grandmastersik
Imagine that an amateur screenwriter shat out a vomit draft and said, "That's Oscar-worthy!" Well, that pretty much describes this mumbled action flick.In fairness, the script - or final cut - could have been messed up by anyone, so I won't blame the writer, but as an espionage-cum-action thriller, the film is a total dud.If you're a fan of Donnie Yen (like me!), you'll watch this regardless of how bad anyone tells you it is, and where the big fight at the end nets it an extra star, please don't let the 4/10 fool you into believing that this is half-way decent, because it really is one of the worst Donnie films I've sat through. Which is a shame, because Shu Qi looks as gorgeous as ever and really pours a lot of emotion into her role... which only further highlights how badly the final film lets down both of its main stars.
KineticSeoul
What this is, is a Chinese superhero movie. Where the Japanese soldiers are the bad guys and the Chinese rebels and fighters are the good guys. Some may view this is a anti-Japanese movie, but it's based on the oppression of the Chinese people by the Japanese in the past. So in a way it's historically true during World War 1. Not the whole Chinese superhero stuff but you know what I mean. Now I personally like Bruce Lee, I think he is a pioneer for these Kung-fu movie and was a legit martial artist and philosopher. So I really liked how this is a homage to him. I also loved "Fist of Legend" which I personally think is one of the best martial arts movie out there. This one however just didn't flow very well when it came to the story. It was just boring babbling with things going all over the place. The cool Donnie Yen fight sequences doesn't really make up for it. Sure, most people don't watch a martial arts movie for a amazing story. But the story was just boring, the build up to the final fight sort of made it worth it...Sort of. But the trust and betrayal elements just wasn't impactful and didn't really seem to go anywhere. I really wanted this movie to at least be entertaining, but it just really wasn't because of the flow of it all. Overall this is a corny Chinese superhero movie that is maybe worth a rental at best.5/10
YoCraig
If you're used to old-school chop-socky kung fu movies, you're in for a surprise with this film. Perhaps it's just my ignorance or my poor choice of martial arts films, but this movie has awakened me to how movies in China can be made. This film is thoroughly modern.This move is epic and modernly made. It tells a story based on Chinese history, which is kinda the norm for martial arts movies from China, but on a somewhat grand scale and it works. While there are NOT a lot of fight scenes, there is a lot of story presented through exceptional photography of very beautiful and realistic looking sets/locations.I highly recommend this movie for fans of martial arts that also want some story that doesn't involve two competing kung fu schools. It honestly reminded my of "The Last Emperor", which totally caught me off guard.
chrichtonsworld
There is only one reason to see this movie and that is Donnie Yen. It is just an amazing sight to see this master of martial arts in action. Andrew Lau however must be ashamed for trying to be so political and patriotic. Nothing wrong with nationalistic movies once in a while. But lately it has been overkill. And he is clearly over his head here since he barely makes sense of what actually is happening on the screen. Worse you won't even care apart from the obvious cruelties displayed in movies like this. It is such a shame that the focus seems to be on the plot that is hardly interesting. Luckily for Andrew Lau Donnie manages to save it all by himself but you can't but wonder what the movie would have been like if the plot was kept simple.
AD
