| This is one of John Liu's best performances. And probably my personal favourite of his films. But more in terms of acting than action. The fights are decent, but a little below what you would expect from Stephen Tung Wai, circa 1978. John Liu delivers the usual flashy bootwork. And the likes of Chia Kai, Ko Fei and Tung Wai himself also bring the goods, to a point. The best fight is, to no surprise, the end fight. where all the aforementioned go at it.
The story is actually fairly interesting, and has some depth to it. It's not just filler between fight scenes. And it's all played very serious. No comedy in sight.
It has decent production value for an indie flick. And some beautiful Taiwanese locations--the kind of picturesque countryside vistas and old temples that you just can't get when filming on a studio backlot or the overused HK New Territories. There are some familiar locales in there as well, like the red-walled temple from INVINCIBLE ARMOUR, and the golden Buddha from GREEN JADE STATUETTE.
Quick mention to the music. It's no secret that these old school flicks patched together their soundtracks using "borrowed" loops and samples from various films from the west. But I think John Barry could have sued here. The music is made up almost entirely of the tracks from THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN and THE SPY WHO LOVED, mixed with the "western" theme from INVINCIBLE ARMOUR. But, strangely, it all works really well here.
The movie as a whole is a pretty decent effort. And I would recommend it to those who like a good story to go with the action, average as it may be. |
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