Every legend has it’s beginnings, and some are more explosive than others. Packed with gorgeous, extremely animated puppetry work, effects that call to mind classic tokusatsu shows such as Super Sentai in the best ways possible, and an awesome score that heightened the feeling in each scene, DEMIGOD – The Legend Begins is a film not to miss.
Set in ancient Asia, DEMIGOD is the origin story of Su Huan-Jen, a popular character from a long running Taiwanese TV show. While in the show, Huan-Jen is a powerful warrior, when we meet him at the start of DEMIGOD he is simply a humble scholar, buried in debt to a librarian. Intending to use his skills as a doctor to dig his way out of this debt, he is approached by the Lord of Globe Castle; in exchange for using his healing abilities to cure the ailing Lord, his debts will be covered and he will be given access to an ancient, powerful book. However, he unwittingly becomes caught up in a violent conflict for control of the Kingdom after the Lord is murdered, and he is framed. On the run, Huan-Jen must find evidence to clear his name, but it seems that the deeper into the mystery he gets, the more things are not what they seem, and his abilities and relationships tested in ways he never expected.
Immediately, the first thing that caught my eye was the gorgeous puppets. Since the 17th Century, the art of bùdàixì glove puppetry has been beloved in Taiwan, and the company Pili International Multimedia has been using it since 1984 to produce their show Pili (Thunderbolt). Fans of Gen Urobuchi (Psycho Pass, Kamen Rider Gaim) may recognize the company from a show called Thunderbolt Fantasy, also produced by PIM using the same puppetry technique. These puppets go beyond simple crafts and are absolutely stunning. The puppeteers manage to get tons of mileage out of what are, at their core, hand puppets, making them animated, expressive and seemingly alive. Plus, the work from the voice cast in this film is absolutely on point. I never found myself wanting for more context or feedback from the characters, and the pacing and emotional impact of scenes never hurt for the lack of explicit facial expression.
Of course, this isn’t “Puppetry Film Syndicate.” You want action? This movie has it, and while we’re not talking end to end swords and sorcery and explosions, action scenes are well spaced out, and never exhausting. I never found myself unable to follow the action, and they kept my attention with superb sound and visual design, complete with lots of flashy attacks, magic, and satisfying splatters of blood in every battle. It speaks to the mastery of not only the combat designers, but the puppeteers themselves. Each battle played out silky smooth and with lots to keep attention.
DEMIGOD – The Legend Begins succeeds in it’s mission as a satisfying origin story, leaving me wanting more of this world, and screaming at a surprise stinger at the end of the credits (you don’t stay for the credits? in 2022?) teasing yet another cinematic adventure from Pili. I need a blu-ray release for DEMIGOD as soon as possible, and Pili on streaming so I can take in as much of this stunning, gorgeous, bloody ride through Asian antiquity as possible. At a runtime of a little over an hour and forty minutes, even an action fiend with a deep backlog should find time for this bit of fun. Mysticism, magic, martial arts, and just a little bit of mayhem come together in more than just a single Thunderbolt. Indeed, DEMIGOD is the beginning of a thunderstorm and a legendary story spanning decades of film.
DEMIGOD – The Legend Begins was screened as part of Fantastic Fest 2022. Thank you to Fantastic Fest for providing the screening!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Fantastic Fest XVII Review: DEMIGOD – THE LEGEND BEGINS a Gorgeous, Action Packed Origin Story
October 5, 2022
Every legend has it’s beginnings, and some are more explosive than others. Packed with gorgeous, extremely animated puppetry work, effects that call to mind classic tokusatsu shows such as Super Sentai in the best ways possible, and an awesome score that heightened the feeling in each scene, DEMIGOD – The Legend Begins is a film not to miss.
Set in ancient Asia, DEMIGOD is the origin story of Su Huan-Jen, a popular character from a long running Taiwanese TV show. While in the show, Huan-Jen is a powerful warrior, when we meet him at the start of DEMIGOD he is simply a humble scholar, buried in debt to a librarian. Intending to use his skills as a doctor to dig his way out of this debt, he is approached by the Lord of Globe Castle; in exchange for using his healing abilities to cure the ailing Lord, his debts will be covered and he will be given access to an ancient, powerful book. However, he unwittingly becomes caught up in a violent conflict for control of the Kingdom after the Lord is murdered, and he is framed. On the run, Huan-Jen must find evidence to clear his name, but it seems that the deeper into the mystery he gets, the more things are not what they seem, and his abilities and relationships tested in ways he never expected.
Immediately, the first thing that caught my eye was the gorgeous puppets. Since the 17th Century, the art of bùdàixì glove puppetry has been beloved in Taiwan, and the company Pili International Multimedia has been using it since 1984 to produce their show Pili (Thunderbolt). Fans of Gen Urobuchi (Psycho Pass, Kamen Rider Gaim) may recognize the company from a show called Thunderbolt Fantasy, also produced by PIM using the same puppetry technique. These puppets go beyond simple crafts and are absolutely stunning. The puppeteers manage to get tons of mileage out of what are, at their core, hand puppets, making them animated, expressive and seemingly alive. Plus, the work from the voice cast in this film is absolutely on point. I never found myself wanting for more context or feedback from the characters, and the pacing and emotional impact of scenes never hurt for the lack of explicit facial expression.
Of course, this isn’t “Puppetry Film Syndicate.” You want action? This movie has it, and while we’re not talking end to end swords and sorcery and explosions, action scenes are well spaced out, and never exhausting. I never found myself unable to follow the action, and they kept my attention with superb sound and visual design, complete with lots of flashy attacks, magic, and satisfying splatters of blood in every battle. It speaks to the mastery of not only the combat designers, but the puppeteers themselves. Each battle played out silky smooth and with lots to keep attention.
DEMIGOD – The Legend Begins succeeds in it’s mission as a satisfying origin story, leaving me wanting more of this world, and screaming at a surprise stinger at the end of the credits (you don’t stay for the credits? in 2022?) teasing yet another cinematic adventure from Pili. I need a blu-ray release for DEMIGOD as soon as possible, and Pili on streaming so I can take in as much of this stunning, gorgeous, bloody ride through Asian antiquity as possible. At a runtime of a little over an hour and forty minutes, even an action fiend with a deep backlog should find time for this bit of fun. Mysticism, magic, martial arts, and just a little bit of mayhem come together in more than just a single Thunderbolt. Indeed, DEMIGOD is the beginning of a thunderstorm and a legendary story spanning decades of film.
DEMIGOD – The Legend Begins was screened as part of Fantastic Fest 2022. Thank you to Fantastic Fest for providing the screening!
Share this:
Like this: