I'd heard many good things about this movie and having enjoyed much of Tsui Hark's work before, was looking forward to a masterpiece, especially seeing as it's a remake of the Shaw Brother's Classic, One Armed Swordsman, but ultimately I was quite disappointed. Maybe I am being overly harsh as this is a film that really serves as a set piece for violent sword fighting spectacles and here it certainly delivers. On, the sword foundry worker turned one armed, whirling dervish of death cuts a striking figure as he slices his way through the bandits that ruined his life and there is plenty for action fans to sink their teeth into here. The initial ambush where On loses his arm is riveting, as bandits seemingly fly out the woodwork and numerous hidden bear traps snap shut on limbs and the later fight sequences such as On defending his adopted home or the bandit assault on the sword foundry are packed to the rafters with flashing blades and high body-counts, blood spattering everywhere.
However, what lets it all down is the narrative component and the overall impression I got was that Tsui Hark came up with the idea for several sword fighting showpieces, then tacked the storyline on as an afterthought. We get no real introductions to the characters whatsoever and narrative strands seem to be dropped in and out with little thought. What makes this worse is that the film spends way too much time focusing on the female narrator, a girl in love with both On and his co-worker Iron Head. Not only is her story of searching for her true love nowhere near as entertaining as On's quest for revenge, but she seems to spend the entire film either getting in the way or screaming and throwing tantrums. Throw in some flimsy philosophical musings (she's constantly going on about the war in her heart) and she becomes a very unsympathetic character, each time her voice over crops up you can't help but looking at the running time and hoping she finishes soon so we can get back to more about sword fighting and revenge.
It's not a bad film, but far below the standard that I had hoped for. If they'd paid as much attention to the storyline as the action and got rid of the ridiculously irritating female narrator, it could have been so much better.
However, what lets it all down is the narrative component and the overall impression I got was that Tsui Hark came up with the idea for several sword fighting showpieces, then tacked the storyline on as an afterthought. We get no real introductions to the characters whatsoever and narrative strands seem to be dropped in and out with little thought. What makes this worse is that the film spends way too much time focusing on the female narrator, a girl in love with both On and his co-worker Iron Head. Not only is her story of searching for her true love nowhere near as entertaining as On's quest for revenge, but she seems to spend the entire film either getting in the way or screaming and throwing tantrums. Throw in some flimsy philosophical musings (she's constantly going on about the war in her heart) and she becomes a very unsympathetic character, each time her voice over crops up you can't help but looking at the running time and hoping she finishes soon so we can get back to more about sword fighting and revenge.
It's not a bad film, but far below the standard that I had hoped for. If they'd paid as much attention to the storyline as the action and got rid of the ridiculously irritating female narrator, it could have been so much better.