BICHUNMOO director Kim Young-jun returns with his second swordplay fantasy. Although a product of South Korea, it’s essentially a wuxia pian, the Chinese term for a heroic swordplay movie. Employing the latest in wirework and other life-action stunt techniques, SHADOWLESS SWORD assaults the viewer with zooming swordsmen, exploding bodies, hail storms of flying stars, and attractive swordswomen matching their male counterparts with each sword stroke.

The post-production marketing for the film suggests something along the lines of a sword-slinging rock ‘n’ roll glam fest with star Lee Seo-jin looking like an Asian Jimi Hendrix and costars in heavy eye shadow and glossy costumes. Based on this, one could imagine larger-than-life superstar martial arts heroes with ludicrous fighting abilities battling their way through hordes of enemies with a twinkle in their eyes and a steady stream of one-liners, all set to thunderous Judas Priest-like metal. If nothing else that idea at least is refreshing, something SHADOWLESS SWORD achieves only in measure.

Plot-wise, the movie is basically HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS without the deceptions. There are other differences, but the main element is the same. A male-female pair, both with some expertise in swordplay are trying to get somewhere while forces are determined to kill them. In this case the beautiful and stoic swordswoman So Ha (Yoon Soy) is dispatched by Balhae military leaders to bring back the sole-surviving heir to their kingdom following the death of Prince Suh Yeon and the loss of their capital to Georan forces. Having become disillusioned after years of exile, Prince Jeong Hyun (Lee Seo-jin) is reluctant to accept the job. With the ruthless, revenge-seeking Kun (Shin Hyun-joon) and his Killer Blade Army hot on their heels, it’s up to So Ha, her sword skills and her ideals to safely deliver Suh Yeon and restore the prince’s faith in himself.

With a storyline this simple, it seems as though Kim is trying to shake off the more convoluted soap opera trappings of BICHUNMOO. If so, he succeeds. Any genre novice could keep up with events without paying much attention. This allows for the film’s stylish action scenes to take center stage. Yet Kim may have stripped away a little too much. With few supporting characters of note, almost all the attention is focused on Jeong Hyun and So Ha. With neither possessing particularly interesting personalities, their interplay is routine and the dramatic climax of their journey less engaging than intended. The acting performances of Lee Seo-jin and Yoon Soy are fine, but the script doesn’t give them enough to work with.

Where the movie rises above the ordinary is where it counts. Veteran Hong Kong action director Ma Yuk-sing heads up the film’s action scenes, many of which are highly enjoyable visual feasts of martial arts extravagance. Ma’s wuxia fight choreography was last seen in THE WHITE DRAGON and although his skills were very apparent, that film was not up to the ambitions evidenced in SHADOWLESS SWORD. Kim clearly wanted more out of Ma and got it. That said, there are times when the film’s rapid editing during combat scenes can be frustrating. The camera rarely pauses to let a shot sink in unless the actors are also motionless in one of their many gratuitous poses. But the pacing is excellent and the moves, no matter how outrageous seem plausible within the context of the mythical jiang hu (martial world). It help tremendously that the filmmakers frequently use live-action special effects and stunts alongside the usual blue screen CGI work.

The film has something new to offer, an epic underwater fight as the heroic duo struggle to make their escape in a city canal. Above water, members of the Killer Blade Army hurl a wall of flying stars (or shuriken if you prefer). Below, the flurry of bladed projectiles give way to a fierce aquatic battle as So Ha engages two pursuers while channeling her chi energy to keep from running out of air. The lighting during this underwater scene is darkly surreal, adding tremendously to the nightmarish predicament that the less-committed prince finds himself forced into.

Some viewers unfamiliar with the more extreme abilities found within the wuxia genre are in for more of an eyeful. There is a bow master who unleashes insanely large arrows that decapitate foes with a single strike. The title ability looks like a simple sword stroke, but leaves its victims’ innards moments away from bursting outwards in all directions like massive firecrackers made of shredded cloth and flesh. These scenes may be hard to digest alongside the generally serious tone of the movie, but its all part of the genre experience.

Evenly matched sword duels are shown with a series of flashing close-ups of sword points, repositioning feet, bodies hurling through mid air, and grim faces. Although tightly edited, these fight scenes are clearly laid out and fun to watch. There’s nothing quite as jaw dropping as Ching Siu-tung’s bamboo forest fight in HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, but Ma has definitely advanced the art of wirework with scenes that hold their own with some of the best modern Chinese wuxia films.

