Nick Johnson

This is an excellent movie. It starts with the funeral of a grandmother. At the funeral, her two grandchildren learn for the first time that their grandma was married before the grandfather they know, and that her first husband, who was actually their biological grandfather, was a kamikaze pilot. They're shocked by this revelation, and spend the rest of the movie researching his life, which is told in a series of flashbacks. There are lots of dogfighting scenes, but it is ultimately a very moving portrayal of a man who desperately wanted to survive for his family, but ultimately sacrificed himself. Very moving - one of my favorite movies.

I've watched a number of Korean historical palace dramas, but this is the first Chinese historical drama I've seen. I thought it compared quite well to its Korean counterparts. It was similar to but had a stronger lead female character than k-dramas Yi San and Dong Yi. However, I don't think there is a female character in historical drama stronger than the title character in Empress Ki. The episodes really moved along and were consistently interesting. The lead actress played her character very well as a free spirited, very smart, strong woman who did things her way even when she came dangerously close to losing her head to an Emperor who didn't normally tolerate any opposition. All of the other characters were well played though most of the other consorts and Empresses were older than I would have expected. The sets and clothes were first class. The soundtrack wasn't great, but it was OK. If you like historical drama, this is definitely worth watching.