~Mallika dear - India's reply to Pamela Anderson?~. Review on The Myth Movie

Movie The Myth

The Plot(karazen.com)

The year was BC221 when Qin Shihuang - the first Emperor of China - started to build a royal tomb for himself despite his infatuation with immortality. Through the prodigious endeavors of more than 700, 000 forced laborers, the mausoleum was completed 37 years later. Legend has it that, to ensure utmost secrecy, all those who worked on the project were buried alive with the dead Emperor. There were no survivors.

Over the next two thousand years, historians, tomb-raiders, and happy- go-lucky adventurers alike have been homing in on the royal treasure buried within. However, no one has ever succeeded in locating the entrance to the mausoleum. Thus the bulk of the First Emperor’s treasure, including his much-fabled elixir of youth, remains intact.

Until now, that is.

Intrepid archeologist Jack(JACKIE CHAN) and ambitious scientist William(TONY LEUNG KA FAI) set out on an adventure that would lead them to the greatest discovery in Chinese history. Their journey starts at Dasar, India, where they stumble upon an ancient sword from the Qin Dynasty and a magical gemstone that appears to be able to defy the force of gravity. The booty not only leads them to the mythical mausoleum, but it also connects Jack to his dark past life. Through strange and provocative dreams, Jack sees himself reincarnated as Meng Yi, a general who fell for the First Emperor’s beautiful consort Ok Soo(KIM HEE SEON) some two thousand years ago. As Meng Yi commands his troops in an increasingly desperate war against rebels, he also has to battle his own inner desires in choosing between eternal love and loyalty. Returning to the present day, the final secret of the First Emperor is about to be revealed. The two adventurers successfully enter the Heavenly Palace, a fortress loaded with death traps and unspeakable evils, as Jack comes face-to-face with his past. Or is it really?

My Review

First things first!

Myth: The movie was a colossal flop.in the viewer's mind.

Fact *: Yes, it bombed commercially. But I, and surely many more out there liked it.

Myth *: Creativity shown in the storyline was riddiculous!

Fact *: It is a very interesting storyline but I feel the execution wavered.

Myth *: *Jackie Chan is no longer the a** kicking fighting machine we know him to be.

Fact *: Yes, Jackie accepts the use of props for his stunts a lot more these days(considering his age) but his punches, kicks & sword fights still deliver a lethal blow.

Myth *: *Mallika Sherawat *had only a 2-minute(noodles) role. So much for her international fame.

Fact *: Mallika had atleast 30 minutes of footage and she was simply sizzzzling! She looked very sexy, does envious yoga postures and kicks as good as an amateur martial artist. What more da ya want?!

Now just coming down to some more views.

Ofcourse, I expected more from this movie'cause it's a *Jackie Chan *starrer. But if I were to ignore the superstar status of Chan and just assume him to be another actor, the movie is good! It has cool stunts, soothing music, fantasy script, good performances and showcases one of the best spices made in India!(no guess what I'm talking about):)

And the heroine *Kim Hee Seon *is an amazingly pretty actress. After watching this movie, I'm tempted to transport myself to the 19th century as a samurai warrior sworn to protect our lovely damsel in distress. Forever, forever, forever.

There's another scene stealer here, and I'm not talking about Sherawat now. Check out the terrific actor *Ram Gopal Bajaj *as a Guru who gives some spiritual discourses to Jackie Chan. He holds his own against the superstar and even Jackie must have been floored by this wise actor’s performance.

Talking about *Mallika *doll, she has made her presence felt no matter how inconsequential the role. I think she will be the top choice if any of our producers plan to make the desi version of Pamela Anderson’s action flick Barb Wire. Does that mean I compare her to passionate Pamela? Nope, not until our actress ups her boldness quotient by another 50% :D

Now if we are to talk about 2 minute(noodles) role, then we must highlight hunky actor & model Sudanshu Pandey. Literally, its not a 2-min role but goes, hmmmm, as much as 15mins but his presence was a pure waste. He must have felt incredibly lucky to be in a fight scene against *Jackie Chan *& *Mallika Sherawat *and I only hope that whatever he did here saves his budding career in television or movies.

Some Trivia(imdb.com)

~ Due to Mallika Sherawat's racy image in Bollywood, rumors circulated that she landed the role over many other Indian actresses(Aishwarya Rai, Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra) because she was willing to do full frontal nudity in this film. When these rumors were spread, Stanley Tong and Jackie Chan held a special press conference in India to say that they picked Mallika over many others because of her great charm and genuine acting talent, and that the film didn't even have a kissing scene, let alone full frontal nudity.

~ Aishwarya Rai was the original choice to play the Indian princess but she was on tour at the time and her busy schedule didn't allow her to take the role.

Director- Stanley Tong

Year- 2005

Starring- Jackie Chan, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Kim Hee Seon, Mallika Sherawat

Verdict~ How should I remember this movie?

As a Jackie Chan martial-arts flick or a Mallika Sherawat the seductress flick?! 'Cause our fondmemories of a movie is directly proportionate to the scenes that we enjoy most  *:)

Either way, I'm happy. Imagine, two desserts for mydessertz! *Cheers.