Production values are almost lavish, or at least possess that illusion. A dramatic, Western-style orchestral score nicely matches richly detailed costumes and sets. Busy city streets and overhead shots of a bustling empire add to the immersion into a slightly fantastic world of the Korean peninsula circa 927 or thereabouts.

In SHADOWLESS SWORD, Kim Young-jun doesn’t create anything fans of wuxia haven’t seen already, with the possible exception of the underwater fight scene. The script is weak with few memorable characters. Those are minor setbacks thanks to the film’s frenzied action and stylish presentation. Kim definitely has a good eye for crafting swordplay movies. It shows improvement on his sophomore attempt. It’s just a shame that it has taken him four years to get around to making it.

The plot, or what t here is of one, concerns itself with a rogue prince in exile who must be returned to his kingdom. The evil Blade clan has systematically killed all rightful heirs to the throne of the great kingdom in order to usurp power away from the ruling clan. A warrior woman is sent out to find the last prince and bring him safely back to the kingdom so he can lay claim to the throne and restore peace to the land. The film is really one long trek/chase sequence making the fact that the film lacks any real excitement all the more appalling. For a fantasy martial arts film built around a long chase sequence, there was never a point during the two-hour running time when I felt a drop of tension, suspense or enthusiasm for the ride - it is rather thrill-less.

The film does contain an abundance of action, but the fighting lacks energy and excitement. This is one aspect that Tsui Hark's Seven Swords excelled in, as it offered hard hitting choreography where ev ery blow looked like it hurt it's recipient. Shadowless Sword takes the mantle up from the plethora of 1990's Hong Kong wuxia cinema, in that the action is generally made up of tons of twirling, flying, jumping, spinning and slashing. I am myself a huge fan of wirework, and I love the flying swordsman epics like Ching Siu Tung's The Swordsman series as well as A Warrior's Tragedy, Blade of Fury and Burning Paradise just to name a scant few. However, these films are all over 10 years old, and what they offered at the time was something new and different than the straight up kung fu fisticuffs of the Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest productions. Unfortunately, what was novel in Bichunmoo, falls flat in Shadowless Sword and does not offer enough freshness to hold long time genre-supporters' interest.

It really saddens me to pan this film so much because I do find myself thinking back to certain seq uences, characters and set pieces in the film. There are a few moments of real beauty and creativity to be found, but unfortunately these sequences are few and far between. There is one sequence in particular where we first see our two heroes fight with the second and third tier villains. One of these villains is a bald monk-like guy whose head is decorated with hundreds of little kanji tattoos - pretty dang cool looking, although he does look like he stepped off the set of Seven Swords. He fights with a giant spiked club, and has quite the menacing persona. This fight sequence starts in a pagoda and ends beneath the surface of an inner-city canal, with a bunch of ninja-like baddies throwing shuriken at the heroes through the water as they try to swim for safety. This entire action set piece is filmed with skill, and looks gorgeous, but even so, it still lacks real impact - everything just feels way too staged.

I also found myself frequently r olling my eyes at the overly dramatic and often misused score for the film. The musical choices are odd, out of place, and downright overbearing to say the least. The problem with the score is that the director relied on it to convey emotion, rather than his actors or the narrative. All to often I knew exactly what was about to happen because of the music, and my heart-strings felt like an old and abused harp, as they were constantly being plucked and molested by the overbearing, melodramatic and down right bombastic score that never shut up.

At the end of the day though, I can't completely dismiss Shadowless Sword. There is some quality here, it's just too bad one has to wade through so much muck and cliché to find it. It is a film that tries very hard to be the next Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, Fearless or House of Flying Daggers. One can tell that the filmmakers wanted this film to have that kind of cultural and genre crossover appeal. Unfortunately, the narrative and acting are not capable of elevating the film above its genre trappings, and the genre conventions in which it wallows are not executed well enough or creative enough to appeal to the long time genre fans. By trying to make a film with broad appeal, the filmmakers wound up making a film with very little to grasp. It lacks depth and intensity, but it is nicely shot and does posses a few sequences worth the time. Ultimately, if you stumble upon the film give it a go, just don't seek this one out or spend the big bucks to import it.