Fitting for the reciprocal world of Hong Kong movies, Hero of Swallow borrows liberally from Iron Monkey, and seems to have provided at least some inspiration for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The results here, unfortunately, aren't as good as either of those movies. Early on, Hero of Swallow falls prey to heavy melodrama which tends to grind the pacing down. It's hard to really feel sympathy for characters you barely know, especially when the "touching" scenes are sandwiched between really exaggerated wire-fu antics and the usual badly-attempted slapstick comedy.

I always wonder why films like this go for those kinds of laughs; this is all the more puzzling here, since Yuen Biao has more than enough personality to make his performance enjoyable without resorting to cheap laughs. At any rate, Hero of Swallow seems to be stuck in-between being a comedy, a drama, and a action movie, without really gelling into a cohesive unit. The most obvious example of this comes at the end of the movie, which has a really downbeat turn that seems tacked on.

Still, Hero of Swallow remains a watchable film, mostly because of Yuen Biao's performance. The supporting cast (especially Elvis Tsui, who managed to stay clothed for this role) also does well, but it is Yuen who holds the movie together through its' schizophrenic pacings. The action is fairly exciting, though some of the wire effects looks cheap, and Yuen never really seems to find a formidable opponent to fight. But overall, it's not totally detrimental to the film. Hero of Swallow is just missing that little something, that little push that would turn it into a great movie instead of a good one -- but it's still worth a look if you're a Yuen Biao fan, or just enjoy some good old-fashioned wire-fu ass-kicking.

REVIEW:
Something that makes me angry is when a movie comes out that is so beautiful that everyone should see it, however no one goes to see it. Then a movie comes out a few years later, wins worldwide praise despite ripping off the other movie and wins a host of awards without acknowledging the other movie at all. The over-rated "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" ripped of this classic movie. If you're a fan of "CTHD" then you will love this movie.

Sang Sui directs this flawless masterpiece of cinema. Siu highlights issues such as the gap between the rich and the poor and the injustice caused by corruption to the poor beautifully. Yuen Biao stars as Li San (who at night is the Swallow Hero, a sort of Robin Hood). Despite helping the poor, he yearns to find his loved one who was cruelly raped and put in a brothel. Biao, who was born for this movie, gives such a diverse performance filled with anger, love, sadness, and even sometimes happiness. It's really incredible that to this day Yuen Biao has not received one Best Actor nomination from the Hong Kong Film Awards and even the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. This really is a terrible indictment on both these awards. Also, Athene Chu, who plays his loved one, gives a beautiful performance filled with yearning, who also deserved at least a Best Actress nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards. The whole cast is wonderful and complements Yuen Biao and Athene Chu beautifully.

Wu Kam choreographs the fight scenes with such elegance that Yuen Biao seems to fight like a twenty year old. Wu Kam not only brings out the very best of every fighter but also emphasis beauty in the fight scenes. Some of the scenes that Wu Kam directs were ripped off by "CTHD." Sang Siu includes some wonderful wirework as Yuen Biao flies, walks over walls and exhilarates. The wirework in this movie had been directly ripped of by "CTHD."

The soundtrack is really wonderful too with the use of traditional Chinese instruments. Also, as this film was filmed in mainland China, the cinematography is beautiful. It really is wonderful and brings out the best of rural China.

Sang Siu and Wu Kam will go very far on the evidence of this. Sometimes a person lives and dies without seeing unseen masterpieces. This is one of them. If you ever get to see just one film throughout your whole life, then make it your goal to see "The Hero of Swallow." Copied by "CTHD," this is a masterpiece that comes only once a generation, if even that. One of the things I like about Yuen Biao is that his movies are not bound by the Hollywood conventional happy ending. This movie has a deeply sad but poetic and beautiful ending. The way Yuen Biao acts at the end will probably never be bettered. I dare you not to cry at the end of this beautiful and emotional movie.