Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Zhang Yimou's Hero are deeply and fondly indebted to their predecessors, but it's possible that they've spoiled martial-arts-and-swordplay costume dramas for everyone else. Can the sight of two characters fighting ever be enough, now that we know they could be doing emotionally wrenching battle in slow motion atop a symbolically loaded whirlwind of brightly colored leaves? A few years ago, the elaborate pageantry and whip-crack fight scenes of He Ping's Warriors Of Heaven And Earth might have looked more impressive. But where are the lily-pad showdowns? Why doesn't anyone do combat in the branches of trees? Don't these people know they could be hopping around instead of just standing there?
Yet in spite of the unavoidable disappointment that comes from raised expectations (and lowered elevations), it's clumsy storytelling that ultimately keeps Warriors grounded. Set in the 7th century A.D. along the Silk Road and in the thick of the Gobi desert, He's film concerns an attempt to protect a young monk who's returning from India with a relic apparently coveted for its ability to create budget-conscious CGI effects when exposed to the open air. Two warriors join forces to protect him: One is a gifted army officer (Jiang Wen) who turned outlaw after refusing to slay helpless Turkish prisoners, while the other is a Japanese emissary (Nakai Kiichi) who can't return to his native land until he kills Jiang. Forced into a truce, they agree not to slaughter each other until the relic is returned to safety.
That plan means first eluding a colorful villain, played with mustache-twirling abandon by Wang Wueaqi, who provides the film with a much-needed injection of energy. Even though it rolls across eye-catching scenery (captured beautifully by veteran cinematographer Zhao Fei), Warriors remains inert, mostly because it never gives its stars much to do when the action stops, apart from eyeing each other with respectful suspicion. The action scenes, though elaborate, remain prosaic, and when it comes time to wind it all down, He looks not to his country's storied past for inspiration, but to Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Even the culture-spanning setting serves mostly as window dressing. The sight of Chinese soldiers doing battle on camelback ought to make more of an impact than it does here. Maybe they should have taught the camels to fly.