With the passing of time, the Wang Wu School will get noticed by the Emperor who will propose Wang Wu to join forces with him and a samurai master from Japan to train his royal guards. All this is of course a cover up, the real intention of the emperor is that he would prefer to have Wang Wu on his side since he has heard that someone is attempting to reform the Chinese government and liberate the oppressed. But Wang Wu refuses the proposition, which will make his school appear as a treat in the eye of the Emperor. Wang Wu will then decide to fight back the Emperor, helped by his closes students but also by Nine Catties a student of Tan Szu.

Review: This movie is a good example that you don't necessary need Jet Li in a Kung Fu spectacular to make a decent film. Directed by no one else than the veteran Hong Kong actor and director Sammo Hung , Blade of Fury is an epic swordplay movie dealing about old Chinese politics and corrupted government. Very entertaining all along with some incredible kung fu - swordplay fighting mixed with decent dramatic scenes, all these classic elements make Blade of Fury a well done kung fu movie. Unfortunately the final result may suffer a little too much from a plot trying to be too complex for what it could have been.

I don't know that much about Chinese history so I cant tell if everything in the movie is historically true but the story is very serious and realistic in a way that it is not hard to believe that some elements of the movie could have really happened. The story deals a lot about government and political situations. This gives a very serious atmosphere to the story but it also tones down the action part too much, because the wait between each fighting and action sequence was a little too long in my opinion or maybe the not so good dialogues made these moment look even longer. The story has a lot of turns and twists and most of them are really good and unexpected, you hardly know who the evil guys really are before near the end. But I'm not a big fan of political stories in general so that concept didn't really work with me but I'm sure that some of you will like that type of historical setting.

Even if Sammo Hung is credited in the movie, he only appears a brief moment as an imperial guard, so don't expect to see a movie with Sammo Hung. The main character is Brother Wu, played by Sing Ngai who can also be seen in a couple of Jet Li movies. Brother Wu appeared to be a lot like one of those legendary characters, he could almost be compared to Wong Fei Hung or Fong Say Yuk in some way. His tragic story was very interesting to follow and the acting of Sing Ngai really fitted the character very well. As for his martial arts skills, it was impressive enough on screen to make his character appear as a believable kick ass kung fu master.

Tan Szu Tung who was also an important character was played by no one else than Ti Lung, who also appeared in the two classic John Woo movie A Better Tomorrow. This character was more about politics than kung fu, in a way that he talked more than he fought but still he was very well portrayed. The close student of Tan Szu Tung was played by Cynthia Khan, that character was probably a man because other character in the movie were most of the time referring to her as a man but her name really sounded feminine. Her martial art skills were decent and the stunts double were easy to spot but this small factor didn't affect at all her appreciation.

The fighting sequences were far from what you usually have in an old school kung fu movie. Forget traditional fighting here because the fights were similar to what you usually have in a Jet Li movies. Wushu type fighting style with decent use of wires, all this enhanced by a cranked up speed. The choreographies were good and the amount of fighting was enough to please a martial arts movie fan but I found that there were two small problems about it. First, that damn cranked speed was way too fast, which I found was completely unnecessary and made the fight look a little silly. And second, near the end of the movie, there's a very long moment were there's no fight at all, which will probably bother the viewer. This is the part where the story concludes and all the boring dialogues mostly appear. But don't worry the fights get back after that with a good 15 min of non stop fighting to conclude the movie, which I found very impressive for a finale.

Blade of Fury might not be an all time swordplay classic movie but still has some great moments that really makes it worth the viewing for any kung fu/swordplay fans. Maybe the political story will bore some of you but still the fighting sequences, the great characters of the story and of course Sammo Hung behind the camera, all this is enough for having a good time while watching Blade of Fury.

REVIEW:
This generally entertaining film is plagued with a number of flaws even while it scores points in other areas. The choreography is better than most kung fu films that come before but sadly lacks the polish of contemporary and later films such as Iron Monkey. There are a number of enjoyable fight scenes but they occasionally seem out of place with the story. Sammo Hung is a competent action director and flexes his skills here with lots of solid kung fu action. Unfortunately, wires can be seen at times and the camera work is uneven while some of the stunt work is too comically unrealistic to fit in a seemingly serious story.

