Xu Xian (a healer) is picking herbs off a mountain when he is scared by a giant snake demon.  He falls into the lake and is rescued by Susu, a white snake demon who has taken human form.  He is smitten by her and she has developed a crush on him.  Meanwhile, a sorcerer monk called Abbot Fahai (Jet Li) and his assistant Neng Ren are hunting demons.   Their paths will cross with Xu Xian more than once when it is discovered his new wife Susu is a snake demon. The sorcerer monk believes love between a human and demon upsets the balance and he must break it up to keep the balance.

 

Jet Li plays basically the same noble character (like in many other Jet Li films) that must do battle and keep the balance.  Also the love story reminds me of the forbidden love in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.  The movie is a combo of sets, CGI effects, model effects, and wire work to get this love story mixed with a fantasy martial arts tale.  I think the effects work mostly holds up except for a few parts where the CGI is too obvious.  It is a touching love story mixed with action and fantasy.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH JET LI; FIGHTING, STUNTS & LAUGHS- a look at the fights, stunts, and the actors having a few laughs while doing it

BEHIND THE SCENES: VISUAL EFFECTS AND PRODUCTION DESIGN- It is interesting to see the effects are a combination of model work and green screen

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE BEAUTIES AND THE BEASTS- a look at how special effects and wire work helped craft the two snake demons

AXS TV: A LOOK AT THE SORCERER AND THE WHITE SNAKE- a promo fluff featurette

 

Also included on the disc are the original theatrical trailer and previews for other releases from magnolia Home Entertainment.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  THE SORCERER AND THE WHITE SNAKE is a moving tale of love and wanting to sacrifice anything to hold onto it.  It has plenty of neat wire fu in it, but I wish they had more extensive extras.

 

This DVD review is (c)4-10-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com