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Korea, the late era of Joseon dynasty: Gyu-yeob (Jae-hyeon Jo) is a brutal but skilled warrior who starts tracing a mysterious assassin who has been murdering the King's ministers. Soon clues point to the assassin being Gyu-yeob's old military friend Ji-hwan (Min-su Choi) who he has fond but tragic memories of. What is the truth behind the revolutionary killer and his female assistant Shi-yeong (Bo-kyeong Kim)?

As can be expected from a historical epic, the sets, costumes and massive group scenes look authentic and the colours of the cinematography, such as the green forests and blue night scenes are a joy to the eye. Still, it's harder to sink into the world of the film than in, say, Yimou Zhang's masterpiece Hero, largely because of the restless camera-work that would be better suited in an urban modern-day action thriller than a historical warrior epic. The camera spins around the characters, constantly tracks them, shakes as if in the hands of an epileptic and even goes to very blurry slow motion for long periods of time, making the already hectic fight scenes confusing to follow. The calmer, more static shots in the peaceful scenes look very nice though; I wish this approach would have been used more prominently.

Technical direction issues aside, the film's writing isn't really among my favourites of the genre either. As Gyu-yeob is such a cold and aloof warrior, it is difficult to relate to him and his emotions about his long-forgotten friendship with Ji-hwan. Now the lengthy flashback scene detailing their time together interrupts the main plot for too long; perhaps a traditional chronological structure or showing smaller flashbacks more evenly would have worked better. The long-haired Ji-hwan is a stylish character though and easily carries the scenes where he is in. The female Shi-yeong receives less attention and her role doesn't come across a very significant one, despite her implied importance to Ji-hwan.

In summary, I think Sword in the Moon is a visually good-looking, but not very effectively directed epic in which the nature of friendship is a major theme. A calmer style of presenting the action scenes would have benefited the whole significantly and suited the extravagant, even pompous, music better. I guess the characters could also have been fleshed out better, but in spite of my complaints, the film is not terrible and fans of historical sword epics should find it easily watchable – give it a chance if this type of cinema is your thing.

Although I reckon it is not just about revenge. There are a lot of topics, like love and honor to name a few others. Unfortunately they get a bit muddled as a different reviewer has pointed out too by all the flashbacks, which may further the story a bit, but also seem to stop the track of the current developments to say the least.

Having said all that, Korean period pieces are generally at least good in my book. But this never reaches the heights of Musa or Bichunmoo - though I do have to rewatch the latter some day! I have not read the comics/graphic novel this is based on, so I can't talk about differences and similarities. I can say that it is very well made when it comes to action and stunt scenes.

The ending is a bit weird to say the least, but I love that certain things are not spoken out - rather acted out mostly in facial gestures and small glimpses of understanding ... not the best of the bunch, but a solid effort nonetheless for sure.

Nice movie. At the begining, i thought it's a medieve detective kind hi-fi movie, but the ending totally surprised me. I guess, the whole movie covers too many subjects, each of them can be the main subject,e.g. avenge, friendship, and dream. But it mixed all of them without focusing on any of them. I think, it'd be a great movie if it's built around the ending from the very begining.

Amazing scenes. Great colors. As a fan of Asian movies I accept this one as a promise for more great ones. I can't say this is masterpiece because I am not into the Korean cinema - i saw only two or three movies , but hey don't forget Kim Ki Dook movies - so they are more than 3 :-) Anyway - Im not sure that I understand the final. But I got the idea - the friendship has not a time for existence. This is something that may have or may have not. I give 5 of 10, because of the idea, the costumes, the atmosphere. Although there is too much blood - I say bloodbath. The beginning was promising - I thought that it would be a medieval crime movie - because of the mysterious murders , but the point of the movie was not that kind. It is too deep to consider. May be I'm kind a disappointed because of the end: just like the "Spirited Away" - manga movie... But that does not mean the movie is not great.

After seeing a preview for this film at my local mall where there is a stand for purchasing foreign films, I thought it looked very entertaining. Before watching the movie i went on to IMDb to see what ratings and comments it received. I was worried when I noticed the low numbers and the negative ratings. Despite the hype, I watched to movie and to my surprise I found it unbelievable.

The story was great (just pay attention) and the characters and their relationships within the film is astonishing. I haven't seen such a good combination of leading characters in long time. I really felt for both characters and sensed a strong bond. As reading previous posts about this movie not being "epic" enough or a lack of martial arts I could not disagree more. This film is what it is, its not Braveheart and its not Enter the Dragon but it is still a wonderful film that does an excellent job combining story both and action.

While Sword In The Moon isn't perfect (what movie is?) it still is wonderful and moving. Just wait until the ending scene, with the music and cinematography together, its breathtaking. I only hope more people can see this movie to give it a fair voting.