The film has an epic feel to it with fights arranged in grand outdoor scenes. The subject has potential to be a truly dramatic experience. Chinese fight for freedom from Japanese Imperialism and find themselves torn by ideological differences. The acting is well done while Ti Lung, the Cary Grant of kung fu is in top form. I found the fact that two essentially good people (Szu-tung & Shih-kai) who both wished the best for their country become enemies to be engaging. There are rules though to be followed in kung fu film. A few repugnant characters displaying a one-dimensional sadistic personality were present. Sammo makes a cameo in his own film to challenge Wang Wu who tries to free his friend, Szu-tung. But the encounter is too short and slightly out of place with the narrative. Cynthia Khan plays Nine Catties, Szu-tung's student but only provides occasional comic relief.

Sammo Hung has a penchant for delving into the underside of humanity in many of his films. I applaud his efforts to underscore simple heroism with a deeper morass of mixed emotions and doubt. Blade of Fury doesn't successfully reach this greater depth because the film is trying to offer too much. Yet, there is plenty of action and the film's look remains impressive. China Star's release loses points for having no DVD extras and Chinese only menus.

This film tries hard to add a dimension of history and storyline to the action scenes and it works for the most part, except it slows down the momentum during the last act. The acting is very good all around, and there is a lot of good intentions written into the script. You are unsure of who the actual antagonists are until the very end of the film. Although the villains are initially the Japanese, with whom China has had poor relations with during the time period this was set in (namely the late 1800s), there are also traitors in the midst. The theme throughout the movie is the rebuilding of Imperial China, which many of the characters are prepared to give their lives for.

In the opening sequence Brother Wu, co-leader of the Black Flag Troops, a nationalistic strike force, prepares himself and the troops for battle against a Japanese encampment. Because the Japanese have firearms and superior numbers, the Black Flag troops are nearly wiped out. Only Brother Wu survives, and he is so spiritually devastated that he dramatically jumps off a cliff, horse and all. Of course to his chagrin he survives and later he takes up residence in a nearby town as a blacksmith.

Meanwhile, Tan Szu Tung (played by Ti Lung of A BETTER TOMORROW), a government official who seeks to restore order to Imperial China travels with high strung assistant Nine Catties (sexy and kick-ass Cynthia Khan) arrives in the same small town. Oddly, Nine Catties appears to be a female disguised as a male, but this is never explained. Ti Lung and Nine Catties get involved in a local skirmish between a battalion of thieves and the Chinese army whose confrontation intersect with a parade of fleeing refugees. In the skirmish, it is revealed that they both are well versed in the martial arts and swiftly save old women and children refugees by running on top of the combatants heads! Brother Wu, the blacksmith, comes out of hiding to help the refugees as well. His efforts are noticed by Tan Szu Tung and the a leader of the Chinese army, Yuan Shin Kai. After the crisis, Tan Szu Tung, Brother Wu, Nine Catties, and Yuan Shin Kai become fast friends as they share the same philosophy regarding China.

The Emperor welcomes them all back to the fold, and seeing as he has a strong interest in the martial arts, he requests that Brother Wu open up his own kung-fu school to teach the soldiers and people alike. The Emperor also schedules a tournament, where all the masters will fight including a samurai/ninja master from Japan. Eventually the times comes when Chinese patriot Tan Szu Tung attempts to reform the Chinese government and liberate the oppressed. He insists that all the friends must choose to join him or oppose him, since there is no middle road. This leads to Tan Szu Tung being arrested by the Emperor’s guard and placed in jail. Brother Wu attempts to break him out, but Tan Szu Tung wants to remain and have his case heard by the people. The Emperor’s verdict states that he be executed for his views. And in the most melodramatic part of the film, Tan Szu Tung willingly goes to the chopping block, with the belief that once he is gone, the people will become enraged and follow his teachings. He wants the movement he began to spread throughout China. But the Emperor knows the best way to end the movement is to end Tan Szu Tung’s friends and followers including Brother Wu, Nine Catties, and Yuan Shin Kai. The stage is set for the dramatic showdown.

Lest you think this is just a Chinese drama, think again. When the fight scenes come, they are very well done, and almost too quick in their execution. Sammo has a natural way with the camera and capturing combat scenes on film. The action is truly ferocious and in some brief scenes sped up. Other scenes use slow motion to great effect. In addition to the combat scenes, there is the following additional mayhem: