Asian Film Review: "3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Esctacy" (3D肉蒲團之極樂寶鑑, 2011)

The review that the internet has been waiting for --- Etchy's review of "3D Sex and Zen - Extreme Ecstacy'!  (3D肉蒲團之極樂寶鑑)

I went to the world premiere last night,  those pics are here.  But in the meanwhile let's discuss the movie itself. 

First of all -- how do you define this movie...?  Like the original 1991 classic,  its a bit of a mixed bag -- half comedy,  half erotic art film, throw some martial arts in, some gross out gore and tack on a bit of a morality tale... so what is it?  Its not purely a comedy,  definitely not just a porno...

Another thing to keep in mind with these types of genre films (horror, erotic films, etc) -- the actual writing, dialogue, acting, etc are all besides the point... just means to an end. Hiro Hayama plays a young man who's sexual inadequacies with his wife (Leni Lan) lead him to become the servant of a powerful hedonistic warlord ( Tony Ho).  I'll stop there lest I give away any of the plot (and its too hard to write down without laughing out loud at how convoluted and bizarre it all is...)  Vonnie Lui and Kirt Kishita are also very good in their supporting roles.  I'll never look at Vonnie the same again, that's for sure. :-P

"I'll steal your qi the hard way!" The production value is pretty high for an HK film, especially for a film of thistype...  the 3D looks pretty good and the fake looking CG is often seen but at a tolerable level. 

Since I'm sure most of you reading this have found it through google and are most interested in the Sex (more than the Zen),  let me quickly add --  the Japanese porn actresses Hara Saori and Yukiko Suo are the ones showing most of the skin and getting the most 'action' on screen...  so if you're looking just for sex, maybe go watch one of their Japanese AV films and save yourself the trouble of fast forwarding past all the dialogue and character development. :-P

Lastly for fans of the original (like myself) -- this one is not an exact copy,  in fact I think the 3D effects and CG ultimately aren't enough for me to say its better than the original.   Anyone who really enjoys this film who hasn't seen the original (or the sequel which starred Shu Qi in one of her early film roles) should go back and watch those and compare.  the comedy and the sex are just as good,  if not better. :-P

Bottom line -Its definitely a funtime,  a lot of people screaming and laughing in the theater.  So I'll have to give this a positive review for sure.  8/10 for the film as a whole (including Hara Saori!) :-P I'm not exactly sure if I'd describe this as a date movie,  but I guess if you guys have some female friends who aren't prudish I think its best to see it with a group (a bunch of guys going to see it may be almost as creepy as going to see it by yourself!).  Definitely a lot of people are going to be talking about this one this weekend. :-P

But if you do go by yourself: 

Don't forget the tissues!