God of War (film)

God of War
God of War
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	蕩宼風雲
Simplified Chinese	荡寇风云
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Dàng Kòu Fēng Yún
Directed by	Gordon Chan
Starring	Vincent Zhao ; Sammo Hung ; Yasuaki Kurata
Distributed by	Well Go USA Entertainment
Release dates	May 26, 2017 (Seattle); June 2, 2017;
Country	China
Languages	Mandarin; Japanese

God of War (Chinese: 蕩宼風雲) is a 2017 Chinese historical war film directed by Gordon Chan and starring Vincent Zhao, Sammo Hung, and Yasuaki Kurata.^[1]^[2] The plot is based on general Qi Jiguang's suppression of the wokou pirates during the Ming dynasty.

Plot

In 16th century China, a force of Imperial Ming soldiers under the command of General Yu Dayou (Sammo Hung) assault a fortress held by Japanese pirates (wokou). The attack is easily repelled and the wokou inflict heavy casualties on the Ming forces. It is revealed that the Wokou are in fact a mixed force of Japanese ronin, disgruntled Han Chinese and a force of samurai under the command of Commander Kumasawa. The samurai have been sent by their daimyo to free an imprisoned Chinese noblemen who had made significant financial contributions to the daimyo.

Following the latest failed assault, the Ming forces receive a new commander, General Qi Jiguang (Vincent Zhao), who begins recruiting hardened villagers to build a new army. General Qi launches a successful sneak assault on the Japanese fortress, forcing them to retreat. Despite this, General Qi is nearly arrested for failing to capture the Japanese and is even accused of colluding with them.

The Japanese later divide their forces in three and plan to attack three different targets, with Kumasawa's army attacking Xinhe and Taizhou simultaneously and the ronin attacking Ninghai. Taizhou is the provincial capital, while Xinhe holds General Qi's soldiers' families, including Qi's wife. Commander Kumasawa believes that by attacking three targets they will overextend the Ming defenses, while his ward, young Lord Imagawa, believes they should simply launch one massive assault against Taizhou.

General Qi learns of the planned attacks and decides to intercept the ronin, defeating them before returning to Taizhou to defend the provincial capital despite knowing this will leave his wife in Xinhe nearly defenseless. Nonetheless, General Qi's wife rallies the soldiers' families to form an impromptu defense, desperately holding off the samurai.

At Taizhou, General Qi is nearly overwhelmed and defeated when Lord Imagawa defies Commander Kumasawa to attack Qi with the surviving ronin. However, last minute reinforcements allow General Qi to decisively defeat the Japanese, forcing them to flee back to their vessels. General Qi then rushes back to Xinhe, successfully relieving the city from the Japanese forces.

Determined not to allow the Japanese to escape, Qi and his forces attack the Japanese as they are loading onto their ships. Commander Kumasawa sends Lord Imagawa to safety before making a last stand, personally dueling General Qi before being defeated and committing suicide. The film ends with General Qi's wife waiting for her husband, going inside of their home as she waits for his arrival.

Cast

Vincent Wenzhuo Zhao as General Qi Jiguang
Sammo Hung as General Yu Dayou
Yasuaki Kurata as Commander Kumasawa (熊澤司令官, Kumazawa shirei-kan)
Regina Wan as Lady Qi
Keisuke Koide as Lord Yamagawa (山川卿, Yamakawa kyō)
Jiang Luxia as He Ying

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Recipients	Result
37th Hong Kong Film Awards^[3]	Best Supporting Actor	Yasuaki Kurata	Nominated

Release

God of War screened at the Seattle International Film Festival on 26 May 2017.^[4] It was released in the United States in Mandarin and Japanese with English subtitles on June 2, 2017.^[1] It was distributed by Well Go USA Entertainment.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "God of War (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
^ "God of War (2017)". The Hollywood Reporter. June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
^ "Hong Kong Film Awards nominations 2018: Ann Hui's Our Time Will Come leads race with 11 nods". South China Morning Post. February 6, 2018.
^ "God of War". siff.net. February 7, 2019. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2023.

External links

[rottentomatoes_GodofWar-1] "God of War (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 8, 2017.

[hr_GodofWar-2] "God of War (2017)". The Hollywood Reporter. June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.

[3] "Hong Kong Film Awards nominations 2018: Ann Hui's Our Time Will Come leads race with 11 nods". South China Morning Post. February 6, 2018.

[4] "God of War". siff.net. February 7, 2019. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2023.

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v t e Works by Gordon Chan
Films directed	18 Golden Destroyers (1985) The Yuppie Fantasia (1989) Brief Encounter in Shinjuku (1990, also writer) Fight Back to School (1991, also writer) Inspector Pink Dragon (1991) Fight Back to School II (1992, also writer) Gameboy Kids (1992, also writer) King of Beggars (1992, also writer) The Long and Winding Road (1994, also writer) The Final Option (1994, also writer) Fist of Legend (1994, also writer) Thunderbolt (1995, also writer) First Option (1996, also writer) Armageddon (1997, also writer and producer) Beast Cops (1998, also writer and producer) 2000 AD (2000, also writer) Okinawa Rendez-vous (2000, also writer and producer) Cat and Mouse (2003, also writer) The Medallion (2003, also writer) A-1 Headline (2004, also writer and producer) Kung Fu Master (2005) Mr. 3 Minutes (2006, also producer) Painted Skin (2008, also writer and producer) The King of Fighters (2010) Mural (2011, also writer and producer) The Four (2012, also writer and producer) The Four II (2013) The Four III (2014) The Treasure (2017) God of War (2017)
Films produced	The Vineyard (1989) Neverending Summer (1992) 1001 Nights (1995) Cause We Are So Young (1997) Option Zero (1997) Hitman (1998) When I Look Upon the Stars (1999) Heroes in Love (2001) Funeral March (2001) Every Dog Has His Date (2001) Time 4 Hope (2002) Curse of Lola (2005) Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010, also writer) Coming Back (2011, also writer) Manhunt (2017, also writer)
Films written only	Behind the Yellow Line (1984) Dragons Forever (1988) Double Fattiness (1988) Heart to Hearts (1988) The Big Heat (1988) Diary of a Small Man (1989) The Cat (1991) Hard Boiled (1992) She Starts the Fire (1992) The Bodyguard from Beijing (1994) Daisy (2006) Undercover Hidden Dragon (2006)