In the northwest desert where countless prosperous dynasties have flourished and fallen, there is rumor of a treasure of unbelievable riches buried among it. A group of mysterious guardians have been guarding the map to the location of the treasure until a fierce rivalry erupted. A notorious international crime group, The Company hunted down the map keeper and before they managed to secure the map, the keeper passed the map to a young chivalrous man Ciao Fei. Ciao Fei was forced to give up the map to save the live of his mentor’s daughter Lan Ting. Teaming up with Hua Ding Bang and Lan Ting they embark on a dangerous journey to recover the map and fight to protect the ancient treasure.
Reviews
THE TREASURE HUNTER is one of those Asian variants on INDIANA JONES that do the rounds occasionally. If you want to see a good example of this genre, check out the 1980s gem MAGNIFICENT WARRIORS, in which Michelle Yeoh whips up a storm in a fun, action-packed ride. By contrast, THE TREASURE HUNTER is amateurish and dull, a film with a muddled story and very little elements of interest.Jay Chou always seems to be one of those disappointing actors to me who fails to make an impact in his starring roles. He's like Mars but without the genuine humour or talent. In this one, he plays an adventurer who has to battle a ghostly army for possession of a secret treasure. The usual bunch of foreign villains, pretty girls, and dedicated rivals are along for the ride, alongside a slumming-it Eric Tsang who tries ever so hard. This film features the usual unremarkable CGI effects and wirework-enhanced fight scenes; it feels like it wants to be THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR, albeit on a much smaller budget. I wasn't impressed.
No, it wasn't the fact that a pop star was in it... he was actually quite good. The movie was so bad because the script was terrible and it was so badly cut. Nice tributes to almost every adventure movie out there... some might call it theft, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. The acting was quite good... and I've always been a sucker for a motorcycle, a damsel in distress and a bit of ancient history... It could have been just an enjoyable adventure romp... but the script was awful... Such a shame... such a waste...I bought the DVD... Anyone want it?
Well, that is the truth. As it is directed by the guy behind Kung Fu Dunk, I am surprised that this is actually more entertaining than his previous movie. I did not really enjoy Kung Fu Dunk and I was disappointed at how some great ideas turned into a rushed plot movie. So after reading the horrible reviews of The Treasure Hunter, I lowered my expectations. I didn't catch it in cinema due to the reviews and instead I waited for the DVD which surprisingly came out quite fast. I rented it and prepared for the worst. But it turned out to be actually cheesy fun.The story: Those who bluntly said that this is a rip-off of The Mummy and others are right. The director took the popular adventure movies and spun a story on his own which turns out not to be original. Though not original, I was still entertained by cheesy fight scenes and action-packed story. Now, the story is nothing much to mention and time of the story is weird. First, they are in the dessert and another scene shows them in a modern city. Unless they are jumpers, it is impossible but in a story. The story is a bit jumbled but the action covers it. The action (some are a bit sloppy) is not great by any means but it is entertaining. The acting is not that good. Jay Chou, I don't even know how he got into the movie with his one and only expression. Chiling Lin, the female main character, is a disappointment. Her acting is not bad in Red Cliff. But now, she creates some laughable expressions.Overall: It is not a great movie even for a Chinese movie but it serves its purpose, to entertain. A lot of people hate this and call it the worst movie of 2009 but I don't think so. I enjoyed this better than Kung Fu Dunk, the movie where ideas become rushed and into junk.
Only Jay Chow's 16 yrs old fans would find this movie bearable. Because throughout the whole movie, there is nothing but bad jokes, bad lines and even worse acting. I am no professional film critic, I am merely trying to tell people how BAD this movie is. In fact, I registered on IMDb just to express my feelings. 1 out of 10 would probably be an exaggeration for some people, I gave it such a low score is because I actually expected this movie to be good. Granted, Jay Chow is not famous for his acting, the movie Gong fu guan lan (Kung fu slam dunk) is a pretty good example, but both his directing and acting in Bu neng shuo de. mi mi (the Unspeakable secret) was actually pretty good. I was proved wrong.
