An adaptation of a short story from the classic Strange Stories From a Chinese Studio (聊齋誌異), a collection of supernatural tales by Qing Dynasty writer Pu Sungling (蒲松齡), Painted Skin (畫皮) is designed to be a blockbuster that appeals to all with a recipe of ghosts, kung fu and romance, a little comedy and an ensemble of Chinese A-listers including Zhao Wei (趙薇), Zhou Xun (周迅), Chen Kun (陳坤) and action superstar Donnie Yen (甄子丹).
The story begins with general Wang Sheng (Chen Kun) rescuing the charming young Xiaowei (Zhou Xun) from bandits in the desert. Trouble soon arises in Wang’s household as Xiaowei plots to take over as the new Mrs Wang and sows discord between the general and his demure wife, Peirong (Zhao Wei).
Jealous of her new maid, Peirong begins to suspect that Xiaowei may be responsible for a spate of gruesome killings that occurred upon her arrival and strives to reveal the vixen’s real identity: a fox spirit who has assumed human form and feeds on human hearts to maintain her youth and beauty.
Wang, who has erotic dreams involving Xiaowei, naturally wants to hear nothing of it. In despair, Peirong turns to Yong (Donnie Yen) for help. A former general himself and one-time rival of Wang for Peirong’s affections, Yong still carries a torch for the general’s wife.
With the help of bumbling demon buster Xia Bing (Betty Sun), Yong sets out to investigate Xiaowei and the series of murders in which the victims’ hearts have been ripped out. The drama that unfolds explores loyalty and temptation, unrequited desire and unconditional love.
With its narrative-driven, genre-meshing bent, Painted Skin recalls the greatly successful A Chinese Ghost Story (倩女幽魂) series from the late 1980s and early 1990s. The film is content to tell a melodramatic story laced with a bit of everything, and in so doing sets itself apart from the hollow epics that have plagued Chinese cinema in recent years.
Leading the action is Yen, engaging in a generic rooftop chase in the night, sword duels and a blurry desert battle that are well-executed but offer nothing new or exciting.
Yen delivers a refreshing change of pace from his usual onscreen persona as he takes up the role of comic relief together with Chinese actress Sun. Unintentionally amusing moments are provided by a murderous lizard demon, who also has a thing for Xiaowei, and, with his silver-highlighted hair, looks like a character from a computer game.
Painted Skin’s biggest drawback is its lack of well-developed romantic plots among its characters, especially the love triangle between Wang Sheng, Xiaowei and Peirong, which is the focal point of the narrative. Incredibly miscast, Chen lacks the intensity to play a husband torn between his devoted wife and a temptress, rendering a drama that is based on intricate emotions less convincing, a situation that is only worsened by a jerky script that fails to develop chemistry among the characters.
What impresses and engages are the performances by Zhou and Zhao. A versatile actress, Zhou is able to instill a fair dose of humanity into her role as the evil vixen, while Zhao shows composure as the loyal and modest wife.
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