This was actually one of the first Hong Kong movies I watched (besides the innumerable old-school movies most of us saw back on the old "Kung Fu Theatre" shows). While I would not say it was a life-changing experience, it definitely changed my movie viewing habits forever. Fights were no longer confined to the ground; they could occur any and everywhere. A movie didn't have to be just one genre; they could mix up all manners of style and still be coherent. Women could have just as much power and fury as their male counterparts in movies, sometimes even more. Of course, these ideas are pretty commonplace in the western movie lexicon, especially after the success of east/west hybrids like The Matrix, but when I first saw this movie several years ago it floored me.

As for today, it still holds up well. The story -- like many wuxia films -- seems a bit too convoluted for its own good (at least to my western pallette); there's a few too many characters (and their respective plotlines) in the mix. The novel which the trilogy is based on clocks in around 2000 pages, and while the movie is not as claustrophobic as the first, it still feels a bit cluttered, as the filmmakers perhaps stuck a few too many characters into the movie stew. However, the movie sports Jet Li in one of his better and more unique roles (he actually kisses a girl in here) and a breathtaking performance from Brigitte Lin. Lin has a very minimalistic acting style, especially when compared with many other melodramatic Hong Kong actors -- she can accomplish a hell of a lot just by glaring at the camera in the right fashion. The action is simply fantastic. In an impressive career which has included directing (either outright or via way of action co-ordination) such movies as Duel to the Death, A Chinese Ghost Story, Dragon Inn, A Better Tomorrow 2 and The Killer (just to name a few), the scenes in Swordsman II stands out as some of Ching Siu-Tung's (and the Hong Kong industry in general) best work. Even if you don't normally like wuxia or wire fu movies, you should really check this film out.

Jet Li places Ling, a swordsman whose only desires in life are to spend the rest of his life in seclusion with his fellow swordsmen, and drink lots of wine. But that's all foiled when he and his cohorts get drawn into a power struggle within the Sun Moon Sect. The old leader has been ousted, and in his place is Asia The Invincible (played by Brigitte Lin). But Asia is hungry for power, and so consults an ancient scroll for supernatural strength. Happy-go-lucky Ling is forced to fight Asia and his ninja forces, but Asia's increasing strength soon becomes insurmountable. And to top it all off, Ling finds himself falling love with the tyrant.

Oh wait a minute... I think I forgot to mention that in order for Asia to become all-powerful, he needed to castrate himself and undergo a process where he slowly transforms into a woman. Did I forget to mention that? Well, silly me.

That's just an example of what I'm talking about with this film. I don't mind the "thrill a minute" approach that HK films take. But this film... this film throws so much at you it's nearly impossible to take in. And then just when it starts getting good, the movie hits a brick wall and we're subjected to painful dialog, silly hijinks, and incomprehensible plot twists. It could be due to the atrocious subtitles, but I spent way too much of this movie trying to put two and two together.

It also didn't help the film too much that it didn't have a strong focal character. You'd think it'd be Ling, since Li is easily the biggest star in the picture, but a considerable amount of time is spent on peripheral characters that really don't matter to the film. Even the supposed "romance" between Ling and Asia feels woefully underdeveloped. The few scenes that occur between them never establish anything but the most basic of relationships.

Now, I suppose I should back up and say that this film did have some incredibly cool sequences. Any film with attacks like "Sword Energy", "Recoiling Whip", or "Bomb Sword" has some merit. Where else do you get to see a horse cut in half by a ninja? And you can never get enough of heroines who shoot snakes out of their sleeves, and control them with a whistle. My favorite sequences are those involving Asia's supernatural powers, as s/he obliterates her rivals; bodies explode, blood spurts everywhere, and Hong Kong proves that you don't need fancy special effects to create an eerie atmosphere for sorcery. But even such effective and interesting flourishes can't keep the film from being a mess.