When my husband said he wanted to rent it, I was really skeptical. By the name, I was thinking it was a blood and guts movie where people were going to be killed left and right due to sword fighting and kicking and shooting.

Well, I was surprised! This movie was fantastic! Yes, there was martial arts and some sword fighting, but there was no blood and only two people get killed by the sword fighting. But the people that got killed had a meaning. It made since for those two to die.

This entire movie (spoken in Chinese, I believe, with English subtitles) was full of symbolism. Every little action, every word, every thing had meaning. There was one flashback scene that my husband, while it was playing, thought was useless, ended up making perfect sense in the end. Without that scene, the ending would have meant nothing. That made the movie even better.

Even though it was spoken in Chinese and you were constantly reading the bottom of the screen, you still didn’t miss out on the action. Like I said there was sword fighting, but it was all about skill and being disciplined and knowing how to use the sword properly. There was also a lot of ninja type movements. These people were jumping from rooftop to rooftop, tree branch to tree branch effortlessly giving the watcher an even better experience. It was cool!

Also the fact that they didn’t dub over the voices, made the emotion come out more and made the movie mean a whole lot more. You felt like you actually knew the people. If they had dubbed the voices, it would not have been the same.

The overall plot deals around a special sword that one man gives away, hoping to never have to fight again and to live in peace. The sword gets stolen and finding the one who stole it is a good portion of the movie. Yet once they find out, many other things happen and the sword gets back finally to it’s owner. Now, this is the basic plot, but there are a lot of other things that go on that expand the plot and make this a fantastic movie.

The movie is rated PG-13, but mainly due to the sword fighting and those who die. There is not any bad language and otherwise very clean. There are a few scenes where you know the people will be engaging in sex, but they do not show it and there is no nudity. I thought it was very well done.

This is one worthy of buying on DVD in my family. It’s one we’d like to watch again and again. I recommend seeing it today!


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older