going to need to be more work on the characterisations and the plot! This has the odd moment of mirth, but for the most part itâs just a procedural waste of an opportunity. Itâs my kind of film and I do like the genre, but as the arch-ninja âYodaâ himself might have said - âan handsome man and some deft use of the computer do not a compelling story makeâ.