Kuet chin chi gam ji din

This movie tried to do too much in too little time. It was suppose to be a martial arts, love, friendship and hate film. It tried to be intense, then funny. Like many of the present day HK films, they have to make everything comical. I actually thought this would be a serious film, but it was comedy/drama, and i don't think that's a good combo at all. All in all, this movied tried to do too much in too little time and ended up nothing at all!!

I don't use the term "spectacular spellbinding blockbuster of a movie" often; but, this movie certainly approximates that. It manages to combine humor, romance and martial arts with competent special effects. The women are attractive and dynamic, especially Princess Phoenix (Wei Zhao) who comes across as a little sister to the comic character, Dragon Nine (Nick Cheung).

The two "duellists" are attractive and subdued in their performances...

The best performance, in my humble opinion, is that of Nick Cheung. He manages to combine humor with facial expressions and physical comedy; however, his character also comes across as a competent marital artist.

Granted, the movie is way too short; however, it is worth a watch (or two). Odds are, if you have premium cable, you'll come across it from time to time...

Following on from Storm Riders and A Man Called Hero, this latest feast for the eyes from Andrew Lau sees Ekin Cheng once again as the hero. This time his adversary is Andy Lau. With perhaps a little less action than its two predecessors, The Duel focusses on the drama surrounding events in the days leading up to a duel between two master swordsmen.

When Holy Sword (Andy Lau) challenges Simon the Snow Blower (Ekin Cheng) to a duel on the roof of the Imperial Palace the imagination of the people is captured leading to much excitement and anticipation. Dragon 9, the emperor's secret agent is entrusted with choosing eight individuals worthy of witnessing such an event. However a couple of days before the duel there are some mysterious murders and Dragon 9 turns detective as tries to discover the identity of the killer.

The mood of the movie is much lighter than the other two with more comical asides included in the dialogue thus keeping it interesting in the long gaps between action scenes. Despite there being less actual fighting in this movie the action, when it comes, is quite thrilling and some of it rather beautifully put together. Andrew Lau is not afraid to try out new techniques and the opening scenes in particular contain some very interesting sequences reminiscent of the Matrix. When the duel finally does happen it is the special effects spectacle you would expect but with enough attention given to the swordplay.

Although Andy Lau and Ekin Cheng are the two biggest stars of the film, most of the screen time is given to the Dragon 9 character (don't know who plays him) as he tries to solve the mystery. Andy and Ekin just seem to pop in every now and again until the end of the film when the actual duel comes to the fore. Its this aspect that gives the film an air of originality in what is otherwise a pretty straightforward plot unfortunately their characters aren't really given that much opportunity to develop so come the end you don't really care that much which of them actually wins.

If you didn't enjoy Storm Riders or A Man Called Hero then you're unlikely to like this very much. For me it sits somewhere between the two (Storm Riders being the worst).

Rating 3 out of 5.

This movie had good special effects. Andy and Ekin both did a good job playing their roles as cool and skilled swords-men. The plot is about a duel that will determine who is number one. Each man falls in love during the days leading to the duel, showing the soft side of their hard exteriors. Though the movie is about the duel, the life and investigations of a royal officer seems to be a main focus. Nick Cheung, who plays the royal officer, kind of takes the audience through the movie and provides comic relief. Vicky Chao, the princess, provides some comic relief as well. Over-all this movie was good and I would see it again.

Just a film to be recommended to all Martial Arts Fan. Specially the James Bond perciflage in ancient China. It´s really funny and has good stunts. The final fight between the 2 masters which results in fighting only with energy is a great idea. Just rent the DVD and have a enjoyable evening.