When talking about the Asian movie "Swordsman", people usually tend to think about Jet Li, who stars the first sequel. This first movie however is better in every department.
First and foremost, while still being a wuxia movie, the Swordman is paced, shot and cut in such a way that everyone can enjoy and appreciate it. The story is clear and you don't have to do guesswork on what's what, and why, like with some Asian movies with insufficient translation or constrained scenes. The adventure unfolds effortlessly and feels whole, which has to be a miracle of sorts when considering the difficulties it faced while in production (changing directors).
The movie has such a good soundtrack that the themes are used in the latter movies too, and features few music scenes which add to the story very nicely and let's you get a breather between all the adventuring.
Sam Hui obviously isn't a martial arts kinda guy and comparisons between Jet Li and him are a bit silly, but on his defence, he doesn't shy away from jumping around and about. He displays his physical side more than adequately. He's a comedy actor and while Jet Li portrays a pretty solid and cheerful Ling too, I prefer Hui's who is more human and softer around the edges.
Because the action isn't anywhere as fierce and raw as in the sequels, this first Swordman movie is much more viewer friendly.
This is not an action movie! This is an adventure movie!
First and foremost, while still being a wuxia movie, the Swordman is paced, shot and cut in such a way that everyone can enjoy and appreciate it. The story is clear and you don't have to do guesswork on what's what, and why, like with some Asian movies with insufficient translation or constrained scenes. The adventure unfolds effortlessly and feels whole, which has to be a miracle of sorts when considering the difficulties it faced while in production (changing directors).
The movie has such a good soundtrack that the themes are used in the latter movies too, and features few music scenes which add to the story very nicely and let's you get a breather between all the adventuring.
Sam Hui obviously isn't a martial arts kinda guy and comparisons between Jet Li and him are a bit silly, but on his defence, he doesn't shy away from jumping around and about. He displays his physical side more than adequately. He's a comedy actor and while Jet Li portrays a pretty solid and cheerful Ling too, I prefer Hui's who is more human and softer around the edges.
Because the action isn't anywhere as fierce and raw as in the sequels, this first Swordman movie is much more viewer friendly.
This is not an action movie! This is an adventure movie!