The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011, Directed by Ching Siu-tung, starring Jet Li)

 Those who have read my review of White Snake, Green Snake will find a lot of parallels in this movie, and that is not a coincidence. The Sorcerer and the White Snake is another retelling of the Chinese legend of “Madame White Snake” and if anything follows the details of the legend even more closely than the previous movie. Here the monk Fahai is given a more prominent role (played by Jet Li, so no surprise there) and to make room the comic relief Taoist priest is dispensed with altogether. Fahai has great spiritual powers (and is the “sorcerer” of the title, though “priest” would be more accurate) and is the abbot of a monastery. Assisted by an acolyte named Neng Ren (Wen Zhang), he travels the area to battle the demons that threaten the people there. Early in the movie we see Fahai battle and defeat an ice harpy with Neng Ren providing the comic relief. Once a demon is defeated, it is trapped in a sort of limbo to contemplate its sins, possibly for eternity. As the two travel they see evidence that a bat demon is attacking people in the local village, and this creature is their next target.

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