'Dynasty Warriors': classic game and Chinese history film with big Hong Kong stars

Netflix has set the stakes high with the action movie ‘Dynasty Warriors’. While it did not have a great reception among the critics, Netflix paid a record-number in streaming rights for the film. Find out why this movie is so special.

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'Dynasty Warriors' is a Hong Kong fantasy-action film directed by Roy Chow. It's a live-action adaptation of the classic Koei Tecmo video game franchise of the same name, which is very popular in Europe and North America.

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First conceived in 1997 as a one-on-one fighting game, the ‘Dynasty Warriors’ game series has evolved into a strategy hack and slash over the years.

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To date, ‘Dynasty Warriors’ remains one of the most iconic game franchises of all time. It is still strong in the gaming world. The series has won the top spot as Koei Tecmo’s best-selling franchise.

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The film will bring fans of the game franchise back in time to the game’s heyday. The plot is a nostalgic one for many ‘Dynasty Warriors’ fans and is also a key part in making the character of Lü Bu a great hit with many gamers.

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Fans will get to relive and watch the game’s classic plot point and love triangle between Lü Bu, Diaochan and Dong Zhuo unfurl and become entangled in a battle between three warring factions in the ‘Dynasty Warriors’ film.

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Both the film and the game 'Dynasty Warriors' have been based on a classic Chinese novel: 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms.' In fact, the book is one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature.

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The ‘Dynasty Warriors’ film shows characters and plots based on a Chinese historical classic, with scenes based on real battles that happened throughout the course of history during the Three Kingdoms period. The film should therefore please Chinese history buffs.

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Prior to its July release on Netflix, ‘Dynasty Warriors’ came out in theaters in April. Its release on Netflix has garnered huge attention due to the cost of the film’s global distribution rights. According to Hong Kong 01, the price tag Netflix paid to own the rights to ‘Dynasty Warriors’ amounted to a whopping eight-digit number in the millions - making it also the highest a foreign company has ever paid to own the rights to a Chinese film!

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Although it was an expensive and big project, ‘Dynasty Warriors’ did not get good reviews. It was called a "let down" by South China Morning Post which gave it only 2.5 out of a 5-star rating.

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Despite the meagre scores among critics, Netflix believes that ‘Dynasty Warriors’' star-studded cast will draw a lot of viewers. The cast includes big names like Louis Koo, Carina Lau, Han Geng, Tony Yang, Gulnazar, Ray Lui, and Wang Kai.

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Louis Koo is unarguably one of Hong Kong’s biggest A-list stars, having been in the industry since 1993! He is an actor, singer and film producer and garnered attention from first acting in TVB. Louis Koo has the role of the formidable military general and warlord Lü Bu in ‘Dynasty Warriors’.

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The next iconic A-list veteran star in ‘Dynasty Warriors’ is Hong Kong singer and actress Carina Lau. She too started acting with TVB before moving to the big screen. There she remains until this day. Carina Lau’s fame not only comes from her connection to husband, A-list Hong Kong Tony Leung, but also from her iconic performance in Hong Kong cinema during the 1980s! Carina Lau plays Master of the Sword Forge Castle in ‘Dynasty Warriors’.

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Did you know that Han Geng was originally a K-pop idol? The ex-member of boyband ‘Super Junior’ has been focusing on his career in China since leaving SM Entertainment. He became an even bigger star after his K-Pop career and was even a national representative for China in the 2008 Beijing Olympics! Han Geng plays military general Guan Yu in ‘Dynasty Warriors’.

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Chinese actor Wang Kai plays one of the central figures in the ‘Three Kingdoms’ and ‘Dynasty Warriors’ universe: warlord Cao Cao. Wang Kai is one of China’s hot actors of this generation and is currently ranked 26th on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list!

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When Netflix brought out its trailer for ‘Dynasty Warriors’, many of the game's fans commented on it with references to the original game series. But even if you don't know the game, the series offers a fascinating glimpse of Chinese historical fiction.

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