SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

ma-cortes One of the best modern Wu Xia movies with overwhelming combats and spectacular scenes . Being well set during China's Imperial dynasty , and spectacular and colorfully directed by Peter Chan . It deals with a sinful martial arts expert called Liu Jin-xi (Donnie Yen) wants to start a new tranquil life, only to be hunted by a determined Detective called Xu Bai-Jiu (Takeshi Kaneshiro of House of flying daggers) who investigates his dark past and his former master (Wang Yu) . Liu lives almost anonymous until two robbers enter their village to rob a provision store and defends himself and kill them . Later on , the village is attacked and in order to seek vengeance Liu uses his extraordinary martial art skills . This classic Wu Xia flick displays lots of violence , action filled , thrills and fierce combats . This luxurious martial arts film was marvelously filmed with good production design , colorful cinematography and breathtaking scenes . The flick displays lots of violence, action filled , thrills and fierce combats . This is a colourful, China set and quite budget movie ; leave no cliché untouched , though the fighting are magnificently staged . The picture is full of tumultuous sequences with frenetic action , surprises , fierce combats and groundbreaking struggles . Amid the grandeur of the scenarios and impressive fights is developed an intrigue about a villager who bears dark secrets and stubborn Detective exploring his hidden side using C.S.I methods . The picture is starred by three myths of Wu Xia and Chinese martial arts such as Donni Yen who starred "Seven Swords" , ¨Hero¨ , ¨Yip man¨ saga , Takeshi Kaneshiro who acted in ¨Warlord¨ ¨Chungking Express¨, ¨Red Cliff¨ and Wang Yu who starred classic Kung-fu movies for Shaw Brothers as "The Chinese Boxer" , the 1st real movie non-swords, only bare hand and kicks fighting, a new genre in HK action movies , he gained super stardom status as the "One-armed Swordsman" and ¨ Master of flying guillotine¨ ; Wang paved the way for the future Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan for such a genre.The motion picture was compellingly directed by the Chinese Peter Ho-Sun Chan who has established himself firmly as a distinguished filmmaker/producer whose last 4 films have generated millions in China box office . In as early as the nineties, Chan already scored a string of critically acclaimed box office hits, including his award-winning directorial debut ¨Between Hello and Goodbye¨ (1991) and following ¨He's a Women, She's a Man¨ (1994) and ¨Comrades, Almost a Love Story¨ (1997), those produced by his own United Filmmakers Organization (UFO), among which Comrades has won a record 9 Hong Kong Film Awards and was named one of the Ten Best Movies of 1997 by Time Magazine. In 1998, Chan directed his first Hollywood picture ¨The Love Letter¨ for Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks SKG and starred by Spielberg's wife : Kate Capshaw. In 2000, he established Applause Pictures dedicated to quality co-productions aimed at audiences across Asia. In 2005, foreseeing the ever-growing market in China and its fast expanding audiences, Chan decided to take on the China market with the musical extravagance Perhaps Love (2005), Shot entirely on location in Mainland China, it became one of the year's top-grossing films in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and received a record 29 awards. Chan next directed ¨The Warlords¨ (2007) with Takhesi Kaneshiro and produced Derek Yee's ¨Protégé¨ (2007). The two films were the two highest grossing Hong Kong-China co-productions of 2007. And of course , this successful ¨Wu Xia¨ (2011) . Rating : Above average . The motion picture will appeal to Donnie Yen fans , he's a complete show .

cinematic_aficionado An attack on a butcher's shop in a small rural area, unleashes all hell for those involved, the authorities and our screens.The story unfolds after an police investigator becomes perplexed as to how an ordinary shop worker fends off an orchestrated attack by two ruthless criminals. Being unprepared to simply accept that the quiet family man, simply got lucky he tries to dig deeper and reaches a point where the revelations is more than he could even handle.Beautifully made and nicely told, this a film with hidden might, where the audience goes from one surprise to another between scenes of true human warmth as well as spectacular fighting sequences. Yes, they go over the top but it is done in such a refined manner that you could forgive them.

rgblakey Donnie Yen has been the go to guy for great martial arts films for the last few years. He is one of the few in the industry that delivers great acting performances alongside some remarkable action. His latest film Dragon aka Wu xia looks to continue his tradition of great epic films, but with a bit of a drama suspense aspect, but will this new direction hurt the film or just deliver another great addition to his already brilliant resume? Dragon follows a martial arts expert trying to live in peace, but after a couple of criminals attempt to rob a store and are killed, a determined detective sets out on a hunt to solve the case and reveal the secret he has been trying to leave behind. This is a bit of a different type of film than Yen's previous endeavors. Make no mistake, there is plenty of action here, but it's separated by mystery story that is simple yet cleverly crafted. The film plays as a homage to the classic martial arts film One Armed Swordsman in both story as well as having the legendary star of the film Jimmy Wang in a major role in the film. In addition it almost feels like an Asian remake of History of Violence with the story being the exact same direction. There is some brilliantly clever layout to the way this film is crafted taking out of the realm of average to something a bit more special. Seeing the events unfold in numerous ways throughout this film adds a new dimension that keeps you guessing and wondering where things are going and how it will be revealed. Yen gives another great performance with one of the widest ranges he has had to deliver in some time. Jimmy Wang, while not in the movie a lot, delivers some great moments of pure evil as well as an epic fight scene that any hardcore martial arts fan will surely get sucked right into.Dragon is a great entry into the martial arts genre and one that shows you can deliver the awesome action with a great story and performances. If you are a fan of Yen or the classic One Arm Swordsman then this is a must see film. Understand though, this is not a remake of that film, but does pay homage in a big unexpected way that you will not want to miss.

thermal_socks Wu Xia (aka Dragon aka Swordsmen) is reminiscent of those classic Shaw Brothers movies that combined brilliant martial arts choreography with compelling characters. The plot is influenced by John Wagner and Vince Locke's graphic novel "A History of Violence" but this is not a remake of Cronenberg's film. With plenty of twists and turns to keep the viewer entertained, Wu Xia is one of the best martial arts films of recent years. Donnie Yen (Hero, Ip Man, Once Upon A Time in China 2) is on top form as a multi-faceted hero with a past. There's a lot of CSI/Sherlock Holmes style narration as the detective, played by Takeshi Kaneshiro ( Red Cliff, Chungking Express, House of Flying Daggers) unravels the identity of the village hero with a past. The dynamic between the rigid detective (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and the reformed criminal turned small town hero (Donnie Yen) is reminiscent of Inspector Javert and Jean Valjean in Les Misrables. Wu Xia is beautifully shot and well acted with great martial arts scenes. For martial arts buffs, Jimmy Wang Yu, star of the 1967 Shaw Brothers classic The One-Armed Swordsman also stars in this movie. Wu Xia (aka Dragon aka Swordsmen) is definitely a movie to add to your Blu-ray/DVD collection.