After the Chinese martial-arts epic Hero topped the box office in the US last week, another blockbuster Warriors of Heaven and Earth, hit the US big screen Friday.

The movie tells a story about a Japanese emissary who is sent to the Gobi desert to execute a renegade soldier. When a caravan transporting a Buddhist monk and a valuable treasure is threatened by thieves, however, the two warriors might unite to protect the travelers.

Starring famed Chinese mainland actor Jiang Wen and popular actress Zhao Wei, the Japanese idol Kichi Nakai is also included in the lineup.

(CRI September 4, 2004)