With a large budget, an international all-star cast, and a prestigious director (not to mention an official entry into the Oscar race for best foreign film), many potential viewers for The Promise had high hopes. Seemingly -- based on the many scathing reviews this production has garnered -- those hopes have been dashed with a quickness. So when this particular reviewer started up the DVD, my hopes were not all that high. I will agree with the assesment that many others have had that perhaps Chen Kaige was pehpas a bit too ambitious here. But, im my opinion, The Promise is a enjoyable wuxia picture. It certainly has its' flaws, but it's not up (or down, if you prefer) to the level of recent efforts like Jackie Chan's The Myth.

The Promise's biggest flaw is its' use of special effects. While there are some shots that look spectacular, too many feature obvious-looking CGI, and that tends to take the viewer out of the story. It feels like Kaige should have made The Promise a green screen effort like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, or just a fully animated or CGIed picture. But I was able to forgive the shortcomings of the effects for the most part. I enjoyed the simplicity of the story here versus many other wuxia films (though there are some annoyingly glaring plot holes), the acting was good, and Cecilia Cheung certainly provides some nice eye candy. Sure, The Promise isn't the second coming of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or anything like that, but if you're into fantasy swordsplay movies, you could do a whole lot worse than this.

[review from hkfilm.net]