'The Promise': Chinese fable is too convoluted

Beautifully photographed with ravishing, otherworldly landscapes, but disappointingly hokey computer-generated effects, The Promise, mainland China's most expensive feature film ever made, becomes the latest to try to follow the lead of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to international box office success.

Warner Independent Pictures 'The Promise' B- The verdict: Chinese sword-and-sorcery yarn full of computer effects but not much emotional involvement. Director: Chen Kaige Starring: Chen Hong, Liu Ye, Guan Xiaotong, Nicholas Tse, Hiroyuki Sanada Run time: 103 minutes Release date: May 5, 2006 Rating: PG-13 for stylized violence and martial arts action, and some sexual content. Language: Chinese with English subtitles. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'The Promise'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Hampered by a too-convoluted plot, made worse by some last-minute editing that shortened the film by 18 minutes for Western consumption, The Promise promises to attract only hard-core Asian sword-and-sorcery fans.

Director Chen Kaige (Farewell, My Concubine) seems drawn by the small, human tale of a lovely concubine named Qingcheng (Hong Kong's Cecilia Cheung), cursed as a child by a goddess who promises her great wealth, but disappointment with all the men she loves until she can figure out how to reverse time. But he gets preoccupied by epic battle scenes populated by casts of thousands — real and digital — and gravity-defying effects that lead the film into the realm of a cartoon.

The concubine attracts the attention of a warrior general (Japan's Hiroyuki Sanada) and Kunlun, his wily slave (Jang Dong-kun of Korea) who can outrun a stampede of bulls and perform other far-fetched feats.

When Kunlun disguises himself as the general and kills an emperor who was going to dispose of Qingcheng, she mistakenly falls in love with the general. That is just the start of a plot full of mystical elements that get in the way of our emotional investment.

Still, The Promise is often visually stunning, thanks to Crouching Tiger's cinematographer Peter Pau and maybe for some moviegoers that will be enough.