Clash of Empires is not an irredeemable movie in any way, the scenery was quite nice, a couple of the fight sequences are edge-of-your-seat quality, there is a good lead performance and the princess is simply beautiful. For those redeeming qualities however there are a lot of things that Clash of Empires doesn't do well. The movie can have a frenzied look to it, and the rushed and underexplained story(just where did the romance come from?) is a further indication of Clash of Empires being done in haste. The dialogue is very stilted and sometimes incomprehensible, while the special effects apart from some average-at-best ones at the start are very cheaply rendered. There are no characters to root for, they are almost comic-book-like in quality, the music is generic, the direction is of the kind that has heart and passion at least but not the skill and the acting apart from the lead is vapid and going-through-the-motions feeling.All in all, Clash of Empires is very poorly done stuff but it definitely could have been much worse. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Reviewer Raoul Hostettler thinks his local kindergarten could make a better movie that Clash of Empires and so I would like to please book a seat for the opening night. But then, if Hostettler's local kindy is as good at making movies as he is at writing English, I fear that might be a wasted evening!Yet again (if you've read some of my other reviews), we have illiterate people writing desultory reviews about low-budget movies as though they expected them to be block-busters. Yes, I have written a few pretty scathing reviews myself but you've got to admit, those were for the absolute pits of the film industry. This movie is NOT the pits! No way! That isn't to say it's a blockbuster either but come on people, how many blockbuster movies are released each year? How many does Leonard Maltin give five stars to? But how many does he watch? Get the point? (Probably not! It's most likely too complicated for you!)Let me ask you negative reviewers (and those readers who are contemplating watching Clash of Empires but check the reviews first), why do you watch movies? Is it to be entertained or is to avidly look for bloopers like trees not waving in the background? Is it to get all picky about English spoken with an accent? When it isn't, by the way - as in the case of the narrator in this movie who speaks absolutely beautiful English with just the right timbre for the role - the whiners complain about THAT too! There seems to be no pleasing some folk!OK, I've got my frustration at negative-thinkers off my chest - now to the movie. Firstly, it was made in Malaysia by a Malaysin production company so one would assume that the prime target audience was Malays. However, if it had been all made in the Malay language, the box office would probably never have covered costs (because it definitely wouldn't have been cheap to make). So, very cleverly, the main language used was English which some of the Malaysian actors spoke with a slight accent. Nothing wrong with that (they weren't wearing Saville Row suits!!) I though it a nicely integrated touch for Mandarin and Malay languages to be used with subtitles where appropriate as this preserved the international flavour of the film. The action was good and the CG was OK (if not brilliant). The princess's handmaid added a little comedic interlude a few times and was well-played. Stephen Rahman Hughes as the lead was quite good (I'd like to know what the ladies thought of him). Pity there is no info about him on IMDb. I suspect that, if he ventured to Hollywood and had some good direction, he could become a big star.I was entertained (which is why I watched the movie). I probably won't watch it again (but then I can think of some much larger-budget movies I won't watch again either!) So, if you're one of those picky twits who loves to look for things to complain about, watch Clash Of Empires. You will be rewarded - but PLEASE don't write a review because everyone else doesn't want to know how clever you are! On the other hand, if you enjoy a bit of action entertainment for what it is, then watch it too - and write a review (preferably in coherent English) telling everyone what you enjoyed! Its definitely worth more than 3.7! I gave it 6.

I guess it is the most awaited Malaysian movie by far. Help by various source of publicity due to the story line filled with international taste, the movie The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines or 'Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa' in Malay does not disappoint.Script: The English script looks to be a bit modernize but it does not hurt the movie as the Malays, Chinese and the Roman do not use English at that time. The Roman at the time is using the ancient Latins which is not practical to be used. For those of you who love history and ancient language, the use of 'Malay Purbakala' or some might say a dead language show the efforts of the script writer. Even the Malaysian audiences are having hard time to understand the language.Story line: The story lines are quite fast and do not make you sleep, I promise. In some scene it could be ridiculously fast and in some it is understandable. It is understand that the Director wanted to limit the duration under 2 hours, so that the audience do not feel uncomfortable.Cast: Most of the major actors and actress are doing a great job by portraying their character. Stephen as Merong, Jing Lusi as Princess, Khir Rahman as Kemawas has play their part greatly. Although, most critic in here, agree that Gavin as Marcus and Henrik as Lycius can do a little bit more.Fighting Scene: I guess the fighting scene are amazing knowing the limited resource that the production's have, the end result is still above average. Help by a group of experience fighting scene choreographer from Hong Kong and Merong masculinity, it is safe to say that it will blow your mind.History: For those of you who argue that the movie filled with history inaccuracies, please do your study. It is well known that 'Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa' is verbally told from generation to generation added with mystical elements which are not logical. In the 'Hikayat' or book it is told that the Geruda is not pirates but a big man eating bird known as 'Geruda'. In the book it also stated that Merong comes from Rom and in other source says he is a demigod. There are also a tale about Merong meeting Prophet Solomon.All in all, I've got to say that the movie will not disappoint you. Reminder: If you see any problem with the CGI, well do not expect the movie will be as good as Gladiator or Alexandre or 300. Pity the production who works with only 13 graphic designers (add amateur after 13) and limited budget.

A Malaysian action film based on real history about Langkasuka, sounds great. It's been a while now since the last Malaysian high budget movie (Puteri Gunung Ledang) came out, and to my surprise, this movie was executed really well. The fighting was very intense and the movement is comparable to some Thailand martial art movie. There are also some funny moment between the Chinese Admiral, Marcus and Merong. Of everything the movie had to offer, the music is the best, as it was really good and did a lot to make the already intense scene much more impressive. The CGI in this movie is also very good, but for some reason had a huge quality drop in last part when depicting Sultan Mudzaffar Shah walking towards the harbour.Also, the story was a bit rush. For example, they didn't explain about the relationship between Embok and Merong, then all of the sudden, the narrator (the Sultan) came out and said that Embok was pregnant with Merong's baby. IMHO, this should be make into a trilogy to explain the full story thoroughly.And what is wrong with speaking proper English? Why is there so many broken English in this movie? You see, games like God of War depicted ancient Greece, but with characters speaking proper English, and I didn't see any problem with it, so I really don't understand why should the actor use broken English instead of proper English.At last, I give this movie a 7 out of 10, because the production value was high and some of the scene is really good, but sadly it also has some serious flaw that made the movie incomplete.