Blade of Fury

A very good Chinese classic period swordplay story. A humble, but very skilled kung fu fighter helps defeat a large troup of bandits who are attacking an official convoy. A very high-up official thanks and befriends the kung fu expert. As the story progresses, it becomes more evident that the high official is a very cruel and ambitious person. The anti-hero friend becomes critical of the official and gets into trouble over it. He refuses to back down even when threatened with his life. This is a very violent movie, enough to rate a category III in Hong Kong (no adult scenes are in this-so it is all from violence). Really excellent performances from the entire cast. Incredible fight sequences make this a must-have for any hard-core enthusiast of classic period swordplay films (with lots of wirework).

Yes, here there be spoilers!

The heroes of Blade of Fury are on a mission from the Emperor to force a conservative local king to embrace the Imperial reforms. He won't. Through various intrigues, incl. Martial arts contests, betrayals, and be-headings by best friends (!), our heroes end up... losing! Ahhh!

But, while the ending is less than satisfying, the movie as a whole features amazing action scenes with more martial arts choreography than in several hundred Western action movies put together. The characters are interesting (if not terribly well-developed) and the story is complex (as well as messy), and there are plenty of funny moments.

Cynthia Khan is cocky and headstrong, and interesting to see in a period piece (since she's mostly starred in movies taking place in modern-day settings). Ngai Sing - Seraph from Matrix Reloaded - is an appealing actor, but he doesn't have that much to do in this movie. Sammo Hung's part is very brief (blink to miss him!), and his kung fu moves are obviously inhumanly fast.

It really is too bad about the ending - the main characters were too likable to deserve such a fate. But all in all it is a very entertaining experience that I can only recommend, though you'd probably to have to be a fan of kung fu movies in order to appreciate it.

My rating: 8 out of 10.

A true martial arts movie that digs deep into the emotions of the viewer. Movies like these are rarely made so fantastic. Samo Hung directed this masterpiece and to me it's his greatest achievement to date. The martial arts is incredible eventhough there's a great use of wire work. The story is true and deep and reveals the justice of betrayal, loyalty, deceit and sacrifice. A martial arts movie of the highest calibre. By the way all the cast are excellent. A movie worth seeing.

This movie suffers from poor english translation and hence questionable voice-overs. For the most part, action is well choreographed with some interesting wirework which can be taken either as humorous or quite fascinating, creating a strangely magical effect. It depends on what mood you're in as to how you'll take the wirework.

The action can't really be faulted and there are a few of those fights which you find yourself watching eyes wide open, refusing to blink incase you miss a vital move. But that aspect of the film can only add a degree of interest to an otherwise average title which wouldn't really be worth watching were it not for competent fight scenes. The poor script translation takes alot away from the film at times especially when one or two proverbs are translated like they expected the audience to be five year olds. Overall: 6/10

Traditional Hong Kong styled Kung fu movie with intense solid actions, the actors are well trained and beautifully choreographed with actual martial arts styles, especially the antagonist role by Changjun Zhao who is an actual champion of nationwide martial arts competitions. The story is decent and loosely based on historic events, however the ending and acting is somewhat flimsy, which would have been better if the comedic areas were cut as they are just superfluous, lousy and somewhat damages the integrity of the story.