Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Boba_Fett1138 Like so many genre movies, this is a typical revenge flick that features all of the usual ingredients and aspect you would expect from a movie like this.It has a well layered story, involving multiple characters and motivations. It's not just a one way revenge flick. I mean, cutting off the arm of the main character isn't enough, there happens and has happened a lot more to him that forms him and leads up to his decision of seeking revenge, which is also aimed at multiple different people. It's a well build up story that doesn't just only rely on its action. It has also got some great characters in it, of course especially the villains.The violence within the movie is quite graphic. Expect seeing blood and limbs flying around. During the action sequences some great and innovative cinematography and editing is being used, which truly uplifts some of the action and the movie as whole. The action and fight sequences themselves are of course also greatly choreographed, as you would expect from a genre movie such as this one. It makes this a movie that will mostly please the genre fans for sure. Especially the end fight does not disappoint!The many flashback sequences in the movie feel and look sort of surreal, which works magical in the movie.It's a good and professional looking movie with good looking sets, makeup and costumes. The movie looks like it spend its money well and also had obviously more than average to spend on its total budget.A great and typical genre example!8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Snowman_Mcknives i unfortunately could not enjoy this film as it could have been thanks to the great enemy of kung fu fans: dodgy subtitles. thus the characters spouted lines that translated as "why did father my die so sad". i know, but anyhow the rest of the film is jaw dropping. little to no wire work, and some of the most inventive martial art choreography ever seen make this a special treat. worlds away from the graceful, but impact-less fighting of CTHD and HOFD, this is nasty, characters are surrounded and chopped to pieces heroes get beaten in all sorts of nasty ways. the editing and camera-work seems to have influenced gladiator, with choppy nasty hits.the plot is rudimentary, something about sword-makers, evil bald men who probably eat little children and have swords with more gadgets than 4 James bond movies, and two badass friends who kick said guys bald ass. this has no political subtext, no unnecessary complications, just good old fashioned fighting, worth checking out

kutani Having seen and thoroughly studied Wong Kar-wai's Ashes of Time, it is very interesting to see this rebuttal by Tsui. Not only is he directly attempting to pull attention towards himself after the firestorm that was Ashes, but he is at the same time adapting a King Hu classic (One-armed Swordsman). Not that this is all that surprising, of course. HK cinema is littered with remakes. In any case...This is a nice change from Tsui's usual comedic, new wave style of directing (ala Swordsman and Wong Fei-hong), but due to his "this is MY genre" attitude following the success of Ashes, it comes dangerously close to, well, trying too hard. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable film. The growth of the main character after the loss of his arm draws the viewer in, much like the training of San Te in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. The fight scenes are impressive, of course, as Tsui's directing power is still at its peak.A good film for those interested in smarter WU XIA films but not in the mood to tackle Ashes of Time. One must, however, recommend it's predecesor, One-armed Swordsman.

z_zen "The Blade" is the finest martial arts film I've seen. A gritty, dark actioner deriving in equal measures from it's wuxia (martial arts) roots and Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns. The climax includes some of the most compelling fight sequences I've seen on film.It's a violent and savage yet beautifully shot and composed film. Hark infuses his film full of frenetic camera angles and stark atmoshpere to the point of being nightmarish. The story unfolds in flashback from the perspective of an old woman relating to two men who she imagined will fight for her. A revisionists approach not unlike Kar-wei Wong's "Ashes of Time" but without the surreal narrative.Are art house films and martial arts films mutually exclusive? I use to think so, but not after seeing "Ashes of Time" and "The Blade".