The incrementally served up pieces never satisfactorily cohere. The blades fly as do the heads, but the movie remains disappointingly aground.
38
Slant MagazineRob Humanick
Slant MagazineRob Humanick
Despite the multitude of cinematic tricks the prolific Andrew Lau has up his sleeve, the film is a disappointingly rote entry in the wuxia pantheon.
30
Village VoiceNick Schager
Village VoiceNick Schager
A corny saga of social and generational conflict, it's ultimately yet another Chinese period epic that functions as a thinly veiled treatise on the nobility of socialist equality.
An action fan could be forgiven for the medicinal taste that this slick but dissipating exercise leaves behind.
20
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
All the solemnity is deadly: Not one of these superhuman gang members registers in memory, and you feel stiffed on gory giggles. Talk about having your chain yanked.