As a general rule of thumb, blockbuster fantasy is consistently inconsistent, with even the presence of major stars failing to act as a guarantee of quality. It isn’t just a problem restricted to Hollywood, either, with 2016’s League of Gods showcasing that even China isn’t immune from an effects-heavy catastrophe of its own.
Despite boasting international superstar Jet Li, one of the modern era’s greatest actors in Tony Leung, A-lister and notorious tax evader Fan Bingbing, and all-round entertainment icon Angelababy among its number, the big budget adaptation of 16th Century tome Investiture of the Gods was critically trashed and commercially unsuccessful, even winning Worst Picture at the Golden Plum Awards, which is basically Hong Kong’s equivalent of the Razzies.
The broad strokes of the story find Leung’s reigning monarch slowly succumbing to the influence of Bingbing’s vengeful spirit working undercover as one of his concubines, which forces a ragtag band of warriors into action; a group that includes a wizened sage who ages backwards, an automaton, a warlord who rides a black leopard, and the last surviving member of a winged tribe.
League of Gods is bonkers and bizarre in equal measure, and has somehow conspired to become one of the biggest hits on a major streaming service after FlixPatrol revealed it to be one of the Top 10 most-watched titles on Hulu in the United States. It’s definitely a singular and unique experience, but it’s a long way away from being a good or even mildly entertaining one.
Published: Jun 1, 2023 12:43 pm