There are some movies that you immediately recognize of having had the potential to become classics, but were perhaps dismissed due to a glaring amount of faults - this is one such film.
The action, acting, diverse characters, swordsmanship, and pacing are all fantastic, but the real stand out is a fairly deep and involved mystery plot that builds up. While perhaps obvious to some, such mystery and third act reveal is still something not often found in many of its contemporaries.
Had the editing and horrific continuity (make no mistake, you will be left with a case of whiplash as characters jump from one set to a field miles away with a single cut) been tightened up this would be deserving to stand side-by-side with the other greats of the genre. The quality of the subtitles (at least for the burned-in ones I watched) is also lacking but good enough to follow along - however I do hope this film gets a remaster one day with a proper translation to go along with it.
