Actor Andy Lau from China's Hong Kong and actress Fan Bingbing from mainland China attend the premiere ceremony of their latest movie A Battle of Wits in Hong Kong, south China, November 20, 2006.

The Battle of Wits starring Andy Lau is filled with magnificent battle scenes, martial arts and dazzling effects - but it's also a film without real heroes and it carries a potent anti-war message. 　

For the magnificent battle scenes and dazzling techniques it would be easy to compare Hong Kong director Jacob Cheung's latest film The Battle of Wits with the Hollywood Trojan War epic Troy. The film opens in cinemas nationwide today.

However, director Cheung is not trying to create a Chinese version of Troy in this historical drama but to convey ancient Oriental philosophy, wisdom and a universal message of peace. "Super hero movies are a popular genre for Hollywood filmmakers but are not that common in the Asian cinema," says Cheung. "It took me 11 years to prepare and make the film." 　　

The 47-year-old Cheung looks more like a mild and low-key scholar who has deep passion for profound Chinese culture than a movie industry figure. As a director and producer Cheung has enjoyed remarkable success in the past decade. 　　

His films, including Beyond the Sunset (1989) and Cageman (1992), have won many prizes such as the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. 　

The Battle of Wits is an adaptation of the popular Japanese comic Mozi's Assault by Mori Hideki. Set in China's Warring States Period (476-221BC) the film recounts how Ge Li, disciple of the famous philosopher Mo Tzu, helps the small Kingdom of Liang fight off invaders from the powerful Kingdom of Zhao. 　　

Hong Kong star Andy Lau teams up with mainland actor Wang Zhiwen and South Korea's Ahn Sung-gi and Choi Si-won in this US$15 million production.

"This is the only film I am presenting this year," Lau says with a laugh. "You can see how much the story appeals to me." 　

Known as a prolific actor Lau has been cast in more than 100 hits including Infernal Affairs and A World without Thieves. This time he plays the military strategist Ge Li, who sadly finds that cruel reality doesn't match the teachings of Mo Zi which focus on humanity and avoiding attack. 　　

"The tragedy is that though he has great perspective on the war he still can't foresee the complexity of human hearts," director Cheung adds. "Actually the struggle and changing inside one's heart is no less dramatic than that on the battlefield." 　

Mainland's veteran actor Wang Zhiwen also vividly portrays Emperor Liang in a performance that is another highlight of the movie. "Emperor Liang is not merely a fatuous governor," Wang says. "He just doesn't want to lose what he already possesses. The psychological crisis leads to his selfishness, ferocity and the ambivalent doubting character." 　　

Though the movie seems to have almost all the commercial and entertaining elements, director Cheung refuses to compromise his filmmaking just to cater to the market. "I really want to tell modern people that there is no real hero in battle and express my anti-war opinions," he says. 　　

The Battle of Wits will premiere nationwide today. It will be shown in Chinese with both English and Chinese subtitles. 　　

(Shanghai Daily November 23, 2006)