The Myth

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

The Myth (Chinese: 神話) is a 2005 martial arts/fantasy film featuring an impressively international cast, including Jackie Chan in dual roles as the heroes Jack/Meng Yi, Korean actress Kim Hee-sun as Ok-Soo, Indian actress Mallika Sherawat as Samantha, and Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung Ka-Fai as William.

Inspired a TV miniseries spin-off on the Mainland China's CCTV-8. This time around, Yi Xiao Chuan and Gao Yao, archeology graduate students, gets blasted back to the Qin Dynasty by an ancient artifact found in the tomb of a ancient Qin princess.

Tropes used in The Myth include:
  • Adventurer Archaeologist: Jack is an archaeologist (and he's very insistent that he's not a tomb raider).
  • An Aesop: Jack's lecture about how foreign government should return pillaged artifacts to their home nations.
  • The Ageless: Ok-Soo and General Nangong
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: Meng Yi, a lone soldier, kills about 100 guys before finally being killed, simply because he wasn't shot full of arrows at the start. Also he puts a spear straight through a guy while flying through the air and pulls it out the other side! Also the other Generals, but not as Badass.
  • Can't Have Sex Ever: Ok-Soo is the emperor's concubine. Meng Yi is the emperor's loyal general. They are in love but are unable to be together, ever.
  • Cave Behind the Falls: Not just a cave, but a massive burial tomb as well.
  • Chroma Key: The scenes in the Mausoleum are all shot in front of a green screen.
  • Cool Horse: Black Wind, Meng Yi's impossibly durable war horse.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: "Endless Love" the movie's theme tune as sung by Jackie Chan and Kim Hee-Sun.
  • Downer Ending: Ok-Soo catches on pretty quick that Jack is not her beloved, and she floats back into the tomb to die. Oh, and Jack's friend gets killed, too.
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: And HOW
  • Fake Nationality: Averted, the Korean princess Ok-Soo is played by the Korean actress Kim Hee-Sun.
    • The Indian character of Samantha is played by Indian actress Mallika Sherawat.
  • Honor Before Reason
  • I Should Write a Book About This
  • I Will Wait for You: Ok Soo waits for 2200 years for the return of General Meng Yi.
  • Last Stand: Meng Yi, the loyal General, and his men are ambushed by an army of rebels. All of his men are killed, leaving Meng Yi as the only survivor. His response is to slaughter dozens of horsemen and probably a hundred infantrymen, before getting shot with an arrow through the knee. He then props himself up with a spear on top of a ten-foot pile of his victims so that he will remain standing, even after being decapitated.
  • One-Man Army: See above.
  • Reincarnation Romance: Meng Yi/Jack and Ok-Soo.
  • Love At First Sight: Meng Yi falls for Ok-Soo as soon as he lays eyes on her.
  • Sim Sim Salabim: The scenes in India include an elephant, snake-charming, sword-fighting, and levitating holy men.
  • The Slow Path: Ok-Soo and General Nangong are rendered immortal and imprisoned for 2,000 years in the Qin Emperor's underground, floating tomb.
  • Visions of Another Self: Half the movie is Jack flashing back to his previous incarnation as General Meng Yi.
  • Wire Fu: To create the effect of the anti-gravity meteorites. One of the first Jackie Chan movies to feature this technique.
  • Woman in White
  • Yamato Nadeshiko: Ok-Soo.
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