SnoopyStyle It's 1917 Liu Village, China. Liu Jin-Xi (Donnie Yen) is a paper maker in the small town. One day, two violent criminals come to town and Liu Jin-Xi kills them. Everybody believes they were accidentally killed, but Detective Xu Bai-Jiu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is convinced that Liu Jin-Xi is actually a kung fu master.The premise is reminiscent of 'A History of Violence', and gets its inspiration from Yu Wang's 'The One-Armed Swordsman' (1967). Yu Wang is also in this one. The story of the wife played by Wei Tang is amazingly compelling. The detective is also more than a simple policeman. He is a strict legalist. He doesn't bend. His convictions have a dark beginning, and a dark result. The character relationships are complicated.The action isn't the normal kung fu movie for the first half. For action fans, the second half has enough to satisfy. But it's not just a simple action thriller. This is a character study, and a Greek tragedy.

luke After seeing Warlords and reading the reviews I was expecting something new and interesting to the Wu xia/martial arts genre. What I should have expected was the normal clichéd, over the top characters. (Minor spoilers) Killer assumes new identity and tries to live peacefully with his new family, detective cuts off his own empathy using acupuncture. Nothing new, likely or realistic here but the parts are played seriously by the actors and who is ever disappointed by a martial arts movie lacking in an original story line.Then we have the fight scenes, over the top trash, Donnie Yen makes another guy punch himself in the face so hard his teeth fall out, this probably happened before he flew into the air and attached his feet to the ceiling. Crouching Tiger had wire work but it also managed to have some amazing, realistic fight choreography alongside it. In Wu xia we have the standard rubbish you would see in Hero and House of daggers where wire and other special effects are used to make the unreal look real and failing in the attempt. (Another Spoiler) man has his heart stopped with acupuncture, cuts off his own arm then goes home to have a long boring drawn out fight scene with a fat bald man. Someone gets struck by lightning. This is exactly what I have come to expect from Chinese cinema of late not to mention the hit and miss (mostly miss) master Donnie Yen. Because I had paid for the movie I kept watching and waiting for it to get better or show the reasoning behind its many shining reviews but of course it proved to be nothing more than something which could have been dreamed up by the 4 yr old character in the movie playing Yen's son. The only positives are the settings and look of the movie, don't waste your money!

Robyn Nesbitt (nesfilmreviews) Peter Ho-Sun Chan directs the intriguing, entertaining martial arts film "Dragon," by utilizing his art house sensibilities. With a narrative as intense as the set pieces, it is an intriguing thriller about two men seeking redemption from their past. Partnered with the narrative are strong performances, intense action sequences, and beautiful cinematography.The story takes place in China in the year of 1917. A man named Liu Jinxi (Yen) resides in Liu Village with his wife Yu (Tang Wei) and their two sons. One day, two men try to rob the local store, which Liu just happens to be at. The two criminals end up dead, and Liu is the only one that walks away. The unusual event catches the eye of Xu Baijiu (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a detective who is convinced Liu isn't the man he says he is. Once Xu has confirmed there is more to Liu than meets the eye, the psychological conflict between the two men begins. Both actors, Yen and Kaneshiro are fantastic in their roles, with fine character development enhancing their stellar performances. Liu is a complex character, determined to live an ordinary life, but evidently hiding something terrible. The opening scene depicts him dining with his family in a tranquil home, and it is so genuine a moment that his sincere desire for reform cannot initially be doubted. However, as word of his whereabouts spreads, Liu's resolve is sternly tested, and he is forced to directly confront the demons of his past.The first fight scene is entertaining in itself, then magnified when attack is meticulously reconstructed in Detective Baijiu's mind. The action is replayed, with an added focus on the crucial moments. The method of physiology in which Detective Baijiu analyzes the crime scene and attack is unique and captivating. Director Chan uses a range of visual effects, particularly to add precise detail to the development of internal wounds, a technique that remains effective throughout the film.The last 20 minutes of "Dragon" take you completely by surprise. The conclusion of the last fight will make or break your opinion of the film. Nevertheless, "Dragon" delivers swift kicks and a barrage of bone crunching punches to the standard expectations of a remake. "Dragon" is a stunning display of martial arts action, mesmerizing detective work, and engaging performances.

DeathToPop The movie starts out with Liu Jin-xi doing his job as a paper hanger in 1912 China. Working at a clients' store replacing the rice paper windows, he's at the wrong place at the wrong time as two criminals enter demanding money. Deciding to be more than just a bystander he helps and by luck kills his opponents or so it seems.Enter Xu Bai-jiu, a medical expert and detective who despises his own overgrown sense empathy to the point where controls it through acupuncture while treating his body after nearly being poisoned from an earlier case where he let a thief go out of pity. Here we are also introduced to his alter-ego, a darker part of him that he attributes to his near death experience or is it a madness he brought on himself through acupuncture?Xu Bai-jiu sees more going on than the others through examining the bodies of the criminals, clues at the crime scenes, and interviews with the townsfolk. Unfortunately this is where the movie falls apart. Instead of sticking to the noir genre of a (self)tortured detective with the film sets itself up as, it just becomes another over dramatic kung fu film that takes itself too seriously.