You’ve seen wuxia epics before, but have you ever seen an wuxia-anime-superhero cocktail? If not, that will change immediately with Donnie Yen’s “Sakra”.
Based on Jin Yong’s novel “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils”, Sakra goes far beyond the gravity-defying wire-fu of “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”.
Merging the intensity of Donnie Yen’s “Ip Man” kung fu fights with the superhuman battles of “Dragon Ball Z”, “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, and “Man of Steel”, “Sakra” is a wuxia epic taken to the most explosive lengths possible.
Trailer
Cast
Along with directing “Skara”, Donnie Yen portrays the protagonist Qiao Feng, with Wu Yue playing the movie’s antagonist Murong Fu.
Chen Yuqi also plays Azhu while Cya Liu plays Azi, and Eddie Cheung plays Duan Zhengchun.
Additionally, Kara Wai plays Ruan Xingzhu, with Du Yuming playing Bai Shijing and Grace Wong playing Kang Min.
Plot
As an infant, Qiao Feng was left in the care of two adoptive parents, and grew up being trained by Shaolin monks and joining the Beggars Sect of warriors.
However, as an adult, Qiao Feng finds himself exiled from the Beggars Sect after being falsely accused of murder, with his Khitan lineage being leveraged against him in his excommunication.
As Qiao Feng tries to uncover the truth about his wrongful accusation, he acquires an ally, and soon finds himself battling a swarm of enemies claiming vendettas against him as the full extent of how he’s been set up becomes increasingly evident.
Action
When you hear the terms wire-fu or wuxia, you tend to think of either the hard-hitting but gravity defying action of “Iron Monkey”, or the graceful, sword-clashing aerial ballet of “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”.
“Sakra” is the Most Explosive Wuxia You’ve ever Seen!
With “Sakra”, Donnie Yen and his co-stars showcase a whole new style of both, and it’s decidedly closer in approach and tone to a heavy-metal concert.
In the very first action scene of “Sakra”, Qiao Feng soars across football field-size areas and drops his opponents like a bad habit through walls and floors of their teahouse arena. The swordplay and kung fu might of Donnie and co. are as sharp as ever, but “Sakra” goes a whole new direction for everyone involved leaving the ground behind them.
“Sakra” Has Fight Scenes out of an Anime and a Superhero Movie
Are you a fan of “Avatar: The Last Airbender”? “Sakra” has you covered with Qiao Feng as his enemies manipulate air, fire, and water alike, tossing both at one another with abandon and blowing entire villages away in doing do.
Fans of Goku and Superman will also see the wuxia equivalent of each in the movie’s battles, Qiao Feng blasting through as many as two dozen opponents at once.
As director and leading man, Donnie Yen clearly sought to take the biggest wire-fu swing he could with “Sakra” in a way that transcends the serenity viewers normally associate with wuxia.
“Sakra” is equal parts anime and superhero movie in its fight scenes, the power of Qiao Feng and the supporting characters rivaling the most superhuman heights either genre has ever pushed itself to in live-action.
Donnie Yen Brings All His Energy to “Sakra” behind and in Front of the Camera
In pulling double duty as director and leading man, Donnie Yen has one of his most energetic and over-the-top movies in years on his hands and just nails it in every respect.
Even something as basic as a brief confrontation between Qiao Feng and a single enemy is based around the two combatants using a 500-pound log as their main tool of combat, and it just cannot be overstated that “Sakra” is not the kind of wuxia movie that does “subtle”.
While the movie’s one-on-one action scenes are no less flamboyant than those with Qiao Feng taking on hordes of enemies, the latter do have a slight edge on the wow-ness of it all, if only because of how many chances Donnie takes to put money shot after money shot to work in the Qiao Feng – one vs many sword battle – and occasional dabbling in a little “Drunken Master”-style combat along the way).
Could the “Sakra” Saga Continue?
Without going into spoilers, the superhero-like DNA of “Sakra” brings one well-known staple of comic book movies into play as the film reaches its conclusion – that, of course, being a tease of more.
The tease “Sakra” makes is unusually elongated by such standards, almost operating more as a final curtain call than a last-minute droplet to drum up excitement. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to wonder how much more outrageous Donnie and co. might strive to push things in a “Sakra 2”.
Summary
The grace, fluidity, and Zen-like peace one expects to see in a typical wuxia epic is replaced by far more scene-smashing, power-channeling superhero-style action in “Sakra”, and that’s anything but a criticism.
With the caped, superpowered titans of DC and Marvel comics all over cinema screens worldwide, Donnie Yen brings their power and might to a wuxia setting in the fun and thoroughly explosive experiment that is “Sakra”.
If Donnie has more ideas in mind for how to push that envelope even further in “Sakra 2”, we’re certainly ready to buckle up for it!
Favorite Quote
- “I am not a hero. I’m just an ordinary person who sticks to the right path.” – Qiao Feng
Trivia
- “Sakra” began filming on July 27, 2022 (Donnie Yen’s birthday), and wrapped in October of that year.
- Donnie Yen was the primary director of “Sakra”, with Kam Ka-wai and Cheng Wai-man also co-directing the movie.
- “Sakra” was released in China, Hong Kong, and many other Asian territories in January of 2023, prior to is Western release in April 2023.
Sakra Donnie Yen’s sprawling wuxia epic is out on Hi-YAH! NOW!
