Director Chen Kaige makes kung fu debut

Rumors reported by Chinese media suggested that the multiple-award winning filmmaker was admitted to hospital last year after working too hard.

In the trailers of the film, the major rules of Taoist discipline, such as vegetarianism and abstinence, appear to be broken by the protagonist, played by Chinese actor Wang Baoqiang.

Wang is familiar to Chinese viewers for his trademark "silly" smile in a series of comedy blockbusters, but he is in fact a real kung fu practitioner. Wang started learning martial arts skills at 6 years old and became a disciple at Shaolin Temple at age 8. He shot to fame in the entertainment industry for playing the role of an immigrant worker in Feng Xiaogang's A World Without Thieves in 2004.

Chen was criticized for coarse special effects in his 2005 fantasy epic The Promise. That film is now regarded as a turning point for Chen to transform from an art-house director to a commercial filmmaker.

Chen Hong, producer and the director's wife, says they have hired Animal Logic, an Australian animation and visual effects studio (The Great Gatsby, The Matrix), to design the picturesque scenarios.

The big-budget film also delights fans with an all-star cast, including Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok, Taiwan veteran actor Chang Cheng, Taiwan supermodel-turned actress Lin Chi-ling and the Asian Film Awards' best actor winner Wang Xueqi.

The story already has a solid fan base. The book behind the movie was first published in 2007 and has a score of 7.5 out of 10 from more than 2,300 readers on Douban.com, one of China's largest online review platforms.

Most reviews sing praises of the first half for the "innovative narrative" but criticize the second half as "a failure" for the unravelling storyline.