this is definitely a film for those who like wire-works 'fu. i do, to some extent, so i enjoyed it; if you don't mind wire-works, the martial arts are actually fairly well done.
jet Li's character is interesting, and he performs it well; most of the other characters are not well-developed, so the actors go through their paces as professionally as possible.
some of the photography is quite good, and so is the editing.
the serious flaw of the film is the story; director Wong jing doesn't seem to know exactly where he wants it to go. i allow that this is the first film of an uncompleted trilogy, and so we are supposed to be left dangling at the end. but the fact is that Li's character is supposedly bent on revenge against all the clans for their participation in his parents' deaths, but this gets lost about half-way through the film. Wong jing tries to re-coup this issue with a couple flash-backs, but there's nothing in the immediate story as it rolls along to keep us aware of it. and if Li's character isn't acting out his revenge-quest, what he doing here becomes unclear. consequently, there's no thematic thread to hold these characters together; it becomes just another clan vs. clan tale, and not much of one at that.
occasionally fun, but i'm not holding my breath waiting for the sequel.
jet Li's character is interesting, and he performs it well; most of the other characters are not well-developed, so the actors go through their paces as professionally as possible.
some of the photography is quite good, and so is the editing.
the serious flaw of the film is the story; director Wong jing doesn't seem to know exactly where he wants it to go. i allow that this is the first film of an uncompleted trilogy, and so we are supposed to be left dangling at the end. but the fact is that Li's character is supposedly bent on revenge against all the clans for their participation in his parents' deaths, but this gets lost about half-way through the film. Wong jing tries to re-coup this issue with a couple flash-backs, but there's nothing in the immediate story as it rolls along to keep us aware of it. and if Li's character isn't acting out his revenge-quest, what he doing here becomes unclear. consequently, there's no thematic thread to hold these characters together; it becomes just another clan vs. clan tale, and not much of one at that.
occasionally fun, but i'm not holding my breath waiting for the sequel.