Ancient China - the Imperial Court. The emperor dies mysteriously. His death starts a journey of loyalty and betrayal, conspiracy and slaughter, and love and hatred a la Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Sex? The movie does have hints of incest and attempted rape. Violence? Does lots of blood and decapitated heads count? Profanity? Hmmm... maybe. Chinese wasn't my forte and they do seem vulgar at times. On paper, it seems that "The Banquet" is not suitable for kids. But thanks to Feng Xiaogeng's (not to mention our scissors-happy censorship board) clever 'editing', the movie managed to maintain its family-movie status.

Based loosely on Shakespeare's Hamlet, "The Banquet" is everything an epic-scaled art film should be - limited dialogue, numerous dancing scenes, stunningly beautiful scenes, full of contradictions, and of course, clocking in at over two hours.

Set in 10th century China, the movie focuses on a reluctant crown prince named Wu Luan, who withdrew into the country to join an acting troupe three years earlier when his father married Wan, his childhood friend and would-be lover. Wu Luan's quiet life as an artist is shattered when his ambitious uncle kills the Emperor, ascends the throne and sends a band of assassins to kill the rightful heir. Wan, who recognises that the self-appointed Emperor is a threat both to herself and to her true love, agrees to marry the new Emperor in a bid to protect the crown prince.

Sounds confusing? Throw in a few other characters such as a wise two-faced general, his acting-on-emotions son, and his innocent daughter, whose love for the crown prince brought mishap to her family. Boy, learning history or Shakespeare was never this tough.

With a reported budget of around 150 million yuan (RM70 million), it's no wonder the film was able to attract such a star-studded cast and talented crew behind it. With that amount of money, they also really focused a lot on the costumes and set, which are intricately detailed and a sight to behold.

The stars themselves also didn't fail to impress. Zhang Ziyi gave another memorable performance but those looking for a breakthrough achievement from her would be fairly disappointed. Daniel Wu was okay in playing the crown prince but could have fared better if given a much bigger role. However, the star that stole the show had to be Zhou Xun, who despite limited amount of scenes in the movie, manages to draw out the most emotional bit of the film as the lovelorn girl who dare to defy the Emperor for her flame.

Action choreography from Yuen Wo-Ping had always been a delight to watch but somehow lacks originality. In addition, most (if not all) of the fight sequences seem like dance sequences, and the dance sequences like fight sequences, one can't help but wonder if it was intentional or it's just an unnoticeable flaw.

The movie moves at a very slow pace and things only start to pick up at the final half hour of the film. By then, your heart would be practically beating along the tempo with all the unexpected twists and turns, with enough to make an Auntie Anne pretzel.

In short, "The Banquet" certainly does have all the right ingredients to make it as a blockbuster epic. However, it lacks the bowl to mix it up well. Similar to a majority of other art films, "The Banquet" might only appeal to a selected minority of moviegoers. Trimming the two-hour-plus running time could help marginally, though.

The emperor is murdered and his throne usurped by his brother (Ge You) who also has designs on the beautiful young empress (Zhang Ziyi). The usurper sets out to kill the crown prince, Wu Luan (Daniel Wu), but fails. This sets off a series of court intrigues that involves revenge, betrayal and deceit.

Yes, the plot is a combination of Shakespeare's Hamlet, MacBeth and even Romeo And Juliet. The motives and goals have been altered to suit the time frame of 10th Century China, the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. This production, obviously, is not to retell Shakespeare but an attempt at 'poetic cinema'.

Everything is mesmerisingly beautiful and opulent. "The Banquet" is a visual feast, with fantastic costumes, the biggest set of a Chinese palace ever built, and eye-boggling martial stunts choreographed by Yeun Wo-ping. Yeah, there are 'wire-fu' involved but these are more like dances with swords than real fighting.

The photography (by Zhang Li), playing on the colours, gold, red and black, is both symbolic and superb, and Tan Dun's music score adds the beat and nuance to the action. In the acting department, Ziyi is deliciously fetching and memorable as the scheming empress (Gertrude) while Ge You is fittingly vulnerable and pathetic in the Claudius role. Daniel Wu and Qing Nu are just adequate in their respective Hamlet and Orphelia roles.

Like the other China directors, Feng Xiaogang fools around with narrative logic, providing ridiculous turns and twists to its plot even before we get to the climactic banquet at the end of the movie. These, however, are more forgiveable than the incomprehensible ending that leaves us mystified. Is Feng trying to stir up controversy? Or leave us with indigestion?

Like the Imperial feasts of yore, this "Banquet" looks temptingly stylish and delicious but it is not filling enough to make us leave the cineplex satisfied. It should delight those on a diet, preferring desserts over the main course.